Jada Pinkett Smith (born Jada Koren Pinkett on September 18, 1971) is an African American actress. Smith was born in Baltimore, Maryland and later attended the Baltimore School for the Arts. It was there that she met the late Tupac Shakur, where the two become close friends. Smith is quoted as saying that she knew both of them were going to make it but wasn't sure to what degree. Together they studied classical art forms such as ballet. Smith first made a name for herself as a regular on the NBC sitcom A Different World. She had auditioned for a role on another NBC sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, but lost the part because the producers felt she was too short to complement the sitcom's star, actor/rapper Will Smith. Ironically, she married Will Smith in 1997; the couple have two children together and a stepson. Smith is a prominent member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the oldest historically black collegiate sorority.
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