Jada Pinkett Smith is a triple threat. The actress/director/producer most recently starred in TNT’s medical drama “HawthoRNe” which completed its 3rd season in the summer of 2011. Jada also executive produced the show through Overbrook Entertainment, the production company she shares with her husband, Will and their producing partners.
In addition, to her work on HawthoRNe, Jada also produced the international blockbuster The Karate Kid and the Tony Award winning Broadway musical “Fela!” as producer of the new Broadway musical. Recent films in which Jada has acted includes Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (as the voice of Gloria). She also played opposite Meg Ryan and Eva Mendes in the remake of “The Women” from writer-director Diane English.
Jada has teamed up in the past to work with Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle in “Reign Over Me” for Columbia Pictures. She also had a pivotal role opposite Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx in Michael Mann’s “Collateral.” Jada is perhaps best known as the take-charge Niobe in the hugely successful sequels “Matrix Reloaded” and “Matrix Revolutions.”
Jada continually challenges herself in many projects. “The Human Contract” which was also produced through her production company, starred Jason Clarke and Paz Vega. Jada directed the film and wrote the screenplay as well as co-starred.
In addition, Jada also executive produced the 2008 movie “The Secret Life of Bees” based on the bestselling novel by author Sue Monk Kidd. Jada is an avid writer and wrote the Children’s book Girls Hold Up This World, published in 2005. This became a New York Times bestseller.
Jada and her husband Will Smith also created and executive produced “All of Us” on the CW Network.
A native of Maryland, Jada studied dance and acting at the Baltimore School of Arts and the North Carolina School of the Arts. Her big break came when she landed a role on the long-running NBC series “A Different World.”