Jada Koren Pinkett Smith (born September 18, 1971) is an American actress, dancer, singer-songwriter, and businesswoman. She began her career with a guest appearance on the short-lived sitcom True Colors in 1990. From 1991 to 1993, she starred as Lena James in the television series A Different World, produced by Bill Cosby. She made her feature film debut in Menace II Society (1993), starred in the comedy-drama film The Inkwell with Larenz Tate in 1994, Jason's Lyric in 1994 with Allen Payne, and was subsequently featured opposite Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor (1996). She has since starred in more than 20 feature films, including Set It Off (1996), Scream 2 (1997), Ali (2001), The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions (both in 2003), Madagascar (2005), Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008), Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012), Bad Moms (2016), and Girls Trip (2017).