Tasha Smith

Tasha Smith (born February 28, 1971) is an American actress and director. She began her career in a starring role on the NBC comedy series Boston Common (1996–97), and later appeared in numerous movies and television series.

Smith has appeared in the films The Whole Ten Yards (2004), Daddy's Little Girls (2007), The Longshots (2008), Couples Retreat (2009), Jumping the Broom (2011), Addicted (2014), Dolemite Is My Name (2019) and Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024). She starred as Angela Williams in the Tyler Perry films Why Did I Get Married? (2007), its sequel Why Did I Get Married Too? (2010), and on the television series based on the movies, For Better or Worse (2011–2017). From 2015 to 2020, she had a recurring role as Carol Holloway on the Fox musical drama series, Empire. Later in the same year, Smith made her directorial debut.

Early life and education Tasha Smith was born on February 28, 1971, in Camden, New Jersey, and was raised by a single mother. She has an identical twin sister, Sidra Smith, who currently lives in Harlem and a younger sister named Che' who lives in Georgia.

Career Smith made her acting debut with a small role in the comedy film Twin Sitters (1994). From 1996 to 1997, she starred in the NBC comedy series, Boston Common. Later in 1997, she was cast alongside Tom Arnold in another short-lived comedy series, The Tom Show on The WB. In 2014, she also was cast in a recurring role in the Fox drama series Empire as Carol Hardaway, Cookie Lyon's younger sister.

In 2015, Smith made her directorial debut with the short film Boxed in, which premiered during the 19th Annual American Black Film Festival. In 2017, Smith directed the television film When Love Kills: The Falicia Blakely Story, starring Lil Mama and Lance Gross, based on a true story. It premiered to 1.6 million viewers, ranking as TV One's #1 original movie premiere of all time among all key demos. In October 2017, she also directed an episode in the BET drama anthology series Tales. Smith worked as Mary J. Blige's acting coach for her role in Mudbound.

In 2019, Smith appeared in the comedy-drama film Dolemite Is My Name, and starred opposite Lisa Kudrow and Whitney Cummings in the Amazon comedy pilot Good People. Also that year, she directed episodes of Star, 9-1-1 and Black Lightning. In 2020, Smith directed the episode "Legacy" on the Starz TV series P-Valley. In 2021, Smith directed the Starz drama series Black Mafia Family.

In 2022, it was announced that Smith will be starring in the Lee Daniels's horror/thriller The Deliverance with Mo'Nique, Andra Day, Omar Epps, and Miss Lawrence. In 2022, she had a recurring role during the third season of comedy-drama series, First Wives Club. The following year, Smith starred opposite Michelle Buteau in the Netflix comedy-drama series, Survival of the Thickest. She replaced Theresa Randle in the role of Theresa Burnett in Bad Boys: Ride or Die, which was released on June 7, 2024.

In 2026, Smith directed the drama film, 'Tis So Sweet starring Taraji P. Henson for Netflix and starred in the comedy-drama Why Did I Get Married Again?, a sequel for Why Did I Get Married Too?. Later in 2026 she was announced as director for the comedy film Women Like Us starring Whoopi Goldberg, Jenifer Lewis, Vanessa Williams and Vivica A. Fox and produced by Barack Obama and Michelle Obama. Personal life In December 2010, Smith married her boyfriend of one year, Keith Douglas, who was also her manager. In November 2014, Smith appeared in court to request a restraining order against Douglas. In documents filed prior to the court appearance, she accused him of having affairs with other women. Smith's friend Tisha Campbell acted as a character witness. The final divorce decree was issued in March 2015. However, Smith contested the divorce by alleging that Douglas concealed information from her that she should have known before the marriage. Smith alleged that Douglas was not the "man of the cloth" that he presented himself to be during their courtship. However, she said after learning that one of her family members had gotten very sick and she was not able to visit them at the hospital, she decided to turn to prayer "and ask God to show himself to her and help her unbelief." After doing so, she says that she became a devout, practicing Christian and uses her Christian faith as one of her motivators for her career and philanthropy.

Smith is the creator of TSAW, an actor's workshop that empowers and inspires performers at various stages in their careers with focus on the Black community.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1995 Twin Sitters The Aleem's Wives Let It Be Me Student 1998 Max Q Karen Daniels TV movie 1999 Chameleon II: Death Match IBI Director Tasha Webster TV movie 2003 Playas Ball Vonda Watson 2004 The Whole Ten Yards Jules "Julie" Figueroa My Purple Fur Coat Ruth Smith Short 2006 Miles from Home Keisha Knight ATL Gayle You, Me and Dupree Co-Worker Glass House: The Good Mother Caseworker Niecy Jameson Video 2007 Love... & Other 4 Letter Words Lucille Ames Daddy's Little Girls Jennifer Jackson Why Did I Get Married? Angela Williams 2008 The Longshots Claire Plummer 2009 Pastor Brown Angelique Todd End of the Line Woman 3 Short Couples Retreat Jennifer 2010 Why Did I Get Married Too? Angela Williams Something Like a Business Angela 2011 Jumping the Broom Shonda Peterkin 2014 Addicted Dr. Marcella Spencer 2015 Stock Option LaTonja TV movie 2016 Polaris Sophie 2017 Snowed-Inn Christmas Simone Jenkins TV movie 2018 Running Out of Time Brenda 2019 The One You Never Forget Sherry Short Dolemite Is My Name Jimmy's Wife 2024 Bad Boys: Ride or Die Theresa Burnett The Deliverance Pastor Powell 2025 Twinless Charlotte Desire: A Temptations Story Kendra 2026Why Did I Get Married Again? Angela Post-production

