25 Profound Jada Pinkett Smith Quotes To Feed Your Soul
Red Table Talk co-host and multifaceted artist Jada Pinkett Smith is no stranger to sharing stories and dropping gems about her lived experience. In honor of the life lessons she shares in the form of wise words, we're about to dive into a collection of inspirational quotes that reflect the depth, introspection, and versatility of the Worthy author.
From her journey to self-love to her musings on true unconditional love, get ready for a dose of wisdom and inspiration from Jada that'll leave you feeling enlightened and empowered in 25 quotes or less.
Jada Pinkett Smith On The Journey To Self-Love
"The journey to self-love can be a brutal process. Especially in those moments when we must deny ourselves that which is familiar…but harmful. Like releasing victimhood and embracing personal power. Without personal power/self-love, there is no foundation to build love for someone else because it’s the power needed to dissolve the ego which is our greatest obstacle to truly loving through its brutal and unkind nature." - Jada Pinkett Smith
"I think the moment that I felt super clear about my self-worth and felt, like, golden worthiness was when I woke up on the morning of my 50th birthday, and looked at myself in the mirror, with my bald head and all, and I was just so proud of myself. I was like, 'You did it. Look how far you’ve come.'" - Jada Pinkett Smith
"I’ve always believed a woman’s superpower is how deep she can love, you know? And one of the things growing up in Baltimore, I grew up around a lot of Black women that didn’t have, necessarily, resources to give, right? But they had their strength and they had their love to offer." - Jada Pinkett Smith
"We have to be willing to constantly evaluate and evolve ourselves if we want to grow." - Jada Pinkett Smith
Jada Pinkett Smith On Taking Care Of Yourself First
"You always have to remember to take care of yourself first and foremost, because when you stop taking care of yourself you get out of balance and you really forget how to take care of others." - Jada Pinkett Smith
"Do whatever rejuvenates you. It might be a cooking class, cocktails with the girls, or just private time with the hubby. We all have our moments where we run out of steam because we’ve given everything we’ve got to everyone else. Whoever decided that was a good thing? It’s not. Everyone needs to refuel." - Jada Pinkett Smith
"Sometimes our biggest treasures and our biggest lessons are in the zones of discomfort." - Jada Pinkett Smith
"I have a thing for doors. I always think of them as a threshold to something new." - Jada Pinkett Smith
"I think I’m still learning how to get out of survival mode. It still pops up here and there, and I think I just have more awareness around it. I might not live in it as much, but it’s still very much a part of me. It’s part of my foundation. It’s something I’ve learned to manage and be aware of." - Jada Pinkett Smith
Jada Pinkett Smith On The Shame We Carry
"There’s a lot of shame we carry in our skin but a lot of healing can come from us confronting our bodies and scraping off the shame." - Jada Pinkett Smith
"Vulnerability is the key to connecting with others on a deeper level." - Jada Pinkett Smith
When you’ve walked through the darkness of your own heart and mind ... there is no shadow you fear.
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) April 22, 2020
"When you've walked through the darkness of your own heart and mind ... there is no shadow you fear." - Jada Pinkett Smith
"When I’m tired, I rest. I say, ‘I can’t be a superwoman today.’" - Jada Pinkett Smith
"Love is what sometimes holds us and binds us when we’re not so happy." - Jada Pinkett Smith quotes
Jada Pinkett Smith On Happiness
"That to me is happiness when I feel like I am loved and I have a place to love deeply. That to me is happiness." - Jada Pinkett Smith
"Lack of confidence is what makes you want to change somebody else’s mind. When you’re okay, you don’t need to convince anyone else in order to empower yourself." - Jada Pinkett Smith
"I want to tell every mother that you can have a loving family and you can have your dreams, you can. We might not have everything that we thought we’d have but we can have that love and we can have ourselves." - Jada Pinkett Smith
"I really thought happiness had a lot to do with pleasure, and I realized that happiness is about peace." - Jada Pinkett Smith Quotes
"Do you love what you see when you look in the mirror? Because I bet that if you love it authentically, everybody else around you will. They won’t even have a chance to see anything else, because you will have a shield of confidence around you. That is a powerful gift that God gives us that most of us rarely use." - Jada Pinkett Smith
Jada Pinkett Smith On Not Being Liked
"I don’t get afraid in talking about subject matter that may spark controversy and I’m not afraid to not be liked. I think that sometimes people pay too much attention to being liked and it’s paralyzing." - Jada Pinkett Smith
"Don’t trap yourself with the desire of wanting to be liked." - Jada Pinkett Smith
"Forgiveness is a gift we give ourselves; it releases us from the burden of anger and resentment." - Jada Pinkett Smith
"True success is not just about achieving external goals; it's about finding inner peace and fulfillment." - Jada Pinkett Smith
"What I find helpful is exploring my memories and feelings with pen and paper. If you find some quiet time today, take an opportunity to write three beautiful memories from your childhood, or simply from your past, that helped you to nourish the beautiful YOU that you are." - Jada Pinkett Smith
Jada Pinkett Smith On Romance & True Unconditional Love
"Romance cannot be sustained alone. Romance is going to have to have some other verticals, what I call verticals of love, to come into that, in order to elevate romance to other levels. Everybody thinks that romance is the highest form of love — romance is a beautiful form of love, but romance has to elevate. When you take romance as the highest form of love, it’s a cycle of disappointment.
