Name	Will Smith
Caption	Smith in May 2010
Birth name	Willard Christopher Smith, Jr.
Birth date	September 25, 1968
Birth place	Wynnefield, West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Other names	The Fresh Prince
Occupation	Actor, rapper, film producer, record producer, television producer
Years active	1985–present
Spouse
Website	http://www.willsmith.com/

Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, film producer and pop rapper. He has enjoyed success in music, television and film. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor on the planet. Smith has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards, two Academy Awards, and has won multiple Grammy Awards.

In the late 1980s, Smith achieved modest fame as a rapper under the name The Fresh Prince. In 1990, his popularity increased dramatically when he starred in the popular television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The show ran for nearly six years (1990–1996) on NBC and has been syndicated consistently on various networks since then. In the mid-1990s, Smith transitioned from television to film, and ultimately starred in numerous blockbuster films that received broad box office success. In fact, he is the only actor in history to have eight consecutive films gross over $100 million in the domestic box office as well as being the only actor to have eight consecutive films in which he starred open at the #1 spot in the domestic box office tally.

Fourteen of the 19 fiction films he has acted in have accumulated worldwide gross earnings of over $100 million, and 4 of them took in over $500 million in global box office receipts. His most financially successful films have been Bad Boys, Bad Boys II, Independence Day, Men in Black, Men in Black II, I, Robot, The Pursuit of Happyness, I Am Legend, Hancock, Wild Wild West, Enemy of the State, Shark Tale, Hitch and Seven Pounds. He also earned critical praise for his performances in Six Degrees of Separation, Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness, receiving Best Actor Oscar nominations for the latter two.

Family and early life

West Philadelphia born and raised, Smith also spent time in Germantown in Northwest Philadelphia. His mother, Caroline (née Bright), was a school administrator who worked for the Philadelphia school board, and his father, Willard Christopher Smith, Sr., was a refrigeration engineer. He was raised Baptist. His parents separated when he was 13, and did not actually divorce until Smith was around 30.

While it is widely reported that Smith turned down a scholarship to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he never applied to MIT, although he was admitted to a "pre-engineering program" there.

Recording and acting career

Early work (1985–1995)

Smith started as the MC of the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, with his childhood friend Jeffrey "DJ Jazzy Jeff" Townes as turntablist and producer as well as Ready Rock C (Clarence Holmes) as the human beat box. The trio was known for performing humorous, radio-friendly songs, most notably "Parents Just Don't Understand" and "Summertime". They gained critical acclaim for winning the first ever Grammy in the Rap category (1988). He had a line in "Voices That Care", a 1991 Gulf War song by a celebrity group. Smith spent money freely during his early career and underpaid his income taxes. The Internal Revenue Service eventually assessed a $2.8 million tax debt against Smith, took many of his possessions, and garnished his income. Smith was nearly bankrupt in 1990 when the NBC television network signed him to a contract and built a sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, around him. The show was successful and began his acting career. Smith set for himself the goal of becoming "the biggest movie star in the world," studying box office successes' common characteristics. In 1998 Smith starred with Gene Hackman in Enemy of the State. Smith turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix in favor of Wild Wild West. Despite the disappointment of Wild Wild West, Smith has said that he harbors no regrets about his decision, asserting that Keanu Reeves's performance as Neo was superior to what Smith would have achieved.

International success (2001–present)

In 2005, Smith was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for attending a record breaking three premieres in a 24-hour time span.

He has planned to star in a feature film remake of the television series It Takes a Thief.

On December 10, 2007, Smith was recognized at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. Smith left an imprint of his hands and feet outside the world renowned theater in front of many fans. Later that month, Smith starred in the film I Am Legend, released December 14, 2007. Despite marginally positive reviews, its opening was the largest ever for a film released in the United States during December. Smith himself has said that he considers the film to be "aggressively unique". A reviewer said that the film's commercial success "cemented [Smith's] standing as the number one box office draw in Hollywood." On December 1, 2008, TV Guide reported that Smith has been selected as one of America’s top ten most fascinating people of 2008 for a Barbara Walters ABC special that aired on December 4, 2008.

Smith is currently developing a film entitled The Last Pharaoh, in which he will star as Taharqa.

President Barack Obama has stated that if a film were to ever be made about his life, he would have Smith play his part, because "he has the ears". Obama stated that the two have discussed a possibility of a film based on the 2008 election, but this may not happen until the end of the Obama presidency.

He is currently filming Men in Black III for a 2012 release playing Agent J one of his more popular earlier roles, making this his first major starring role in four years.