Television Year Title Role Notes 1993 The Sinbad Show Seville Episode: "I Coulda' Been the Man" 1995 Def Comedy Jam Herself Episode: "Episode #4.9" 1996 Soul Train Herself/Guest Host Episode: "Immature/AZ Yet/Shades" 1996–97 Boston Common Tasha King Main Cast 1997 Chicago Hope Dr. Denise Potter Episode: "Brain Salad Surgery" 1997–98 The Tom Show Tanya Cole Main Cast 1999 The Steve Harvey Show Kimberly Davis Episode: "Steve Don't Get Nun" 2000 The Corner Veronica 'Ronnie' Boice Main Cast 2001 The Parkers Rachel Jones Episode: "A Knockout Times Two" 2003 Without a Trace Veronica Boyce Episode: "The Friendly Skies" 2004–06 America's Next Top Model Herself Guest Cast: Season 2 & 7 2004 Nip/Tuck Carol Nelson Episode: "Joan Rivers" 2005 Second Time Around Laura James Episode: "Big Bank, Little Bank" Girlfriends Shandara Durrani Episode: "See J-Spot Run" 2007 All of Us Jewel Jones Episode: "The B-R-E-A-K-U-P" 2009 The Game Sheila Episode: "The Third Legacy" unReal Housewives of Kansas City Rochae Bastillion Main Cast 2009–10 Meet the Browns Tanya Gould Recurring Cast: Season 2-3 2010 Private Chefs of Beverly Hills Herself Episode: "Challah Back" 2011 Glory Daze Herself Episode: "Hit Me With Your Test Shot" The Hot 10 Herself Episode: "Episode #1.12" 2011–17 For Better or Worse Angela Williams Main Cast, 162 episodesNominated —NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series 2013–14 The Chew Herself/Guest Co-Host Recurring Guest Co-Host: Season 3 2014 Chopped Herself/Contestant Episode: "Chopped Tournament of Stars: Actors!" 2015 Power Jarita J. Recurring Cast: Season 2 2015–20 Empire Carol Holloway Recurring Cast 2016 RuPaul's Drag Race Herself/Guest Judge Episode: "RuCo's Empire" 2017 Daytime Divas Portia Camden Episode: "Shut It Down" Star Carol Holloway Episode: "The Winner Takes It All" 2018 Unsung Herself Episode: "Digable Planets" In Contempt Donielle Lyons Episode: "Necessary Force" Rel Monique Episode: "Brittany's Mom" 2019 Uncensored Herself Episode: "Tasha Smith" 2022 First Wives Club Savannah Recurring Cast: Season 3 2023–2025 Survival of the Thickest Marley Recurring Cast: Season 1, Main Cast: Season 2 2026 9-1-1 Gabi Bond Recurring Cast: Season 9

Directing Film

Year Film Credited asDirectorWriterProducerActor Role 2015 Boxed In (Short film) 2017 When Love Kills: The Falicia Blakely Story 2026 'Tis So Sweet TBA 'Women Like Us

Television + Year Title Season Episode 2015 Boxed In (Short) 2017 When Love Kills: The Falicia Blakely Story (TV movie) Tales Season 1 "99 Problems" 2019 Star Season 3 "Square One" "Toxic" Tales Season 2 "My Life" Black Lightning Season 3 "The Book of Resistance: Chapter Four: Earth Crisis" 2019 9-1-1 "Athena Begins" 2020 P-Valley Season 1 "Legacy" Big Sky "Unfinished Business" 2021 9-1-1 Season 4 "First Responders" Our Kind of People Season 1 "My Mother, Myself" "Reparations" Big Sky Season 2 "You Have To Play Along" Black Mafia Family Season 1 "See It... Touch It... Obtain It" "Rumors" "The King of Detroit" 2022-2023 Bel-Air "PA to LA"2022The Ms. Pat Show Season 2 AAFCA Award for Best Director 2023 Mayor of Kingstown Season 2 "Live at Five" "The Pool" Bel-Air "Just Like Old Times" 2025 Harlem Season 3 2 episodes The Equalizer Season 5 "Taken" The Rookie Season 7 "Chaos Agent"Survival of the Thickest Season 2 2 episodesNominated — Black Reel Awards for Television for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series