Jada Koren Pinkett-Smith (born September 18, 1971) is an American actress, producer, director, author, singer-songwriter and businesswoman. She began her career in 1990, when she made a guest appearance in the short-lived sitcom True Colors (True Colors (TV series)). She starred in A Different World (A Different World (TV series)), produced by Bill Cosby, and she featured opposite Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor (The Nutty Professor (1996 film)) (1996). She starred in dramatic films (drama film) such as Menace II Society (1993) and Set It Off (1996). She has appeared in more than 20 films in a variety of genres, including Scream 2, Ali (Ali (film)), The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Madagascar (Madagascar (2005 film)) and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.

Pinkett Smith launched her music career in 2002, when she helped create the metal (Heavy metal music) rock band Wicked Wisdom, for which she is a singer and songwriter. She created a production company. She also created her own clothing line. She is the author of a childrens book, published in 2004.

In 1997 she married actor Will Smith; they have two children, Jaden (Jaden Smith) and Willow (Willow Smith). Pinkett Smith is the stepmother to Smiths son from a previous marriage, Willard "Trey" Smith III (Trey Smith).

Together, the couple have founded the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation, a charity organization which focuses on urban inner city youth and family support. The foundation has worked with non-profit organizations such as YouthBuild and the Lupus Foundation of America. Before her marriage to Will Smith, Pinkett was a close friend to the late West Coast (West Coast hip hop) rapper Tupac Shakur until his death.