"...Two people who are chasing this high form, this romantic, idealistic picture that doesn’t exist, and so it was really about a journey coming to terms with what unconditional love, love full of friendship and acceptance, looks like, and you could add romance to that, but romance to exist alone? I think that’s why relationships are in a difficult place right now, and the expectations people have in regard to relationships. You have to have friendship. I think that’s one of the biggest reasons why Will and I have been able to survive everything we’ve had, because at the core of it, we’re friends." - Jada Pinkett Smith
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Featured image by Jada Pinkett Smith/Instagram
This article is sponsored by Hulu.
UnPrisonedhas returned for its highly anticipated second season, delving deeper into the complex dynamics of the Alexander family.
The series premiere comes a year after its debut season garnered rave reviews from fans and critics and earned record-breaking ratings for Hulu's Onyx Collective brand. UnPrisoned's success can be attributed to its raw, relatable themes and comedic appeal.
Inspired by creator Tracy McMillan's life, the show follows Paige (Kerry Washington), a therapist and single mother whose life takes an unexpected turn when her father, Edwin (Delroy Lindo) --who was released from prison-- moves in with her and her teenage son, Finn (Faly Rakotohavana).
Throughout UnPrisoned's first season, viewers witnessed how Edwin's incarceration deeply affected Paige's life and relationships. In the series, Paige unpacks her trauma through interactions with her inner child and her online followers. Meanwhile, Edwin is overcoming specific struggles with his own past that led to his life of crime, including a dysfunctional upbringing and his mother's arrest. As the Alexanders attempt to reconcile, new challenges arise.
This new season promises to further explore their unconventional family dynamic. Here are several compelling reasons why season two of UnPrisoned should be on everyone's watchlist.
The Alexander Family Life Is Still In Shambles
UnPrisoned's second season resumes where the series left off, with Paige grappling with the fallout from her troubled therapy practice and Edwin navigating life independently after moving out. Meanwhile, Finn faces his own challenges. The teenager is battling anxiety and seeking information about his father—a topic Paige avoids discussing.
The Alexander Family Are Attending Therapy To Resolve Their Underlying Issues
Amid the chaos in their lives, the Alexander family decides to mend their bond by confronting their past traumas. They seek professional help and attend therapy sessions with a “family radical healing coach,” played by John Stamos, a new cast member. This collective effort aims to unravel the complexities of their shared history and strengthen their relationships.
The process of unraveling each character's internal conflicts and their potential impact on future relationships may clash with Paige's textbook therapy approach. While Paige is used to being in the therapist's seat in both career and family, this forces her into the unfamiliar role of a patient during therapy sessions. This shift would compel her to look in the mirror and try a radically different approach.
The Alexander Family Learned A Big Lesson During A Therapy Session
In therapy, the Alexanders are tasked with addressing their individual traumas to salvage their remaining relationships. One of the family therapist’s eccentric suggestions was an exercise involving a family wrestling match. During this session, Paige faces tough questions about her refusal to share information about Finn's father.
While it's unclear whether this scene is reality or fantasy, the image of the family duking it out in the ring certainly makes for hilarious yet compelling television.
