Jada Pinkett Smith Biography

Fast Facts

• Named after Jada Rowlands (As the World Turns; The Doctors), her mom's favorite soap actress
• Rap-music legend Tupac Shakur was a high-school classmate and friend; they once made an amateur video in which she danced and he lip-synched to DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince's "Parents Just Don't Understand
• " Runner-up in Hal Jackson's Talented Teens International contest in 1988
• First met future husband Will Smith in 1990 when she auditioned for a role on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
• Lead singer for the rock/metal band Wicked Wisdom, which opened for Britney Spears' Onyx Hotel Tour in 2004 and performed on the Ozzfest tour in 2005
• The group released its first CD in 2006
• A supporter of Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, she and her husband hosted the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo when Obama won the award in 2009
• In 2010, won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for Hawthorne