From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tasha Smith | |
|---|---|
 Smith in 2017 | |
| Born | February 28, 1971 Camden, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Actress, director, producer |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Spouse(s) | Rory "Keith" Douglas (m. 2010; annulled 2015) |
Tasha Smith (born February 28, 1971)[2] is an American actress, director and producer. She began her career in a starring role on the NBC comedy series Boston Common (1996–97), and she later appeared in numerous movies and television series.
Smith has appeared in films include The Whole Ten Yards (2004), Daddy's Little Girls (2007), The Longshots (2008), Couples Retreat (2009), and Jumping the Broom (2011). She starred as Angela Williams in the Tyler Perry films Why Did I Get Married? (2007), its sequel Why Did I Get Married Too? (2010), and on the television series based on the movies, For Better or Worse (2011–2017). In 2015, she began a recurring role as Carol Holloway on the Fox musical drama series Empire. Later in the same year, Smith made her directorial debut.
Early life[edit]
Smith was born in Camden, New Jersey, and was raised by a single mother. She has an identical twin sister Sidra Smith, who currently lives in Harlem.[2] Smith dropped out of Camden High School in her freshman year, and ultimately moving to California at age 19.[3]
Smith is a Christian.[4][5] In an interview with EURweb.com, Smith discussed her conversion from atheism to Christianity: "When I was 25 I had an encounter with God because my father had gotten sick. I had a time where I really challenged God, like, if you're really God you'll show me such-and-such'. I was going through this whole thing where I questioned whether God was real or not. I really needed God to be real because I was feeling so depressed and so unhappy, I felt like if there isn't a God [then] I have no reason to live. It was just a bad time in my life and God really showed up and met me where I was."
Career[edit]
Smith made her acting debut with a small role in the comedy film Twin Sitters (1994).[6] From 1996 to 1997, she starred in the NBC comedy series, Boston Common. Later in 1997, she was cast alongside Tom Arnold in another short-lived comedy series, The Tom Show on The WB.[6] In 2000, she had supporting role in the HBO miniseries, The Corner in which she played a drug addict.[6] In the 2000s, Smith had guest starring roles on The Parkers, Without a Trace, Nip/Tuck, and Girlfriends. She has made number of supporting roles in movies such as Playas Ball (2003), The Whole Ten Yards (2004), and ATL (2006).
Smith has played roles in multiple Tyler Perry projects. In 2007, she appeared as the main antagonist in the romantic comedy-drama film, Daddy's Little Girls. She played the role of Angela Williams in the Why Did I Get Married? (2007), and its sequel Why Did I Get Married Too? (2010). The role she later played in the comedy series based on films, Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse.
Smith co-starred alongside Ice Cube and Keke Palmer in the family comedy-drama film, The Longshots (2008). She had supporting role in the romantic comedy film Couples Retreat (2009), and co-starred alongside Salli Richardson, Nicole Ari Parker and Michael B. Jordan in Pastor Brown (2010). In 2011, she appeared in the comedy-drama film Jumping the Broom alongside Angela Bassett and Paula Patton, and in 2014, she played a psychotherapist in the erotic thriller, Addicted.[7] In 2014, she also was cast in a recurring role in the Fox drama series Empire as Carol Hardaway, Cookie Lyon's younger sister.[8]
In 2015, Smith made her directorial debut with the short film Boxed in, which premiered during the 19th Annual American Black Film Festival.[9] In 2017, Smith directed the television film When Love Kills: The Falicia Blakely Story, starring Lil Mama and Lance Gross and it is based on a true story.[10][11] It premiered to 1.6 million viewers, ranking as TV One's #1 original movie premiere of all time among all key demos.[12] In October 2017, she also directed an episode in the BET drama anthology series Tales. Smith worked as Mary J. Blige's acting coach for her role in Mudbound.[13]
In 2019, Smith appeared in the comedy-drama film Dolemite Is My Name, and starred opposite Lisa Kudrow and Whitney Cummings in the Amazon comedy pilot Good People.[14] Also that year, she directed episodes of Star, 9-1-1 and Black Lightning. In 2020, Smith directed the episode "Legacy" on the Starz TV series P-Valley.
