Jada Pinkett Smith Says She Got Her Own Hairstylist After ‘Rough’ ‘Nutty Professor’ Wig

September 15, 2021 by Char in Film with 0 Comments

Jada Pinkett Smith Says She Got Her Own Hairstylist After ‘Rough’ ‘Nutty Professor’ Wig

One of Jada Pinkett Smith’s most memorable roles was in 1996’s The Nutty Professor, and the actress is opening up about how the film served as a turning point for her career behind the scenes.

On the latest episode of her Facebook Watch series Red Table Talk, Jada Pinkett Smith said her “rough” hairstyle in the comedic film caused her to get her own hairstylist on set for every project that came after.

She recalled,

“This was a rough one.”

She added that the person who styled her hair didn’t listen when she tried to explain how black women wear roots. Jada Pinkett Smith said,

“She thought the roots should be, not smoothed, but the hair should be straight. She was like, ‘Well, you know, usually for Black women, you don’t have straightened roots.’ And I said, ‘Oh no, we do. We either straighten it with a hot comb or we perm it.'”

Jada continued,

“But she didn’t believe me. So, she made it with roots that weren’t straight but the hair was… And I fought, and I fought and I fought.”

While she lost that battle, she said it was the “last time” she appeared in a project without her own hairstylist on set.

Now, Jada doesn’t have to worry about her hair at all! She debuted a shaved hairstyle in July, crediting her daughter Willow Smith, 20, for the inspiration. She shared a photo with Willow Smith, who shaved her own hair last year to raise awareness about anxiety, and wrote: