KJ:The Dope Diva Strikes Again

The Dope Diva Strikes Again

by Krystal Carr Sancho

Born and raised in the “small city, big town” of Tallahassee, Florida, Khaneshia JaNea “KJ” Smith crossed intersections of education and journeyed through winding career paths before ultimately discovering the yellow brick road that led to her Emerald City. “I took the long way around”, Smith expressed. “I attended college and got into business marketing, then real estate; after that I went to graduate school. I tried everything, I worked in every department, I interned everywhere, I had all the jobs… and finally, I became an actress.”

KJ Smith came from humble beginnings. She recalls an amazing childhood filled with life, love, and laughter. “Everything was amazing when I was a child”, she says giddily, “My parents are the most delightful people you could ever meet. They hold so much joy in their hearts and are always so gleeful.” It was this loving and supporting foundation that aided Smith to reach for the stars after little satisfaction was achieved in her many career endeavors. “I tried so many things and I was miserable,” she says while rolling her eyes. “I realized these jobs were hard and at that point I declared that if I was going to do something hard, I’m going to do what I want and do what I love.” That self-proclamation was the small spark that caused a great flame to arise.

Filled with the fiery drive of ambition, KJ decided to take a leap of faith and break away from the people she loved, the place she grew-up, and things she knew .

“Mom, I want to move to California!”, Smith said passionately.

Mom responds, “then California is the place you should be”. So she loaded up the car and she moved to Angeles… Los that is, swimming pools, movie stars.

The transition from Tallahassee, Florida to Los Angeles, California was no easy feat for this sweet southern belle. “It

was a whole culture shock,” says Smith. “This was my first home away experience. There were cultures that I never knew existed. It was a melting pot of people and I wasn’t use to that at all, so I had to study and learn the culture.”

There were many adjustments and adaptations made in the shift from sweet home Tallahassee to bright lights, big city Los Angeles. “Health was huge in L.A. at the time and that was really different compared to where I was from,” Smith says. “I mean I could eat fried chicken, cornbread, greens every day a be fine.” Not only were there alterations to eating habits, other down home habits had to change as well. “I was really naïve,” says Smith giving a little giggle. “My car was broken three times. I was accustomed to leaving my doors unlocked, walking into a store, and come back to everything intact… Not in L.A.”

Although the forward motion caused KJ to turn some learning curves, she definitely feels that it was the best decision she could have ever made. She set the destination, followed the course, and did not allow anything or anyone to re-route her. “When people tell you it’s too late, don’t believe them,” she forcefully stated. “It’s absolutely never too late. I changed the trajectory of my life with one decision and I’ll never go back.”

As a result of that decision, KJ is referred to as one of Hollywood’s multifaceted rising stars. Every role that she takes differs from the other just as her appearance. She is said to be the ultimate chameleon when it comes to her looks and characters she portrays.

KJ made her acting debut in 2010 making cameo appearances in comedy shows and several other projects including Conan, Real Husbands of Hollywood, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Survivor’s Remorse, It’s Sunny in Philadelphia, Jacked Up, Black Boots, Lethal Weapon, and Nickelodeon’s Nicky, Ricky, Dicky, and Dawn .

Smith is known to portray strong female characters such as Kori Rucks in Dynasty; Angela in Fosters; Sasha Duncan in The Family Business; Dr. Monica McKnight in The Therapist and Detective Karla Rolvaag in Skinny Dip. In 2016 she secured a breakthrough role in the drama series Queen Sugar with recurring character, Ava Duvernay.

As her career continued to blossom, she later guest starred on shows Being Mary Jane, Saints & Sinners, NCIS: Los Angeles and Black-ish. Smith established a number of recurring roles in sitcom Family Time; and drama series The Fix. Films included on her resume are A Madea Family Funeral and Netflix’s Fatal Affair.

Life seemed to be a bed of roses for the budding actress and became even sweeter as the days went by. In a leading role on the BET comedy drama series, Sistas, Smith portrays high powered attorney, Andi Barnes, who seems to have it all together, but when it comes to love; some may say “it’s complicated.”

Her first film lead role in most recent drama film ,The Available Wife, released August 22, 2020 on Urban Movie Channel (UMC) ,which is now allblk, features Smith as the beautiful and successful music CEO, Nicole Wright, who has built her music empire on the backs of deception and lies, stands by as her dirty little secrets are uncovered by the company that she keeps.

Personalities Andie and Nichole are the two characters in which Smith parallels her true identity. “Andie is more vulnerable in love,” she says. “She is how I feel romantically and as a friend. I’m down for my friends in the same way that she is.” She continued in her comparison, “Nichole is a woman that had to do what she had to do to get what she wanted,” she explained. “With that same mentality, there were a lot of things that I had to sacrificed to be an actress.”

KJ identifies her family and all black women that paved the way for her as influential proprietors. She is definitely a legend in the making. Although the Dope Diva has yet to find that one iconic, legendary masterpiece she is determined to keep acting it out until it happens. “I don’t know what it will look like until I’m there”, she assured. “But I know it is going to happen.”

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KJ

DOPE DIVA...OUT