Jada Pinkett Smith's Alopecia Left Her 'Shaking With Fear' At First But Today She Is 'Friends' With It

Apr 11, 2022

Jada Pinkett Smith and her famous family are no strangers to the spotlight, and have shared plenty of ups and downs in their lives with the public eagerly standing by to watch. Pinkett Smith is an actress and has been married to fellow actor Will Smith since 1997. The happy couple has two children together: son Jaden, born in 1998, and daughter Willow, born in 2000. Pinkett Smith is also a stepmother to Will's son from an earlier marriage.

Born on Sept. 18, 1971, in Baltimore, Maryland, Pinkett Smith was raised by her mother and grandmother, and found a love for performing arts early on in her life, enrolling in piano and dance lessons at a young age. She later went on to attend the Baltimore School for the Arts, majoring in dance and theater. After graduating in 1989, Pinkett Smith spent a year at the North Carolina School of the Arts.

It wasn't long before Pinkett Smith began landing professional roles as an actress, obtaining a guest appearance on the sitcom "True Colors" in 1990, and eventually going on to star in several of "The Matrix" films. Pinkett Smith is also known for her music career and for being an author.

As someone who has spent more than 30 years in the limelight, Pinkett Smith is used to sharing her highs and lows in life with the world, including her most recent battle with alopecia. In December 2021, the actress shared an Instagram post, confidently embracing her hair loss, and explaining how she'll become "friends" with her alopecia.

Her Honest Journey

Pinkett Smith is no stranger to sharing her personal life and experiences with her fans and the rest of the world. She first began rising to fame in the late 1990s before really finding her footing as not only an actress, but also as a producer and director during the 2000s. She has appeared in a variety of genres, lending her voice to the animated movie "Madagascar" and its sequels, as well as showing off a more serious side by appearing in the crime drama "Gotham."

On her Facebook Watch series "Red Table Talk," Pinkett Smith discusses hard-hitting topics alongside her daughter Willow and her mother. Sharing more of her vulnerable side, Pinkett Smith opened up about her alopecia, an autoimmune disease that results in hair loss. In late December 2021, the actress shared an Instagram post detailing what it's been like for her to live with alopecia.

According to MedlinePlus, it's common for people to lose up to 100 hairs from their scalp every day. However, some men and women lose more hair as they grow older, or lose hair from certain diseases, such as thyroid problems, diabetes or lupus.

Pinkett Smith has been pretty candid about what it's really like to have alopecia, and dealing with its side effects. According to the American Academy of Dermatology Association (AAD), alopecia areata is a disease that develops when the body attacks its own hair follicles, causing hair loss anywhere on the body. For Pinkett Smith, she has noticed an increase in hair loss across her scalp.

Embracing Her Hair Loss

According to the HuffPost, Pinkett Smith debuted her shaved head on Instagram back in July 2021, explaining that her daughter was the one who encouraged her to shave her head in the first place. In Pinkett Smith's words, Willow "made me do it because it was time to let go." She added, "My 50s are about to be divinely lit with this shed."

The actress has continuously discussed her journey with alopecia for a few years. During an episode of "Red Table Talk" in 2018, Pinkett Smith detailed her first "terrifying" experience of dealing with hair loss, according to HuffPost. "I was in the shower one day and then just handfuls of hair, just in my hands," she said. "It was one of those times in my life where I was literally shaking with fear."

In her Instagram post from Dec. 28, 2021, the actress shared a video that showed off her shaved head as she pointed to a line that she explained had suddenly appeared on the top of her head. "Now at this point I can only laugh… now y'all know I've been struggling with alopecia," Pinkett Smith said. "Now this is going to be a little more difficult for me to hide, so I thought I should just share it so y'all not asking questions." She also said that she was going to place rhinestones on her head to create a "crown."

In the post's caption, Pinkett Smith gave more insight into her experience with hair loss, writing, "Mama's gonna have to take it down to the scalp so nobody thinks she got brain surgery or something. Me and this alopecia are going to be friends… period!"

In a corresponding TikTok video, Pinkett Smith also opened up about what it meant to be a Black woman in the entertainment industry and having hair that isn’t eurocentric. She captioned the video, "✨Crown Act✨ Be proud of your crown❣️ #iamnotmyhair #hairjourney"

Pinkett Smith said in the video, "Being a Black woman and dealing with hair in Hollywood, in the era I came up in, having your hair look as European as possible was always the thing, and that was really challenging, you know, because I liked my hair out wild and curly."

She continued, "But nobody wanted that, so I always had to do my hair in ways that didn't feel natural to me because I'm trying to play the game." The actress added, "So if I'm doing a cover, everybody's [like], 'No, we want your hair straight and flowy,' when it's like, 'All right, cool, but that's not really what my hair likes to do.'" 

While dealing with alopecia has been challenging, Pinkett Smith also revealed a positive aspect that has come out of it, "So I had to learn to get the courage to go, 'Nah, I'm not doing that.' Which is why I feel the freedom today – I don't give two craps what people think of this bald head of mine. Because guess what? I love it." 

In many ways, Pinkett Smith has become an inspiration to others who may be dealing with difficulties like alopecia as well as other disorders that affect a person's appearance. Her dedication to making her voice heard and shedding light on the challenges she faces is truly commendable. 

What do you think about Jada Pinkett Smith's confident approach to her hair loss? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your family and friends, too.