Personal life

December 11, 2009, in Oslo, Norway: Smith with wife Jada and children Jaden and Willow]] Smith was raised by his parents in West Philadelphia. Smith credits his father's dedication when discussing his own involvement in the lives of his three children: "I look at my father and how he was able to keep four kids fed and clothed and still managed to find time to spend with us." Smith married Sheree Zampino in 1992. They had a son, Willard Christopher Smith III, also known as "Trey", but divorced in 1995. Trey appeared in his father's music video for the 1998 single "Just The Two Of Us". Smith married actress Jada Pinkett in 1997. Together they have had two children: Jaden Christopher Syre (born 1998), his co-star in The Pursuit of Happyness, and Willow Camille Reign (born 2000), who appeared as his daughter in "I Am Legend". Along with his brother, Harry Smith, he owns Treyball Development Inc., a Beverly Hills-based company named after his first son. Smith and his family reside on Star Island in Miami Beach, Florida and in Los Angeles, Stockholm, Sweden and Philadelphia.

Smith was consistently listed in Fortune Magazine's "Richest 40" list of the forty wealthiest Americans under the age of 40. He donated $4,600 to the presidential campaign of Democrat Barack Obama. December 11, 2009, Smith and his wife hosted the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway, when Barack Obama had won the prize.

Smith has said he has studied multiple religions, including Scientology, and he has said many complimentary things about Scientology and other faiths. Despite his praise of Scientology, Smith said "I just think a lot of the ideas in Scientology are brilliant and revolutionary and non-religious" and "Ninety-eight percent of the principles in Scientology are identical to the principles of the Bible.... I don't think that because the word someone uses for spirit is 'thetan' that the definition becomes any different." He has denied having joined the Church of Scientology, saying "I am a Christian. I am a student of all religions, and I respect all people and all paths." Smith gave $1.3 million to charities in 2007, of which $450,000 went to two Christian ministries, and $122,500 went to three Scientology organizations; the remaining beneficiaries included "a Los Angeles mosque, other Christian-based schools and churches, and [...] the Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Center in Israel". Smith and his wife have also founded a private elementary school in Calabasas, California, the New Village Leadership Academy, which has attracted controversy and speculation over its use of Study Technology, a teaching methodology developed by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology.

Discography

Big Willie Style (1997)

Willennium (1999)

Born to Reign (2002)

Lost and Found (2005)

Filmography

Box office grosses

References

Further reading

External links

Official site

in 2002

Category:Living people Category:1968 births Category:Actors from Pennsylvania Category:African American film actors Category:American hip hop musicians Category:American rappers Category:American television actors Category:Baptists from the United States Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Interscope Records artists

Category:People from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:Rappers from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:Beatboxers

Category:African-American film producers Category:African American rappers

Name	Tavis Smiley
Birthname	Tavis Smiley
Birth date	September 13, 1964
Birth place	Gulfport, MississippiUnited States
Age	46
Education	Indiana University
Occupation	Talk show host Author Entrepreneur Advocate Philanthropist
Gender	Male
Status	Single
Ethnicity	African-American
Religion	Christian
Credits	Tavis Smiley host (2004–present)The Tavis Smiley Show from PRI (radio) host(2005-present)"Smiley & West" co-host (2010-present)BET Tonight with Tavis Smiley host (1996–2001)
Url	http://www.tavistalks.com/

Tavis Smiley (; born September 13, 1964) is an American talk show host, author, political commentator, entrepreneur, advocate and philanthropist. Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi and grew up in Kokomo, Indiana. After attending Indiana University, he worked during the late 1980s as an aide to Tom Bradley, the mayor of Los Angeles. Smiley became a radio commentator in 1991, and starting in 1996 he hosted the talk show BET Talk (later renamed BET Tonight) on BET. Controversially, after Smiley sold an exclusive interview of Sara Jane Olson to ABC News in 2001, BET declined to renew Smiley's contract that year. Smiley then began hosting The Tavis Smiley Show on NPR from 2002 to 2004 and currently hosts Tavis Smiley on PBS on the weekdays and "The Tavis Smiley Show" from PRI. Most recently, he and best friend Dr. Cornel West have joined forces for their own radio talk show, "Smiley & West".

Early years

Tavis Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, the son of Joyce Marie Roberts, a single mother who first became pregnant at age 18. On September 13, 1966, just shy of his second birthday, his mother married Emory Garnell Smiley, a non-commisioned officer in the U.S. Air Force. It would not be until a few years later that Tavis would learn the identity of his biological father, whom he identifies in his autobiography, What I Know For Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America only as "T."

