Entertainment
8 Jada Pinkett Smith Roles To Remind You the New 'Gotham' Star Is More Than Just Will's Wife
It looks like Ryan Atwood will have some company down in Gotham City. On Wednesday, it was announced that Jada Pinkett Smith will join the cast of Gotham , FOX's upcoming Batman-prequel series starring The O.C. 's Ben McKenzie as Commissioner Gordon. Pinkett Smith will play a character called Fish Mooney, described as a "sadistic gangster boss and nightclub owner with street smarts and almost extra-sensory abilities to read people like an open book."
With a name and character description like that, Mooney is sure to one of the most interesting villains on TV next season. It's also exciting to see Pinkett Smith return to the spotlight, even in a co-starring role; although she made her name as an actress back in the '90s, she's best known to most audiences today as "Will Smith's wife."
To celebrate Pinkett Smith's return, let's take a look back at the 8 roles that made her star, long before she was better known as Willow and Jaden's mom.
'A Different World'
In her first major role, Pinkett Smith (then just Pinkett) spent two seasons portraying Lena James, a college student who dated Dorian (Bumper Robinson) and worked at the Pit. A Different World, a spin-off of The Cosby Show, was hugely popular for most of its run, thanks in part to its head-on approach to controversial topics like racism and class relations.
Image: NBC
'Menace II Society'
In the acclaimed 1993 drama, Pinkett played Ronnie, a woman set on escaping her crime-riddled home. The film elicited major controversy upon its release due to its violence and profanity (at the time, it held the record for most F-words per minute), and established directors Hughes Brothers, lead actor Tyrin Turner, and supporting player Pinkett as rising stars.
Image: New Line Cinema
'The Nutty Professor'
In this Oscar-winning film (for Best Makeup, relax), Pinkett co-starred alongside Eddie Murphy as Carla, the love interest of Sherman Klump/Buddy Love. The movie was an enormous success, grossing $273 million and spawning an equally successful, but much lower quality, sequel.
Image: Universal
'If These Walls Could Talk'
Although Pinkett had just a small role in this 1996 HBO film, her performance as the college roommate of a woman (Anne Heche) struggling with getting an abortion won her an Image Award. The made-for-TV movie was a surprise success, earning three Emmy nominations and becoming the highest-rated HBO film of its time.
Image: HBO
'Ali'
Ali is best known as the movie that earned Will Smith his first Oscar nomination, but it also featured the now-Pinkett Smith in an acclaimed supporting role. The actress played Sonji Roi, the first wife of Muhammad Ali (Smith), earning her an Image Award nomination.
Image: Columbia
'The Matrix' Sequels
In her most high-profile role to date, Pinkett Smith starred as Niobe, a pilot and martial artist, in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. While neither sequel was as critically acclaimed as the original Matrix, both films were major box office successes and showcases for their ensemble casts.
Image: Warner Bros.
The 'Madagascar' Franchise
The hugely successful animated film about escaped animals featured Pinkett Smith as Gloria, a hippo who acts as the voice of reason among her kookier friends. Pinkett Smith went on to voice Gloria four times more, in two blockbuster sequels and two holiday specials.
Image: DreamWorks
'Hawthorne'
We’re choosing to refer to Pinkett Smith’s Gotham role as her long-awaited return to TV, because we’re trying to pretend that Hawthorne, the actress’ low-rated, critically panned TNT show, never happened. The cliched, predictable medical drama somehow lasted three seasons before getting cancelled, probably due to the only good thing about it — Pinkett Smith’s convincing lead performance.
Image: TNT
