“Hawthorne” star Jada Pinkett-Smith will appear unclothed in ESSENCE magazine’s July issue.
Pinkett-Smith said the photo shoot, which was her idea, was meant to empower Black women and girls.
“We, as women, have to love ourselves. Whatever you look like, you better be comfortable with it. … All my life Black men have told me how flawed I am,” Pinkett-Smith told ESSENCE. “People may look at that picture and not necessarily be able to identify my woes about my own body, but I have them. It’s just that I’ve gotten to the point where I’m like, ‘This is me’ and I embrace that.”
In the article, the actress said she wants to teach women to be confident in themselves and in their appearance. It was a feeling she said she experienced when she walked onto the photo shoot set and disrobed.
“When I walked out there and disrobed, I felt like a queen. I felt like the world was mine,” she said. “Like there was this power just emanating from my person. Like there was nothing I couldn’t do.”
Right now, it seems like there really isn’t anything she can’t do. Following a successful movie career and with a powerful marriage to actor Will Smith, Pinkett-Smith now has a hit television show in “Hawthorne.” She is also overseeing the burgeoning entertainment careers of her children Jaden and Willow Smith. She wears many hats, but says that balance is the key to remaining successful in all areas.
“Staying true to yourself, and being able to prioritize. It’s very important to prioritize,” she recently told the AFRO. “I know, for me, my family comes first. That makes every decision very easy.”