Tasha Smith

Tasha Smith
Born (1971-02-28) February 28, 1971
Camden, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation Actress, model, comedian
Years active 1994–present
Spouse(s) Rory "Keith" Douglas (m. 2010; annulled 2015)[1]

Tasha Smith (born February 28, 1971)[2] is an American actress, comedian and model. She has appeared in numerous movies and television shows, most notably as Angela Williams in the Tyler Perry films Why Did I Get Married? (2007), Why Did I Get Married Too? (2010), and on the television series based on movies, For Better or Worse (2011–present).

Career

Smith made her screen debut with small role in the 1994 film Twin Sitters.[3] From 1996 to 1997, she starred in the NBC sitcom, Boston Common. Later in 1997, she was cast alongside Tom Arnold in another short-lived sitcom, The Tom Show on The WB.[3] In 2000, she was supporting role in the critically acclaimed HBO miniseries, The Corner in which she played a drug addict.[3] In the 2000s, Smith had guest starring roles on The Parkers, Without a Trace, Nip/Tuck and Girlfriends. She has made number of supporting performances in films 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). This role she later played in the comedy series based on films, Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse.

Smith co-starred opposite Ice Cube and Keke Palmer in the 2008 family comedy-drama film, The Longshots. She had supporting role in Couples Retreat (2009), and co-starred alongside Salli Richardson in Pastor Brown (2010). In 2011, she appeared in the comedy film Jumping the Broom, and in 2014 played psychotherapist in the erotic thriller, Addicted.[4] In 2014, she also was cast as recurring in the Fox drama series Empire as Carol Hardaway, Cookie Lyon's younger sister.[5] In 2015, Smith made her directorial debut with Boxed In, that premiered during the 19th Annual American Black Film Festival.[6]

Personal life

Smith was born in Camden, New Jersey, and was raised by a single mother.[2] She has an identical twin sister named Sidra Smith, who currently lives in Harlem.[2]

Smith is a Christian.[7][8] 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."

In December 2010, Smith married her boyfriend of one year Keith Douglas, who is also her manager.[9] 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.[10] The final divorce decree was issued in March 2015.[11] 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.[12]

Filmography

Film

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
2015 Boxed in Director and writer
2015 Polaris Sophie

Television

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 Shiela Episode: "The Third Legacy"
2009–2010 Meet the Browns Tanya Gould Recurring role, 7 episodes
2011–present Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse Angela Williams Series regular, 100+ episodes
Nominated - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series (2014)
2015–present Empire Carol Holloway Recurring role
2015 Power Jarita Episodes: "You're the Only Person I Can Trust", "Three Moves Ahead" and "Ghost Is Dead"

References

  1. 1 2 3 Eromosele, Diana Ozemebhoya (December 23, 2015). "Judge Annuls Tasha Smith's Marriage After Finding That Her Husband Hid Kids, Marriages and Debt". The Root. Univision Communications Inc. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Black Star News - Black Star News". Blackstarnews.com. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "Tasha Smith". Metacritic. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
  4. Courtney (October 29, 2012). "Tasha Smith Confirmed For Zane's 'Addicted'". IndieWire. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  5. Goldberg, Lesley (March 18, 2014). "Macy Gray Boards Lee Daniels' Hip-Hop Drama 'Empire' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
  6. "Tasha Smith Makes Directorial Debut with 'Boxed In' at 2015 ABFF (WATCH)". EURweb. June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  7. "African American News - Black Entertainment News - EURWeb.com". EURweb. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  8. Tasha Smith: Survival of the Fittest : Essence.com
  9. "Tasha Smith : My Black Is Beautiful", BET
  10. "Tasha Smith Files Retraining Order Against Keith Douglas". EURweb.com. November 27, 2014.
  11. Diaz, Evelyn (March 29, 2015). "Tasha Smith Reaches Divorce Settlement With Husband". BET. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  12. "Cover". Essence. December 2011.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/30/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.