Tasha Smith

Tasha Smith is an American actress and director born on February 28, 1971. She first gained major prominence starring in the NBC comedy series Boston Common and went on to appear in numerous television programs and feature films. She is widely recognized for playing Angela Williams in Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married? film franchise and its television spin-off series, For Better or Worse.

Smith was raised by a single mother in Camden, New Jersey. She has an identical twin sister named Sidra Smith and a younger sister named Che'. Smith left Camden High School during her freshman year and relocated to California at nineteen years old.

Smith made her feature film acting debut with a minor role in the 1994 comedy Twin Sitters. After starring in Boston Common from 1996 to 1997, she joined the cast of the comedy series The Tom Show later in 1997. In 2000, she played a supporting role as a drug addict in the HBO miniseries The Corner. Throughout the 2000s, she appeared in guest roles on series such as The Parkers, Without a Trace, Nip/Tuck, and Girlfriends, while also taking on supporting film roles in Playas Ball, The Whole Ten Yards, and ATL.

In 2007, Smith appeared as the main antagonist in Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls and portrayed Angela Williams in Why Did I Get Married?. She reprised her role as Angela in the 2010 sequel Why Did I Get Married Too? and in the comedy series Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse from 2011 to 2017. Her additional film credits from this period include The Longshots, Couples Retreat, Pastor Brown, Jumping the Broom, and the thriller Addicted.

Beginning in 2014, Smith portrayed Carol Hardaway, a recurring character on the Fox musical drama series Empire. She made her directorial debut in 2015 with the short film Boxed in, which premiered at the American Black Film Festival. She went on to direct the 2017 television movie When Love Kills: The Falicia Blakely Story, as well as episodes of Tales, Star, 9-1-1, Black Lightning, P-Valley, and Black Mafia Family. Smith also served as an acting coach for Mary J. Blige for her role in Mudbound.

In her later acting career, Smith appeared in the films Dolemite Is My Name and Bad Boys: Ride or Die, as well as the television series First Wives Club, Survival of the Thickest, and Why Did I Get Married Again?. Her directorial projects include the drama film 'Tis So Sweet and the comedy film Women Like Us. Outside of her film work, she created TSAW, an actor's workshop aimed at empowering and inspiring performers, particularly within the Black community.