Jada Koren Pinkett Smith was born in Baltimore on 18 September 1971. At 55, her public record remains that of an actress, singer and producer, not a summary of family life.

She studied dance and theatre. One of her first significant roles came in the sitcom “A Different World” in the early 1990s. The film career continued with “Menace II Society”, “Jason’s Lyric”, “The Nutty Professor” and “Scream 2”.

In “Set It Off” (1996) she played one of the four women at the centre of a heist film. A Black female ensemble was rare for studios at the time. Niobe followed in “The Matrix Reloaded”, “The Matrix Revolutions” and, later, “The Matrix Resurrections”.

Her voice also reached younger audiences as Gloria in the animated “Madagascar” series. On the music stage she sang in the metal band Wicked Wisdom. As a producer she has worked in television and film.

The digital programme “Red Table Talk” was a conversation format, not a classical acting credit. In 2023 she published the memoir “Worthy”. This article does not recap couple scandals and does not use the birthday as a pretext for private life.

The cover is an event photograph from 2014, licensed CC BY-SA, not a film still. It illustrates the public person at an appearance, not a character.

On 18 September 2026, 55 years means a record of roles and production. Baltimore, “Set It Off” and Niobe remain firmer markers than gossip headlines. The anniversary marks an American actress still working, with a body of work that can be checked on screen.

Image: Greg2600 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. Jada Pinkett Smith at a 2014 event. Public-appearance photograph, not a still from “The Matrix”. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Jada Pinkett Smith | Encyclopaedia Britannica; Jada Pinkett Smith | Television Academy; The Matrix Resurrections | Warner Bros..