Jada Pinkett Smith is not always right in front of our faces, but she certainly keeps herself busy. As the one of the producers of “The Secret Life of Bees”, she helped to ensure that Sue Monk Kidd’s bestseller made it to the big screen with a stellar cast. Tomorrow, she’ll reprise her role as Gloria the Hippo in the likely megahit “Madagascar 2″ (which also features the voices of Chris Rock, Bernie Mac, and Sherri Shepherd). And then there was the much-touted (and mostly disappointing) remake of “The Women”. Well, you can’t win them all.
Jada has come a long way since her breakout role as Lena James in ”A Different World” (I would be lying if I said I remembered her in Menace II Society). That turn as the spunky girl from the hood trying to navigate her way through unfamiliar surroundings at an HBCU was delightful and instantly made her a sister we wanted to root for. Since then, she’s worked hard to build her Hollywood credibility. It worked more so in “Jason’s Lyric” and “Set It Off” than “The Nutty Professor” or “Low Down Dirty Shame”—even though that latter was hilarious. And then there was the unfortunate “Woo”. Enough said.
Well, I think that Pinkett Smith deserves to have that role expunged from her resume because since her role in “Ali” and her strong showings as Niobe in “The Matrix” sequels, she’s gone from strength to strength. Along the way, she’s expanded her skills and has added producer, executive producer and director (as well as entrepreneur and rocker) to her resume.
It helps that she’s part of a Hollywood super couple (or should I say super family because Jaden and Willow have proved to be no slouches either). But what is most refreshing about this sister is that she still exhibits the same warmth and beauty that made us like her in the first place. We should probably like her more now because she uses her powers for good and seems to genuinely care about helping others—a refreshing attitude in the land of artifice.
But it is hard to believe that Jada may just be approaching her prime. That means she’s far from done. It will be amazing to see what the future holds for this star who continues to shine so brightly.
Here, some vintage Jada as well as what makes her special now:
