Who is Jada Pinkett Smith's mom? Everything to know about Adrienne Banfield-Norris

Jada Pinkett Smith and her mom Adrienne "Gammy" Banfield-Norris have been putting it all on the table for years.

Since they began co-hosting "Red Table Talk" with Pinkett Smith's daughter, Willow Smith, in 2018, the mom and daughter have delved deeply into their own relationship through finding space to heal while tackling some tough issues from their past.

"Red Table Talk" was Banfield-Norris' first real foray into the entertainment industry, having previously worked as a nurse.

Read on to learn more about Pinkett Smith's mom, Banfield-Norris, who turns 70 on Oct. 18.

She co-hosted “Red Table Talk” with her daughter and granddaughter 

Banfield-Norris began co-hosting the Facebook series “Red Table Talk” with Pinkett Smith and granddaughter Willow in 2018.

Throughout the show’s five seasons, the three generations of women had raw, vulnerable discussions on topics ranging from love, motherhood and infidelity to addiction, prejudice and generational trauma.

"Red Table Talk" was canceled earlier this year, but Pinkett Smith recently mentioned the possibility of the show returning.

She worked as a nurse

Banfield-Norris graduated at the top of her nursing school class at Coppin State University in Baltimore, Maryland, according to The New York Times.

Her interest in medicine was sparked by her father’s career as a doctor, she said in a 2013 interview with Minority Nurse.

“My father was a doctor, and as a child I would go to the hospital with my dad,” she said. “I just loved being in the hospital with him. That was our special time together.”

Banfield-Norris told Rolling Stone in February 2021 that she no longer worked as a nurse due to "Red Table Talk" being her "primary occupation" at the time.

During the 2013 interview with Minority Nurse, Pinkett Smith expressed how her mom's medical expertise has come in handy in their personal lives.

“Just watching her, it amazes me,” Pinkett Smith said of her mom. “She was there with me a couple of times where we’ve had some medical emergencies in the house with (my) kids and (it amazes me) how automatically she goes into this analytical mode of focus. She just is a great problem solver.”

She gave birth to Jada Pinkett Smith in high school

Banfield-Norris had Pinkett Smith, her only child, when she was a teenager. She opened up about the challenges of being a young mom in a 2018 episode of “Red Table Talk.”

“They were the worst years of my life. Worst years of my life,” she said. “Because I was just so confused, so in a rebellious state, I wasn’t getting along with mommy and daddy, just being really uncomfortable in my own skin, and just doing whatever I thought I needed to do to be popular, and be part of the popular crowd. So that’s not an easy thing for someone as young as I was.”

Banfield-Norris married Pinkett Smith’s father while still in high school, and they were divorced about a year later.

She is married to Rodney Norris

Banfield-Norris married Rodney Norris in 2016.

Norris is the president and CEO of Positive Pathways, a nonprofit organization that supports people with developmental disabilities in Baltimore.

Banfield-Norris celebrated their seventh anniversary in August 2023 with a sweet message about her husband on Instagram.

“Thank you for always being the voice of reason, my rock, my husband, lover and most importantly, my partner!” she wrote, in part. “I still get giddy when you walk in the room! Here’s to life! Here’s to love! Here’s to us! Good times and the rough times, back to back and side by side! I LOVE YOU, RODNEY WILLIAM NORRIS.”

Banfield-Norris was married three times previously, she shared on the “Dr. Jackie’s Point of V” podcast in 2021 — first, briefly, to Jada Pinkett Smith’s father in high school, then to another man for four years.

Banfield-Norris said she married her third husband while in recovery from her addiction, and was with him for more than 20 years before they split.

“I lost my sister, my oldest sister, I lost a niece who was much younger than I was. I was unhappy in the marriage and I just really started thinking that, you know, I have more years behind me than I do in front of me, and I’ve got to be happy,” she said, reflecting on parting ways with her third husband. “I can’t just stay in a marriage because you’ve been here for 20 years.”

She has been open about her sobriety

Banfield-Norris has spoken candidly about her 20-year heroin addiction, and her journey to recovery.

In December 2021, she celebrated 31 years of sobriety in an Instagram video.

“So I’m outside and I just wanted to take a few minutes to be peaceful and still,” she said in the video.

“Today is my anniversary, my clean date,” she continued. “31 years, one day at a time.”

“I’ve spent so many years in that insanity of active addiction, running in and out and just that revolving door, trying to get my life back together,” she added. “That surrender was a struggle, but it was the surrender that was the beginning of the change in my life.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com