His family soon moved to Indiana because his stepfather had been transferred to Grissom Air Force Base near Peru, Indiana. Upon arriving in Indiana, the Smiley family took up residence in a crowded mobile home in the small town of Bunker Hill, Indiana. Smiley's immediate family size was increased following the homicide of his aunt, whose death left five children with no stable home. Smiley's parents agreed to take in and raise their five orphaned nieces and nephews. Joyce and her husband also had eight children of their own over the years, resulting at one point in 13 children and Mr. and Mrs. Smiley all living in the trailer-home. Smiley's mother was a very religious person, and the family attended the local New Bethel Tabernacle Church, part of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. The Smiley children were forbidden from listening to secular music at home and going to the movie theater and could watch television shows that their parents felt were family-friendly. When Tavis Smiley was in seventh grade, New Bethel pastor Elder Rufus Mills accused Tavis and his siblings of "running wild, disobeying their teacher, disrespecting their teacher, disrespecting the sanctity of this building, and mocking the holy message being taught" during Sunday School. According to Smiley's account of the incident, Smiley's Sunday School teacher became more confused as she was asking questions about the Book of John, and while other students "responded by giggling and acting a little unruly," he and his sister Phyllis "remained quiet". Garnell whipped Tavis and Phyllis with an extension cord, wounding the two children. The next day at school, administrators found out about the children's injuries. The local newspaper in Kokomo reported on the beating and the legal proceedings against Garnell, and Tavis and Phyllis were sent to foster care temporarily, Garnell told his children that the judge decided that he had "overreacted" and found he and Joyce as "concerned parents who were completely involved in our children's lives and well-being".

Smiley became interested in politics at age 13 after attending a fundraiser for U.S. Senator Birch Bayh. Smiley was active in student council and the debate team, even though his parents were "skeptical of all non-church extracurricular activities."

College and political career

In 1982, Smiley enrolled in Indiana University Bloomington (IU). Because Smiley's parents refused to fill out financial aid papers, Smiley entered Indiana University with only $50 and a small suitcase. Administrators let Smiley complete the proper paperwork to be a full-time student. The summer after his freshman year, Smiley worked, attended summer classes, and lived off campus with Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball players, then being coached by Bobby Knight. Smiley was accepted into the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity during his sophomore year and became business manager of his dormitory, a member of the student senate, and director of minority affairs. After his friend Denver Smith was killed by Indiana police officers who claimed to have acted in self-defense, Smiley helped lead protests to defend Smith, whom he believed had been wrongfully killed. Those protests led Smiley to a work-study internship at the office of Bloomington mayor Tomilea Allison. Being paid $5 an hour, Smiley wrote letters to local residents, researched for Mayor Allison, and helped write positions on local issues. Mayor Allison rebuked Smiley for padding his time sheets and had Smiley work off the extra hours without pay. During his first semester of junior year, Smiley was under academic probation and blamed his extracurricular activities for interfering with his studies. When Smiley visited Los Angeles to attend a national student leaders' convention, the cousin of his roommate introduced Smiley to football star Jim Brown. Brown introduced Smiley to fellow football player George Hughley, who worked for Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley and connected Smiley to Mayor Bradley's staff. Every week since meeting Bradley's staff, Smiley wrote a letter to the mayor's office asking for an internship and once personally flew to Los Angeles to appeal. However, by summertime he received a letter from the city stating that all internship positions were filled. Smiley then handwrote a letter from the mayor that he said represented his feeling "from the heart", and Bradley called Smiley to say that he had a position available for Smiley. As the internship was unpaid but counted for college credit, the Bloomington Community Progress Council funded Smiley with $5,000 for living expenses in Los Angeles, and Brown allowed Smiley to live as a houseguest during September 1985. Starting the next month, Smiley lived in the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity house in the University of Southern California. At City Hall, Smiley worked at the Office of Youth Development on the 22nd floor.

Twice, Smiley considered quitting college, first during junior year, and then after finishing his internship with Mayor Bradley. Bradley successfully convinced Smiley to return to college, and Smiley did. Smiley took the LSAT twice, as he was considering attending Harvard Law School. However, in his senior year, he failed a test in a computer class after being accused of copying another student's, so he failed that class and several others and lacked nine hours of credits and thus did not graduate from IU. Following a hiring freeze by the government of Los Angeles, Smiley served as an aide to Mayor Bradley until 1990. A 1988 article in the Los Angeles Times identified Smiley as "a Bradley administrative assistant who works in South Los Angeles."

