Mrs Smith

Jada Pinkett Smith is one of those women who seem to be able to do everything – and do it well. she has the industry trifecta: she can act, dance and sing; and she’s also a formidable businesswoman, mother and wife

- Edwain Steenkamp

Adrienne Banfield-Jones was in high school when she fell pregnant. She married the baby’s father, contractor Robsol Pinkett, but their relationship ended in divorce after only a few months. She gave birth to Jada in Baltimore, Maryland in 1971, and raised her and her youger brother, Caleeb, as a single mother, often with the help of Jada’s grandmother, Marion Banfield. Jada was named after her mother’s favourite soap actress, Jada Rowland. It was Marion who noticed a strong streak of creativity in her granddaughter, and Jada was soon enrolled in piano, tap and ballet lessons.

It was clear from a young age that Jada was talented in the performing arts. At 14, she began attending the Baltimore School for the Arts, and after graduating in 1989 she enrolled at the North Carolina School of the Arts. That endeavour was short-lived; within a year, she was in Los Angeles pursuing her great love – acting.