Jada Pinkett Smith Says Sacrificing Career for Family Was ‘Excruciating’

The Smith family is one of the most successful and loved fams in showbiz right now, with each one of its members getting to do their own thing and have a good shot at international fame. Jada Pinkett Smith is the only one to have taken a step back in recent years – and she says sacrificing her career for her children was no easy choice.

Jada, an actress and a singer as well, is now featured in the latest issue of Redbook magazine (story via here), where she talks of making sacrificing and learning to prioritize.

She knows what it’s like to do both because she was faced with the choice between her family and her career when her two children, Jaden and Willow, informed her they wanted to have careers in the spotlight.

It happened just as Jada and her rock band Wicked Wisdom were asked to open for Guns N’ Roses on their European tour, she recalls.

“It was excruciating, completely excruciating,” Jada explains.

“When Jaden was auditioning for The Pursuit of Happyness, my band had just gotten an offer to open for Guns N’ Roses in Europe,” she adds.

“For me, that was unbelievable. But the choice was: I could be a rock star, or I could be on the set with my son to make sure he was healthy and happy. We all know how that story ended!” Jada says.

Of course, her choosing her family over her career also meant that her husband, Will Smith, could continue doing his thing just like before.

“I had to make choices. Believe me, I would still be on the road with my band, Wicked Wisdom, and making as many movies as I can a year, and doing all sorts of other things if I didn’t have the responsibility of a family,” Jada says.

As such, Jaden and Willow’s dreams come first, and she doesn’t regret the choice she made, even if it was quite painful at the time.

“But I have children with their own talents and dreams, and I know I have to be standing next to them for that journey,” Jada says.