Radio and television career

Campaigning for a seat on the Los Angeles City Council in 1991 against incumbent Ruth Galanter, Smiley finished fourth among 15 candidates. Smiley became a radio commentator, broadcasting one-minute daily radio segments called The Smiley Report on KGFJ radio. For six months, Smiley worked on a community news program on a local cable network and spent six more months working on television in Montreal.

In 1996, Smiley became a frequent commentator on the Tom Joyner Morning Show, a nationally syndicated radio show broadcast on black and urban stations in the United States. He developed a friendship with host Joyner; together they began hosting annual town hall meetings beginning in 2000 called "The State of the Black Union" which were aired live on the C-SPAN cable television network. These town hall meetings each focused on a specific topic affecting the African-American community, featuring a panel of African-American leaders, educators, and professionals assembled before an audience to discuss problems related to the forum's topic, as well as potential solutions. Smiley also used his commentator status on Joyner's radio show to launch several advocacy campaigns to highlight discriminatory practices in the media and government and to rally support for causes such as the awarding of a Congressional Gold Medal to civil rights icon Rosa Parks. Smiley also began building a national reputation as a political commentator with numerous appearances on political discussion shows on MSNBC, ABC, and CNN.

Also in 1996, Smiley began hosting and executive producing BET Tonight (originally BET Talk when it first premiered), a public affairs discussion show on the Black Entertainment Television (BET) network. Smiley interviewed major political figures and celebrities and discussed topics ranging from racial profiling and police brutality to R&B; music and Hollywood gossip. Smiley hosted BET Tonight until 2001, when in a controversial move, the network announced that Smiley's contract would not be renewed. This sparked an angry response from Joyner, who sought to rally his radio audience to protest BET's decision. Robert L. Johnson, founder of BET, defended the decision, stating that Smiley had been fired because he had sold an exclusive interview to ABC News without first offering the story to BET, even though Smiley's contract with BET did not require him to do so. Smiley countered with the assertion that he had offered the story — an interview with Sara Jane Olson, an alleged former member of the Symbionese Liberation Army — to CBS, which, along with BET, was owned by Viacom. Smiley ultimately sold the interview to rival network ABC, he said, only after CBS passed on the interview, and suggested that his firing was payback for the publicity he gained as a result of providing an exclusive interview to ABC. Ultimately BET and Viacom did not reverse their decision to terminate Smiley's contract.

Smiley was then offered a chance to host a radio talk show on National Public Radio. He served as host of The Tavis Smiley Show on NPR until December 2004 when he announced that he would be leaving his NPR show, citing the network's inability to reach a more diverse audience. Smiley launched a weekly version of his radio program The Tavis Smiley Show on April 29, 2005, distributed by NPR rival Public Radio International. On October 1, 2010, Tavis Smiley turned the second hour of his PRI program into Smiley & West co-hosted by his longtime collaborator Dr. Cornel West. Smiley also hosts Tavis Smiley, a late night talk show televised on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) network and produced in association with WNET in New York.

Smiley moderated two live presidential candidate forums in 2007: a Democratic forum on June 28 at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and a Republican forum on September 27 at Morgan State University in Baltimore.

Smiley appears on the Democracy Now! show.

Controversy over Presidential Candidate Barack Obama

On April 11, 2008, Tavis Smiley announced that he would resign in June 2008 as a commentator on the Tom Joyner Morning Show. He cited fatigue and a busy schedule in a personal call to Joyner. However Joyner—referring to several commentaries in which Smiley was critical of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama—indicated otherwise on his program, stating: "The real reason is that he can't take the hate he's been getting regarding the Barack issue—hate from the black people that he loves so much." Prior to the public controversy and being elected President, Obama had been on Smiley's PBS show six times.

The Covenant with Black America

In March 2006, The Smiley Group and Third World Press published The Covenant with Black America, a collection of essays by black scholars and professionals edited by Smiley. The book covers topics ranging from education to healthcare as discussed in several "State of the Black Union" forums.

Described by the publisher as a national plan of action to address the primary concerns of African-Americans related to social and economic disparities but seen by others as a self-promoting rehash of old ideas, the book became the first non-fiction book by a Black-owned publisher to be listed as the number-one non-fiction paperback in America by The New York Times Best Seller list.

Awards and contributions

Smiley was honored with the NAACP Image Award for best news, talk, or information series for three consecutive years (1997–99) for his work on BET Tonight with Tavis Smiley.

Smiley's advocacy efforts have earned him numerous awards and recognitions including the recipient of the Mickey Leland Humanitarian Award from the National Association of Minorities in Communications.

