On The Cover: Jada Pinket Smith

Mini Biography Jada Koren Pinkett Smith was born on September 18, 1971 to Robson Pinkett Jr. and Adrienne Banfield in Baltimore, Maryland. She is an American actress, producer, director, author, singer-songwriter and businesswoman. Her father was a contractor and her mother a nurse. They divorced after only a few months of marriage. As a child, she took piano, tap, and ballet classes. Later she attended Baltimore’s School of Arts. She majored in dance and choreography at the Baltimore School for the Arts, where one of her classmates was Tupac Shakur. She spent a year at the North Carolina School of the Arts before dropping out to pursue her career in acting. Pinkett Smith launched her music career in 2005, when she helped create the Heavy 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, Pinkett married rapper and actor Will Smith and they have a son, Jaden Christopher Syre Smith; and a daughter, Willow Camille Reign Smith. Pinkett is the stepmother to Smith’s son from a previous marriage, Willard “Trey” Smith III. After opening her music company 100% Womon Productions, Pinkett Smith created her own fashion label, Maja, in 1994. The clothing line features women’s T-shirts and dresses embellished with the slogan “Sister Power”, sold primarily through small catalogs Together, the couple has founded the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation, a charity organization which focuses on urban inner city youth and family support. She and husband Will Smith own a house in Howard County, Maryland. Smith often plays basketball with children who attend Homewood High School, a school for troubled children. Jada is an honorary Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority member. A supporter of Barrack Obama 2008 campaigns, Pinket Smith said in an interview, “I love Michell. 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.” December 11, 2009, Pinkett Smith and her husband hosted the Nobel Peace prize concert in Oslo, Norway, when Barack Obama had won the prize. Ends