Paige Tries Dating Again Following Failed Relationships
Amid her life's chaos, Paige decides to step back into the dating field. However, her many attempts have left her with mixed results. The dating apps have turned out to be a fail, and an outing with her ex Mal (Marque Richardson), who is also her father's parole officer, doesn’t go quite as expected after he brings an unexpected guest – his new girlfriend.
The situation takes an awkward turn when Mal's new partner learns why the former couple split, partly due to Paige's self-sabotage.
UnPrisoned Is A Perfect Balance Of Comedy And Drama
As a dramedy, UnPrisoned takes a comedic approach to its heavy subjects. The show takes us on a ride with Paige's dating misadventures and navigating a friendship with her ex.
Other lighthearted moments include Edwin's attempts at CPR based on online videos and, of course, the antics of the Alexander family's unconventional new healing coach.
The second season of UnPrisoned is now available on Hulu.
UnPrisoned | Season 2 Trailer | Hulu
Feature image courtesy
Blair Underwood Initially Turned Down 'Sex And The City' Because 'It Was About How Samantha Was Fascinated By Dating A Black Man’
Actor and heartthrob Blair Underwood is opening up about why he turned down Sex and the City the first time he was offered a role. Many fans of the HBO series may recall Blair's time on the show in which his character was dating Miranda (Cynthia Nixon). However, he was previously offered another role where his character would date Samantha (Kim Cattrall).
During his interview with AV Club, the Set It Off star revealed that he was uncomfortable with the initial offer due to the character's fascination with him being a Black man.
“I actually did say ‘no’ the first time,” he said. “The first time they had offered the role, to be honest with you, it was about how Samantha was fascinated by dating a Black man and wanted to know if, uh, all of the rumors were true about our anatomy! And I said, ‘Listen, I’m honored, thank you, but I just don’t want to play a character based on race, on curiosity about a Black man.'”
But that didn't stop them from reaching out again. This time he was offered to play Dr. Robert Leeds, the love interest to Miranda and he decided to go for it. "So they were nice enough to call about a year later, and I said, 'Well, is it gonna be about race?' And they said, 'No, no, no, we’re not even gonna mention race!' And I think it really did only come up maybe once," he recalled.
"It did five episodes, and I think Samantha mentioned it once, saying something about 'a Black doctor' that Miranda was dating. And that’s really been a consistent thing in my career: not wanting to be boxed as 'the Black guy.'
"I’ve had that conversation with many producers along the way, and they were so great. They said, 'No, he’s just a doctor who Miranda meets in the elevator, and they have a nice little fling.' And it was amazing."
Blair has had a wide-ranging career playing everything from a lawyer on L.A. Law to playing Madame CJ Walker's husband on Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madame CJ Walker. And during his interview, he revealed another role that he initially turned down, Set It Off. The movie, which is considered a classic in Black culture, stars Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, Vivica A. Fox, and Kimberly Elise. Blair's character, Keith, played a banker and love interest to Jada's character, Stony.
He explained why he said no at first and eventually accepted the offer. "I had initially said “no” to that. Because I was playing this historic, iconic African-American historical figure in Jackie Robinson, and the time, y’know, there was Boyz N The Hood, and Menace II Society was out there, and I’d finished playing this noble Negro… [Laughs]," he said.
"And I’m reading the script, and there’s a scene where Jada Pinkett’s character—Jada Pinkett-Smith now—was going to sell her body so she could make some money to send her brother to college. And I remember, honestly, I threw the script across the room. I was, like, “I don’t want to do this. I want to do something uplifting for the Black culture and Black characters, and I don’t know if I want to see this.”
After a conversation with the movie's director F. Gary Gray and the actor's manager encouraging him to finish reading the script, Blair had a change of heart. What he first thought about the movie turned out to be totally different.
"So I finished the script, and I saw that the character they were asking me to play was really the love story in the midst of all of this turmoil of all of these characters, the four ladies: Queen Latifah, Vivica Fox, Kimberly Elise, and Jada," he explained.
"It was so well-written, it was such a great platform for them. And to be able to play the love story and the storyline that gave Jada’s character a leg up and a way out of this world, something to hope for, to wish for, someone to love her… I said, 'You know what? I’d like to be a part of that.'
"And I’m so glad I did, because that film resonates to this day. People all the time come up to me and say that they love that movie. So I’m glad that I did it."