In 1999, he founded the Tavis Smiley Foundation, which funds programs that develop young leaders in the black community. Since its inception, more than 6,000 young people have participated in the foundation's Youth to Leaders Training workshops and conferences.

His communications company, The Smiley Group, Inc., serves as the holding company for various enterprises encompassing broadcast and print media, lecturers, symposiums, and the Internet.

In 1994, Time named him one of America's 50 Most Promising Young Leaders. Time would later honor him in 2009 as one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World." In May 2007, Smiley gave a commencement speech at his alma mater, Indiana University at Bloomington, Indiana. In May 2008, he gave the commencement address at Connecticut College, where he was awarded an honorary doctorate. In May 2009, Smiley was awarded an honorary doctorate at Langston University after giving the commencement address there.

On December 12, 2008, Smiley received the Du Bois Medal from Harvard University's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research.

He would also be awarded the 2009 Interdependence Day Prize from Demos in Istanbul, Turkey.

Indiana University recently honored Smiley by naming the atrium of its School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) building, The Tavis Smiley Atrium.

Smiley would be named No. 2 change agent in the field of media behind Oprah Winfrey in EBONY magazine's POWER 150 list.

In 2011, Tavis Smiley will celebrate 20 years in broadcasting.

Bibliography

Just a Thought: The Smiley Report (ISBN 0-963-69523-1)

Doing What's Right: How to Fight for What You Believe—And Make a Difference (ISBN 0-385-49931-0)

Hard Left (ISBN 0-385-48404-6)

Keeping the Faith: Stories of Love, Courage, Healing, and Hope from Black America (ISBN 0-385-72169-2)

How to Make Black America Better: Leading African Americans Speak Out (ISBN 0-385-72087-4)

On Air:The Best of Tavis Smiley on the Tom Joyner Morning Show (ISBN 1-890194-33-6)

The Covenant with Black America (ISBN 0-88378-277-4)

What I Know for Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America (ISBN 978-0-385-50516-1; ISBN 0-388-50516-7)

''Accountable: Making America As Good As Its Promise

References

Further reading

LaRue, William. "Tavis Smiley: NPR Host Brings Latenight Talk to PBS." Syracuse (NY) Post-Standard, 1 February 2004, STARS section, pp. 4–6.

Slade, Scott. "Author Issues Wakeup Call." Kokomo (IN) Tribune, 20 June 1996, p. 7.

External links

www.tavistalks.com Official web site

Tavis Smiley on WNET/PBS

Tavis Smiley at NPR

Tavis Smiley: The State of the Black Union Interview

Tavis Smiley on Rev. Martin Luther King and His Opposition to the Vietnam War - video by Democracy Now!

Category:1964 births Category:Living people Category:African American radio personalities Category:American journalists Category:American memoirists Category:American Pentecostals Category:American philanthropists Category:American political writers Category:American talk radio hosts Category:American television talk show hosts Category:Indiana University alumni Category:National Public Radio personalities Category:People from Gulfport, Mississippi Category:People from Kokomo, Indiana Category:People from Los Angeles, California Category:People from Montreal Category:People from Peru, Indiana Category:Public Radio International personalities

Caption	Pinkett Smith's photograph taken by Jerry Avenaim for Vogue in 2001
Birth name	Jada Koren Pinkett
Birth date	September 18, 1971
Birth place	Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Other names	Jada Koren (with Wicked Wisdom)
Occupation	Actress, singer-songwriter, producer, director, author, businesswoman, voice actress
Years active	1990–present (actress)2002–present (singer)
Spouse	Will Smith (1997–present)
Children	Jaden Smith (b. 1998) Willow Smith (b. 2000) Trey Smith (stepson, b. 1992)
Website	http://www.jadapinkettsmith.com

Jada Koren Pinkett Smith (born September 18, 1971) is an American actress, producer, director, author, singer-songwriter and businesswoman. She began her career in 1990, when she made a guest appearance in the short-lived sitcom True Colors. She starred in A Different World, produced by Bill Cosby, and she featured opposite Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor (1996). She starred in dramatic films such as Menace II Society (1993) and Set It Off (1996). She has appeared in more than 20 films in a variety of genres, including Scream 2, Ali, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Madagascar and .

Pinkett Smith launched her music career in 2005, when she helped create the metal rock band Wicked Wisdom, for which she is a singer and songwriter. Additionally, Smith not only created a production company and her own makeover line; she's also the author of an adult book, published in 2000.

In 1997 she married rapper and actor Will Smith; they have two children, Jaden and Willow. Pinkett Smith is the stepmother to Smith's son from a previous marriage, Willard "Trey" Smith III.

