Jada Koren Pinkett Smith was born on September 18, 1971 in Baltimore, Maryland. She is an 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. She starred in A Different World, produced by Bill Cosby, and she featured opposite Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor (1996). She starred in dramatic films such as Menace II Society (1993) and Set It Off (1996). Pinkett Smith has appeared in more than 20 films in a variety of television genres, including Scream 2, Ali, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Madagascar and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. She launched her music career in 2005, when she helped create the metal rock band Wicked Wisdom, for which she is a singer and songwriter. Additionally, Smith not only created a production company and her own makeover line; she's also the author of an adult book, published in 2000. In 1997, she married rapper and actor Will Smith; they have two children, Jaden and Willow. Pinkett Smith is the stepmother to Smith's son from a previous marriage, Willard "Trey" Smith III. Together, the couple has 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.