Personal life[edit]
In December 2010, Smith married her boyfriend of one-year Keith Douglas, who was also her manager.[15] In November 2014, Smith appeared in court to request a restraining order against Douglas, who in documents filed prior to the court appearance, she said accused her of having affairs with other women. Smith's friend Tisha Campbell-Martin acted as a character witness.[16] The final divorce decree was issued in March 2015.[17] However, Smith contested the divorce by alleging that Douglas concealed information from her that she should have known before the marriage. Smith alleged that Douglas was not "man of the cloth" that he presented himself to be during their courtship.[1] She also said that, if she had known about Douglas' background, she would not have married him. The allegations about Douglas' background included five marriages before he married Smith, multiple children that he did not claim and disclose to Smith, and non-payment of income taxes for nearly a decade. The judge in the case granted Smith an annulment of the marriage in December 2015 on the basis of fraud committed by Douglas.[1]
Smith is involved in some off-screen ventures, such as an organic perfume line titled "US", which she launched in 2011 with Keith Douglas, who, at the time, was her then-husband and manager.[18]
Filmography[edit]
Film[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Twin Sitters | The Aleem's Wives | |
| 1995 | Let It Be Me | Student | |
| 1998 | Max Q | Karen Daniels | Television film |
| 1999 | Chameleon II: Death Match | IBI Director Webster | Television film |
| 2003 | Playas Ball | Vonda | |
| 2004 | The Whole Ten Yards | Jules "Julie" Figueroa | |
| 2004 | My Purple Fur Coat | Ruth | Short film |
| 2006 | Miles from Home | Keisha Knight | |
| 2006 | ATL | Miss Gayle | |
| 2006 | You, Me and Dupree | Co-Worker | Uncredited |
| 2006 | Glass House: The Good Mother | Caseworker | |
| 2007 | Love... & Other 4 Letter Words | Lucille | |
| 2007 | Daddy's Little Girls | Jennifer Jackson | |
| 2007 | Why Did I Get Married? | Angela Williams | |
| 2008 | The Longshots | Claire Plummer | |
| 2009 | Couples Retreat | Jennifer | |
| 2010 | Why Did I Get Married Too? | Angela Williams | |
| 2010 | Pastor Brown | Angelique Todd | |
| 2010 | Something Like a Business | Angela | |
| 2011 | Jumping the Broom | Shonda | |
| 2014 | Addicted | Dr. Marcella Spencer | |
| 2014 | Boxed in | Director and writer | |
| 2015 | Polaris | Sophie | |
| 2017 | When Love Kills: The Falicia Blakely Story | Director and producer | |
| 2018 | Running Out of Time | Brenda | |
| 2019 | The One You Never Forget | The One You Never Forget | Short film |
| 2019 | Dolemite Is My Name | Jimmy's Wife |
Television[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996–1997 | Boston Common | Tasha King | Series regular; 32 episodes |
| 1997 | Chicago Hope | Dr. Denise Potter | Episode: "Brain Salad Surgery" |
| 1997–1998 | The Tom Show | Tanya Cole | Series regular; 19 episodes |
| 1999 | The Steve Harvey Show | Kimberly Davis | Episode: "Steve Don't Get Nun" |
| 2000 | The Corner | Veronica 'Ronnie' Boice | Miniseries |
| 2001 | The Parkers | Rachel Jones | Episode: "A Knockout Times Two" |
| 2003 | Without a Trace | Veronica | Episode: "The Friendly Skies" |
| 2004 | Nip/Tuck | Carol Nelson | Episode: "Joan Rivers" |
| 2005 | Second Time Around | Laura | Episode: "Big Bank, Little Bank" |
| 2005 | Girlfriends | Shandara Durrani | Episode: "See J-Spot Run" |
| 2007 | All of Us | Jewel | Episode: "The B-R-E-A-K-U-P" |
| 2008 | Finnegan | Det. Nenna McCants | Unsold pilot |
| 2009 | The Game | Sheila | Episode: "The Third Legacy" |
| 2009–2010 | Meet the Browns | Tanya Gould | Recurring role; 7 episodes |
| 2011–2017 | Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse | Angela Williams | Series regular; 162 episodes Nominated – NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series (2014) |
| 2014 | Chopped | Herself | Episode: "Chopped Tournament of Stars: Actors!" |
| 2015–2020 | Empire | Carol Holloway | Recurring role; 24 episodes |
| 2015 | Power | Jarita | 3 episodes |
| 2016 | Star | Carol Holloway | Episode: "The Winner Takes It All" |
| 2016 | RuPaul's Drag Race | Herself | Episode: "RuCo's Empire" |
| 2017 | Daytime Divas | Portia Camden | Episode: "Shut It Down" |
| 2019 | Good People | Shar Johnson | Unsold TV pilot |
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Eromosele, Diana Ozemebhoya (December 23, 2015). "Judge Annuls Tasha Smith's Marriage After Finding That Her Husband Hid Kids, Marriages and Debt". The Root. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
- ^ a b "Black Star News - Black Star News". Blackstar News. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
- ^ Ortiz, Eric (December 20, 2007). "Camden's "Funny Chick". New Jersey Monthly. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
- ^ Austin, Mona (October 12, 2007). "African American News - Black Entertainment News - EURWeb.com". EURweb.com. Archived from the original on October 15, 2007. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
- ^ "Tasha Smith: Survival of the Fittest : Essence.com". Essence.com. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Tasha Smith Profile". Metacritic. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
- ^ Courtney (October 29, 2012). "Tasha Smith Confirmed For Zane's 'Addicted'". IndieWire. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (March 18, 2014). "Macy Gray Boards Lee Daniels' Hip-Hop Drama 'Empire' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 9, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
- ^ Evans, Madge (June 23, 2015). "Tasha Smith Makes Directorial Debut with 'Boxed In' at 2015 ABFF (WATCH)". EURweb.com. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
- ^ Manyando, Abesi (August 28, 2017). "Tasha Smith Delivers in Directorial Debut of "When Love Kills."". HuffPost. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ Jones, Tashara (August 18, 2017). "Director says 'When Love Kills' examines 'humanity' of murderous stripper". New York Post. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
- ^ "WHEN LOVE KILLS: THE FALICIA BLAKELY STORY Ranks as TV One's No. 1 Original Premiere of All Time". BroadwayWorld.com. August 31, 2017. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
- ^ Feinberg, Scott (January 11, 2018). "'Awards Chatter' Podcast — Mary J. Blige ('Mudbound')". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
- ^ Petski, Denise (June 6, 2019). "'Good People': Tasha Smith Joins Amazon Comedy Pilot".
- ^ "Tasha Smith : My Black Is Beautiful". BET. April 12, 2010. Archived from the originalon September 24, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
- ^ Qwest7 (November 27, 2014). "Tasha Smith Files Retraining Order Against Keith Douglas". EURweb.com.
- ^ Diaz, Evelyn (March 29, 2015). "Tasha Smith Reaches Divorce Settlement With Husband". BET. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
- ^ "Cover". Essence.com. December 2011.
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