Together, the couple have founded the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation, a charity organization which focuses on urban inner city youth and family support. The foundation has worked with non-profit organizations such as YouthBuild and the Lupus Foundation of America.

Family and early life

Jada Pinkett Smith was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and named after her mother's favorite soap opera actress, Jada Rowland. Pinkett Smith is of West Indian, Creole, African-American and Portuguese Jewish ancestry. Her parents are Adrienne Banfield-Jones, the head nurse of an inner-city clinic in Baltimore; and Robsol Pinkett, Jr., who runs a construction company. Banfield-Jones became pregnant in high school. The couple married but divorced after several months. Banfield-Jones raised Pinkett with the help of her mother, Marion Banfield, who was employed as a social worker. Banfield noticed her granddaughter's passion for the performing arts and enrolled her in piano, tap dance, and ballet lessons. She has one younger brother, Caleeb Pinkett.

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Pinkett Smith remains close to her mother and said, "A mother and daughter's relationship is usually the most honest, and we are so close." She participated as the maid of honor in Banfield-Jones' 1998 wedding to telecommunications executive Paul Jones. Pinkett-Smith has shown great admiration for her grandmother, saying, "My grandmother was a doer who wanted to create a better community and add beauty to the world."

Pinkett Smith majored in dance and theatre at the Baltimore School for the Arts, graduating in 1989. She continued her education at the North Carolina School of the Arts, but dropped out after a year. She moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue an acting career. She described her character, Peaches, as "raw" with "major attitude",

Breakthrough (1996–2000)

Following a role in (1995), Pinkett Smith co-starred with actor and comedian Eddie Murphy in the 1996 remake of The Nutty Professor. It became her biggest box office success, bringing in more than $25 million in its first weekend and opening in over 2,000 theaters.

Set It Off (1996), a crime drama about four women who rob banks to escape from poverty, helped to establish Pinkett Smith as an actor of note. With Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox, and Kimberly Elise, . Her acting in the film prompted the San Francisco Chronicle to name her as "the one to watch".

In 1997 Pinkett Smith featured in Scream 2 in a role similar to Drew Barrymore in the 1996 original. In the film Pinkett Smith plays Maureen Evans, a college student who attends the opening night of a new horror movie, at which she is brutally murdered in front of hundreds of cinemagoers. The role was an ironic one since her character discusses the horror genres mistreatment of African Americans and yet here was Pinkett Smith gaining the most famous and notorious role in the hit sequel (that of the "opening victim"). The film made over $100mil at the US box office.

In 2000, Pinkett Smith was cast in Spike Lee's film Bamboozled (2000), as Sloan Hopkins, a personal assistant to the main character portrayed by Damon Wayans. Although the film met with mediocre reviews, it won the Freedom of Expression Award by the National Board of Review.

International success (2001–present)

Perhaps her best-known role to date is the part of human rebel Niobe in the films The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003), sequels to 1999's The Matrix. She had met the series' directors, The Wachowski Brothers, before they had begun to film The Matrix and they formed a close bond. The character was eventually written, specifically, with Pinkett Smith in mind. Directly after she filmed her scenes for Ali, Pinkett Smith flew to Australia to work on the Matrix sequels. The role brought her into the spotlight, as The Matrix already had a cult following of fans, and the sequels earned over $91 million and $48 million during opening weekends, respectively.

In 2008, Pinkett Smith portrayed Alex Fisher, a lesbian author, in The Women. The film co-starred Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, and Debra Messing, and was directed by Emmy Award-winner Diane English. Pinkett Smith's directorial debut was The Human Contract; she also wrote and acted in the movie. Starring Paz Vega and Idris Elba, it debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2008. As of January 2009, she has been working on the TNT medical drama Hawthorne, in which she is executive producer and a starring cast member. The show has been greenlit for 10 episodes.

Musical career

Under the stage name Jada Koren, Pinkett Smith formed the metal band Wicked Wisdom in 2002. The band consists of Pinkett Smith performing lead vocals, Pocket Honore (guitar, vocals), Cameron "Wirm" Graves (guitar, keyboard, vocals), and Rio (bass, vocals). The band is managed by James Lassiter and Miguel Melendez of Overbrook Entertainment, a company co-founded by Pinkett Smith's husband Will Smith.

The band's self-titled debut album was released on February 21, 2006, by Pinkett Smith's production company 100% Women. Will Smith served as the project's executive producer. The album made it to Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart, and peaked at number 44 during the week of March 11, 2006. Allmusic reviewer Alex Henderson said of the album, "[Pinkett Smith] shows herself to be an expressive, commanding singer" and that "[Wicked Wisdom] shows considerable promise". The band promoted the album in 2006, touring with heavy metal band Sevendust.

