Actress Tasha Smith is best known for her breakthrough role as the vivacious Angela Williams in the Tyler Perry film, Why Did I Get Married?, and the comedy series For Better or Worse, which airs on Friday nights at 9 p.m. on TBS. But Smith, who has been in the television and film industry for nearly 20 years, is a seasoned actress and entrepreneur.
For 10 years, Smith has taught and mentored aspiring thespians through her acting school, the Tasha Smith Acting Workshop, and has expanded her brand to other business ventures. In partnership with her husband, Smith started her own line of fragrance, called US, the Speaking Bureau Institute (SBI) for entertainers, and has a cookbook and wig line in the works. BlackEnterprise.com caught up with Smith to discuss the success of her brand over the years, her thoughts on diversity in the film industry and how she balances business, marriage and motherhood.
BE.com: What kind of impact has your character Angela had on your brand as Tasha Smith the actress?
Tasha Smith: People love Angela (laughs). That character has given me a wide fan base. It has also created other opportunities for me. [It’s like] you have a bowling ball and one pin can knock everything down. It’s like a domino effect in a sense. I feel like Angela has really helped me in so many areas and I’m grateful for it.
Is there any of Angela’s feisty persona a part of Tasha in real life?
For sure. I feel like there’s a little bit of Angela in all of us!
How is the Tasha Smith Acting Workshop, and when was it founded?
I’ve been doing the acting workshop for about 10 years. I started through my mentor, Ivana Chubbuck, who had me teach at her school for a couple of years and then encouraged me to start my own school because she felt like we needed to get the technique out to more of an urban community and she felt like she had the white world on lock. She said, “Tasha, black people love you. You go start some classes and send me your stars,†which is what I do. It’s based in L.A. I don’t do my weekly classes anymore but now I’m doing more workshops and seminars.
Talk about some of your other business ventures.
My perfume, the US fragrance, is something I’m really excited about which is a fragrance me and my husband created. Â That was an exciting thing. The fragrance [and other business ventures] were really a dream come true.
SBI (Speaking Bureau Institute) is our speaking bureau company that [my husband and I] created to empower people
to have opportunity to go out and speak– actors, athletes and musicians–people who are wonderful motivators and have great testimonies and product. [The company] gets them out there on the speaking circuit from colleges to churches.The wig line (expected to launch in 2013) is something I’m working on because I want black women to have beautiful hair that they don’t always have to sew in unless they just want to go natural.
Yourfragrance is unisex and affordable. Were those intentional business decisions?
Absolutely because that particular fragrance my husband loves and he felt like, “wait a minute this isn’t just for women,” even though it has a citrus, sweet smell to it. But on a man it’s sexy! I wanted it to be affordable too. I know people are dealing with all types of stuff in the economy. I didn’t want my fans to want it but say, “I can’t afford it.”
What kinds of recipes will you have in your upcoming cookbook?
If you’ve been to Crustaceans in Beverly Hills, I feel like I can put [them] to shame with my garlic crab. It’s sick! I make barbecue chicken, I make a stuffed chicken with mushroom sauce, marinated in a maple or rosemary glaze. I can keep going! That’s just a little taste.
The majority of black women portrayals on television are represented in reality shows. As an actress, do you think the reality TV culture has hurt business for actresses such as yourself?
I’m not completely mad about it. Everybody has to make their money but when you think about all of the reality shows on TV, they usually replace either a half-hour comedy or an hour drama. So yes in reality, it’s taking away the programming for other scripted shows. Maybe this is the season our industry is going through, but hopefully it won’t last forever so more actors and actresses can work.
What do you think of the level of diversity of African-Americans on television? Do you think the industry is doing enough to diversify television?
These days I see more diversity with The Game, For Better or Worse, House of Payne…I know Byron Allen has a few shows that he’s producing that Vivica Fox and Bill Bellamy are starring in. You have Infamous that Meagan Good is starring in with Laz Alonso and you have Kerry Washington now with Scandal which is fabulous, so I see more diversity right now on television. I’m not complaining. I’m loving see us on television more.
What advice would you give to working women who struggle to balance their work life and personal lives as mothers and wives?
You have to schedule your date nights if you’re
Considering it’s Fashion Week in New York, what are some of your favorite designers and what styles best fit your personal brand?
Elie Tahari is someone that I’ve been wearing a lot lately and I’m really loving the classy, sexy woman look [he] has. I’m appreciating YSL, they have great shoes. I love me some Brian Atwood as far as shoes are concerned. Rachel Roy is affordable and beautiful. I have her dress on now actually.
Where do you see the Tasha Smith brand in the near future and what is on the horizon?
I see my fragrance line, wig line and speaking bureau company doing amazing. I see [myself] producing, directing…more movies, TV and continuing to do what I love. I’m in a new movie called Addicted (directed by Billie Woodruff) that I just signed on to do with Lionsgate, which is based on the book by Zane.