Jada Pinkett Smith
Pinkett Smith in 2003, photo by DFree/Bigstock
Birth Name: Jada Koren Pinkett
Place of Birth: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Date of Birth: September 18, 1971
Ethnicity:
*father – African-American
*mother – African-/Creole-Barbadian, African-/Creole-Jamaican, one eighth Sephardi Jewish
Jada Pinkett Smith, also credited as Jada Pinkett, is an American actress, dancer, singer, songwriter, and businessperson. She has starred in Woo, Scream 2, The Nutty Professor, and The Matrix films.
Jada is the daughter of Adrienne Banfield-Jones and Robsol Grant Pinkett. Her father was of African-American descent. Jada’s maternal grandfather was an emigrant from Barbados, of African-Barbadian descent, while Jada’s maternal grandmother was the daughter of emigrants from Jamaica, who were of African- or Creole-Caribbean descent. Her brother is actor/writer Caleeb Pinkett.
Jada is married to actor, rapper, and musician Will Smith, with whom she has two children, actors and musicians Jaden Smith and Willow Smith.
Jada’s paternal grandfather was Robsol Grant Pinkett (the son of Maslin Frysinger Pinkett and Martha Josephine Dyer). Robsol was born in Maryland. Maslin was the son of Daniel James Pinkett and Sarah E. Peaker. Martha was the daughter of Eli Dyer and Alverta Hackett.
Jada’s paternal grandmother was Shirley Nancy Crystal Holland (the daughter of James P. Holland and Alice Whitehead). Alice was the daughter of Joe Whitehead and Sallie Watkins.
Jada’s maternal grandfather was Gilbert Leslie Banfield (the son of Gilbert Banfield and Ella E. R. Parris/Paris). Jada’s grandfather Gilbert and his parents, who were black, were from Saint Michael, Barbados, in the West Indies/Caribbean.
Jada’s maternal grandmother was Marion Eliza Martin (the daughter of Ralph Nunis Martin and Daisy Maude Costa/Coster). Marion was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to emigrants from Jamaica (Saint Ann and Kingston, respectively). Marion, along with her parents, are listed as “Mulatto” on the 1920 U.S. Census. Marion is listed as “Black” on the 1930 U.S. Census. Ralph was the son of James Wisdom Martin and Louisa Ann McCormick. In her autobiography, Worthy, 2023, Jada writes that her grandmother Marion’s grandfather was of Portuguese Jewish background.
Pinkett Smith in 2010, cinemafJoe Seer / Shutterstock.com
Sources: http://readingeagle.com
Genealogy of Jada Pinkett Smith – http://www.geni.com
Genealogy of Jada Pinkett Smith (focusing on her father’s side) – https://www.wikitree.com
Jada’s maternal grandfather, Gilbert Leslie Banfield, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Birth record of Jada’s maternal grandmother, Marion Eliza Martin – https://familysearch.org
Jada’s maternal grandmother, Marion Eliza Martin, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Marion Eliza Martin on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Most black people in the Carribean and America have been mixed in the past. Sometimes I do not know why this website even exists. People are soooo dense. I am a carribean West Indian, with African, Indian , and European roots, I know. But I am mostly black . The majority of black Carribeans both light and dark have Portuguese or British admixtures in the past.
her roots are west indian jamaican and bajan she talked about it in ebany magazine a while back but they are mixed west indian not the pure black ones that why they use the term creole which is used in the islands also not just for people from louisanna they have french creole from Hatiti and also cape verde creole which is one of the african islands but jada was born here so she is african American or just black to many people the smith are in trinidad a lot they owen a home their and jada is part of the black caribbean assocation
Saddd…I wish her Afro-/Creole-Caribbean ethnicity from her maternal grandmother could be specified as to what country she came from! Hmmm…I guess I’ll just have to live with this everlasting wonder… Hahahaha I’m just kidding! LOL but on the real though, it would be nice to know exactly what Caribbean country her maternal grandmother was from :)
Jamaica.
http://books.google.ca/books?id=cy4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA60&lpg=PA60&dq=%22because+my+Jamaican+grandmother+raised+me+in+that%22&source=bl&ots=_sKUs3O81M&sig=JnJ6Yc50XNZiCjNGNOw6FPlBDSM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Mf72U-r4C-OV8QG7y4GYCw&ved=0CBMQ6AEwAA
http://159.54.226.237/01_issues/010415/010415jada.html
I swear I remember reading that her mother was biracial. Was that an internet rumor? She does look mixed in a way. Not your typical Black woman.
Please give me an example of, “you’re typical black woman” because I see you comment on almost every black actress page and they all looked mixed to you. Give a legitimate example.
The person probably means in comparison to someone who is all or mostly Black, like Lupita Nyong’o. Most of these people are mixed, due to the histories in the US and the Caribbean. So I am not surprised that someone is often calling that out, because it’s true. ♀️
Her mother is not Biracial GTFOH! You’re on every black celebrity post saying they’re mixed, knock it off. There is no typical look to a black woman, IDIOT. We all come in different skin tones and have different hair textures thanks to slavery (sarcasm), so there is no typical way a black woman look. It’s the same reason my sister and I have the same mother and father and she’s light skin and I’m brown, her hair is kinky but mine isn’t, so don’t tell us there’s a typical way a black woman look because then you sound dumb. We’re the most diverse looking women on this planet.
How do you know? In the US Biracial people often get only called Black, due to one-dropping.
@ihatemostpeople your comment is RIDICULOUS, rude and racist. Jada does look like a typical black woman to me.
It’s not racist. She totally looks mixed. Like Stacey Dash, who is Mexican and Black American.
There’s no reason to be upset, as long as no one is calling one racial description better than the other. Jada looks about as mixed as RuPaul and Vanessa Williams, who are 70% Black (West African) and 30% European.
@Ihatemostpeople “typical Black woman”? Are you serious?!? There is no such thing. Africans are very diverse. You sound stupid.
Gorgeous