Ozzfest 2005

In 2005, Sharon Osbourne went to see Wicked Wisdom perform at a small night club in Los Angeles, California. She said, "I was blown away. When you see and hear Jada with her band it's apparent that she has nothing but love and respect for this genre of music." Fans of the festival were outraged, claiming the band did not have the credibility to perform at the music festival. A petition was created at PetitionOnline, garnering 501 signatures. Aware of the questions about the band's addition to Ozzfest, Pinkett Smith said, "I'm not here asking for any favors. You've got to show and prove. And not every audience is going to go for it." Wicked Wisdom's guitarist Pocket Honore said while early dates of the tour were rocky, "once word got out that we weren't a joke, people started coming out and by the sixth or seventh gig we were on fire."

Personal life

in 1997, and appeared with him in the 2001 biopic Ali.]] Pinkett Smith met Will Smith in 1990 on the set of Smith's television show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, when she auditioned for the role of his character's girlfriend, Lisa Wilkes. She was considered too short (Pinkett Smith is 5'0" and Smith is 6'2"), and the role went to actress Nia Long. Pinkett and Smith became friends, however, and began dating in 1995. On December 31, 1997, about 100 guests attended their wedding at the Cloisters, near her hometown of Baltimore, Maryland. Regarding her marriage, Pinkett Smith said that they are "private people" and told one interviewer, "I will throw my career away before I let it break up our marriage. I made it clear to Will. I'd throw it away completely."

Pinkett Smith and Smith have three children, Jaden Christopher Syre Smith Willow Camille Reign Smith Trey attends Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village, California, while Jaden and Willow are attending public school once again.

Pinkett Smith published her first children's book, Girls Hold Up This World, in 2004. The cover of the book features Pinkett Smith and her daughter, Willow. Pinkett Smith told USA Today, "I wrote the book for Willow and for her friends and for all the little girls in the world who need affirmation about being female in this pretty much masculine world. I really tried to capture different sides of femininity. I want girls in the world to feel powerful, to know they have the power to change the world in any way they wish."

In 2005, Pinkett Smith became one of many celebrities to invest a combined total of $10 million in Carol's Daughter, a line of beauty products created by Lisa Price. She became a spokesperson for the beauty line, and said, "To be a part of another African American woman's dream was just priceless to me." Both Pinkett Smith and Smith had been regular customers of Carol's Daughter before an investment plan had been made.

Charity work and politics

Together with Smith, Pinkett Smith has created the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation in Baltimore, Maryland, a charity which focuses on youth in urban inner cities and family support. Their family helps to run the charity; her aunt, Karen Banfield Evans, is the foundation's executive director. The charity was awarded the David Angell Humanitarian Award by The American Screenwriters Association (ASA) in 2006. John E. Johnson, executive director of the ASA, said, "Will and Jada exemplify the principles of the David Angell Humanitarian Award through their support of projects focusing on urban and inner city youth, family wellbeing, violence prevention and education. Their philosophy of leading a positive lifestyle and sincere interest in helping people everywhere is inspirational." The Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation has provided grants to non-profit organizations such as YouthBuild, and Pinkett Smith has made significant personal donations to organizations such as Capital K-9s.

While attending the Baltimore School for the Arts, Pinkett Smith met and became friends with classmate Tupac Shakur. They maintained a close friendship until his death in September 1996. In December 2006, she donated $1 million to the Baltimore School for the Arts in his memory. Donald Hicken, head of the school's theater department and Pinkett Smith's former teacher, said, "It means a lot when you're a teacher and your most famous alumnus comes back to give a donation. It really says a lot to the community that the school matters in people's lives." the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation, in association with the Lupus Foundation of America and Maybelline, held the first annual "Butterflies Over Hollywood" event on September 29, 2007 at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles. With a list of over 300 celebrities and guests, Pinkett Smith helped raise funds for LFA public and professional educational programs. The Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation was presented with an award in 2007 at the 4th Annual Lupus Foundation of America Awards.

After meeting famed Scientologist Tom Cruise during the filming of Collateral in 2004, Pinkett Smith and Smith donated $20,000 to the Hollywood Education and Literacy Program (HELP), Scientology's basis for homeschooling. The couple came under fire in 2008 when they decided to fund New Village Leadership Academy, a private elementary school located in Calabasas, California. The school employs teachers dedicated to the Scientology religion and features methodologies like study technology, created by Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. The couple, who are close friends with Cruise and wife Katie Holmes, have denied claims that they are themselves Scientologists. Jaqueline Olivier, an administrator of New Village Leadership Academy, insists that the school has no religious affiliation.

A supporter of Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, Pinkett Smith said in an interview, "I love Michelle [and] would play her any day," when she was asked if she would play Michelle Obama in a biopic. She added, "I'm voting for Michelle. I'm always telling people I'm voting for Michelle to get into the White House and Obama is just going to follow her lead. She is smart and committed, and I just love her." December 11, 2009, Pinkett Smith and her husband hosted the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway, when Barack Obama had won the prize.

Filmography

{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |- bgcolor="#B0C4DE" align="center" ! Year || Title || Role || Other notes |- | 1993 || Menace II Society || Ronnie || |- | rowspan="3" | 1994 || The Inkwell || Lauren Kelly || |- | Jason's Lyric || Lyric || |- |A Low Down Dirty Shame || Peaches || |- | 1995 || Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight || Jeryline || |- | rowspan="3" | 1996 || The Nutty Professor || Carla Purty || |- | If These Walls Could Talk|| Patti || Made for television movie |- | Set It Off || Lita "Stony" Newsome || |- | 1997 || Scream 2 || Maureen Evans || Cameo |- | rowspan="3" | 1998 || Woo || Darlene || |- | Blossoms and Veils || Raven || Short film |- | Return to Paradise || M.J. Dc || |- | 1999 || Princess Mononoke || Toki || Voice |- | rowspan="2" | 2000 || Bamboozled || Sloan Hopkins || |- | ''Scooby-Doo And The Alien Invaders || Megan || |- | rowspan="2" | 2001 || Kingdom Come || Charisse Slocumb || |- | Ali || Sonji || |- | rowspan="2"| 2003 || The Matrix Reloaded || Niobe || |- | The Matrix Revolutions || Niobe || |- | 2004 || Collateral || Annie Farrell || |- | 2005 || Madagascar || Gloria || Voice |- | 2007 || Reign Over Me || Janeane Johnson || |- | rowspan="3" | 2008 || The Women || Alex Fisher || |- | || Gloria || Voice |- | The Human Contract || Rita || Debuted at Cannes Film Festival in May 2008.Written and directed by Pinkett Smith. |- | 2009 || Merry Madagascar || Gloria || Voice |- |}

Television

{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |- bgcolor="#B0C4DE" align="center" ! Year || Title || Role || Other notes |- |1990||Moe's World||Natalie||Television movie |- |1990||True Colors||Beverly||1 episode |- |1991||21 Jump Street||Nicole||1 episode |- |1991||Doogie Howser, M.D||Trish Andrews||1 episode |- |1991–1993||A Different World||Lena James||36 episodes |- |2009–present||Hawthorne|| Christina Hawthorne || Lead Role |}Princess Mononoke voice;Toki

Awards and nominations

{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |- bgcolor="#B0C4DE" align="center" ! Year || Award || Category || Film/TV Show || Result |- | rowspan="2" | 1997 || rowspan="2" | Image Award || Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture || Set It Off || |- | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Television Movie or Mini-Series || If These Walls Could Talk || |- | 1998 || Blockbuster Entertainment Award || Favorite Supporting Actress – Horror || Scream 2 || |- | rowspan="2" | 2001 || Black Reel Award || Theatrical – Best Actress || rowspan="2" | Bamboozled || |- | Image Award || Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture || |- | 2002 || Image Award || Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture || Ali || |- | 2003 || Teen Choice Awards || Choice Movie Actress – Drama/Action Adventure || The Matrix Reloaded || |- | 2004 || Image Award || Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture || The Matrix Revolutions || |- | rowspan="3" | 2005 || BET Comedy Award || Best Performance in an Animated Theatrical Film || Madagascar || |- | Black Reel Award || Best Supporting Actress || rowspan="2" | Collateral || |- | Image Award || Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture || |- | 2010 || Image Award || Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series || Hawthorne || |- |align="center" colspan=5| |}

See also

New Village Leadership Academy

References

External links

Official Website of Wicked Wisdom

Official Website of New Village Leadership Academy

Category:1971 births Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Living people Category:Actors from Maryland Category:African-American businesspeople Category:African American film actors Category:African American television actors Category:African American rock singers Category:African American rock musicians Category:African American singer-songwriters Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American heavy metal singers Category:American musicians Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American television actors Category:Female metal singers Category:Interactive Achievement Award winners Category:Nu metal singers Category:People from Baltimore, Maryland