Transformation

The only thing diminutive about Jada Pinkett Smith is her height: 5 foot 1. The Baltimore native has grown in her career, from her beginnings as a goofy co-ed on A Different World to her recent role as a tough-as-nails nurse on TNT's Hawthorne. Over the years her look has evolved as well, from a blond crop to cornrows to long, lush styles. "Jada experimented with fun, funky looks in the past," stylist Carla Gentry Osorio has said. "But she also knows how to project classic glamour." Makeup artist Paul Starr agreed, saying, "Her serene eyes and approachable body language speak to everyone. She can carry off a Grace Kelly kind of elegance with complete nonchalance." And as always, she's walking tall, said Osorio: "Jada knows herself well. She's firm in what she believes, and gives off that confidence."

Even as a junior at the Baltimore School for the Arts, Pinkett Smith had her own style: "I had to have the outfit people were talking about, the hairstyle that was different."