Adrienne Banfield-Norris is best known as the mother of famous American actress and talk show host, Jada Pinkett Smith. She is perhaps best recognized for her part as Niobe in The Matrix Reloaded (2003), The Matrix Revolutions (2003), and The Matrix Resurrections (2021).
In 2018, she began co-hosting the Facebook Watch talk show Red Table Talk, for which she has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award seven times. In 2021, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Meet Jada Pinkett Smith’s Mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris.
Meet Jada Pinkett Smith’s Mother
Adrienne Banfield-Norris, better known as Gambi to her close friends and family, is an American television personality, social activist, and nurse. She first gained public attention as a cast member on the hit sitcom Will Smith, in which she played his mother-in-law and aunt. Later, she starred in her spin-off series, A Different World.
Banfield-Norris has been married twice. Her first husband was the late Robert Norris, with whom she had three children: Jada Pinkett Smith, Caleeb Pinkett, and Yemen Jackson. Her second marriage was to Michael Banner, with whom she had one child: Xavier Banner.
In addition to her work on television, Banfield-Norris is an accomplished author. She has written two books: Won’t Back Down: How I Found the Courage to Parent My Child with Autism and Keep on Keeping On: A Mother’s Story.
Banfield-Norris is also a passionate advocate for social justice. She is a founding member of the nonprofit organization Parents of Black Children, which works to support and empower parents of black children. She is also a board member of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Adrienne Banfield-Norris Is A Supportive Mother
Adrienne Banfield-Norris is a supportive mother who has always been there for her children, no matter what. When her son Caleeb was diagnosed with autism, she made it her mission to learn everything she could about the condition and how to best support her son. She has since become an outspoken advocate for parents of children with autism, working to empower and support them.
When her daughter Jada was struggling with an eating disorder, Banfield-Norris was there for her every step of the way, providing love and support. And when Jada’s son Xavier was born premature, Banfield-Norris was right by her side, helping her through that difficult time.
Jada Pinkett Smith Says Her Family’s ‘Discoveries’
In the promo for Red Table Talk’s fifth season, Jada Pinkett Smith said that “some of the insights around our healing” would appear on a future episode.
On her talk show, Jada Pinkett Smith promises to speak about the consequences of husband Will Smith’s Oscars mishap when the time is right. Jada Pinkett Smith addressed the controversy surrounding her son’s Oscars snub in a message at the start of Wednesday’s season 5 premiere episode of Facebook Watch’s Red Table Talk, during which she said why fans won’t see any reference to the March 27 incident, when Will, 53, struck Chris Rock onstage after taking issue with a joke about Jada’s shaved head.