Jada Pinkett Smith

"I remember saying to the director (Wes Craven) at the time, 'I want to die the most horrific death that has ever happened in a horror film, and I wanted it to be long and excruciating.' And he's like, 'Cool'."

- Jada Pinkett about her role as Maureen Evans.

Jada Koren Pinkett Smith (née Pinkett) is an American actress, screenwriter, talk show host, businesswoman and also the lead singer of nu-metal band, Wicked Wisdom (2002—2006, 2021).

She portrayed the role of opening scene victim, Maureen Evans in Scream 2 (1997 film), following the trend of a famous known actress in a seemingly central role, but is killed off in the beginning, following Drew Barrymore (Casey Becker).

In 2021, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Since 2018, she has co-hosted Red Table Talk (2018—present), a Facebook Watch talk show.

Biography
As an actress, she is best known for her role as Niobe in all four The Matrix films. She began her professional career Lena James in A Different World (1991—1993).

She is also known for her roles as Ronnie in Menace II Society (1993), Stony in Set It Off (1996), Carla Purty in The Nutty Professor(1996), Annie Farrell in Collateral (2004) and Gloria in the Madagascar films (2005–2012),

She has been married to fellow actor, Will Smith since 1997 and has two children: actor/rapper, Jaden Smith (born 1998) and singer/actor, Willow Smith (born 2000). She also has an older step-son, Trey (born 1992).

She said in an interview that she loves the Scream franchise and is proud to be a Scream actor.

On Scream 2

 * (Headline quote) "I remember saying to the director (Wes Craven) at the time, 'I want to die the most horrific death that has ever happened in a horror film, and I wanted it to be long and excruciating.' And he's like, 'Cool'."
 * "He let me have it! [...] 'Come on team!'"

Career

 * "I listened to all kinds of metal as a kid. Metallica, Guns N' Roses. I would always look at Axl Rose and say, 'Why aren't there any chicks out there doing this now?' I always wanted an opportunity to get out there and rock out."
 * "It's not just an urban film. Hollywood didn't understand at that time, that just because you have a Black cast, it doesn't make it a 'Black movie'. Today, Hollywood is starting to understand that stories are universal, even that are starring all Black people." (About Set It Off (1996), in a 2018 career retrospective interview).
 * "At three years old, I was telling people that I was going to be a star. I never had a plan B. And I've never compromised my integrity to get what I have."
 * "It's because of Pac (Rapper 2Pac/Tupac Shakur), that I got Menace II Society. We were always looking out for each other like that."
 * "It really put me on the map." (About A Different World (1991—1993).

Other

 * "We have to nurture our young women and understand the beauty and the strength of being a woman. It's kind of a catch-22: Strength in women isn't appreciated, and vulnerability in women isn't appreciated. It's like, 'What the hell do you do?' What you do is you don't allow anyone to dictate who you are."
 * "I learned that surrounding myself with people who are able to help me is like being surrounded by tangible godliness."
 * "I'm extremely ambitious. I don't know why people are afraid to say that. I won't sell my soul to the devil, but I do want success and I don't think that's bad."
 * "Do whatever rejuvenates you. It might be a cooking class, cocktails with the girls, or just private time with the hubby. We all have our moments where we run out of steam because we've given everything we've got to everyone else. Whoever decided that was a good thing? It's not. Everyone needs to refuel."

Trivia

 * Scream 2 was Jada Pinkett Smith's final role under her maiden name.
 * She had a close friendship with acclaimed late rapper, Tupac Shakur (1971—1996).
 * She was a few months pregnant with her oldest child, Jaden, when she attended the premiere of Scream 2 in December 1997.
 * Her metal band toured with Sevendust for their sophomore album in 2006.
 * She landed a slot on Britney Spears' Onyx Hotel Tour in 2004, one of the year's highest-profile tours. To promote their 2004 debut album, titled My Story, the band opened for Spears for eight dates in April and May 2004, during the European leg of the tour.
 * In 2018, she revealed her alopecia diagnosis. Since then, she has embraced the challenges of the condition and publicly displayed evidence of hair loss with confidence in public media appearances.
 * In 2022, comedian Chris Rock made a joke about the condition at the 94th Annual Academy Awards. Pinkett Smith was seen in the audience, visibly uncomfortable about the remark.
 * Her husband, Will Smith marched on stage and slapped the comedian; this garnered controversy and subsequent backlash, following his Oscar win. Will Smith has since apologized. Jada Pinkett Smith subsequently made a cryptic Instagram post, declaring it the season of healing.