Jada Koren Pinkett Smith ( / ˈ dʒ eɪ d ə ˈ p ɪ ŋ k ɪ t / ; born September 18, 1971) is an American actress , dancer , singer-songwriter, and businesswoman. She began her career with a guest appearance on the short-lived sitcom True Colors in 1990. From 1991 to 1993, she starred as Lena James in the television series A Different World , produced by Bill Cosby . She made her feature film debut in Menace II Society (1993), starred in the comedy-drama film The Inkwell with Larenz Tate in 1994, and was subsequently featured opposite Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor (1996). She has since starred in more than 20 feature films, including Set It Off (1996), Scream 2 (1997), Ali (2001), The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions (both in 2003), Madagascar (2005), Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008), Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012), Bad Moms (2016), and Girls Trip (2017).

Tika Sumpter (born Euphemia L. Sumpter ; June 20, 1980 ) is an American actress, producer, television host, and model. Sumpter began her career as host of The N reality series, Best Friend's Date (2004–2005), and in 2005 landed the role of Layla Williamson in the ABC daytime soap opera, One Life to Live where she starred regularly through 2010. In the same year, Sumpter made her movie debut in her leading female role in the musical drama Stomp the Yard: Homecoming . She later had recurring roles as Raina Thorpe in The CW teen drama Gossip Girl , and as Jenna Rice in the BET sitcom The Game .

Diahann Carroll ( / d aɪ ˈ æ n / ; born Carol Diahann Johnson , July 17, 1935) is an American actress , singer and model known for her performances in some of the earliest major studio films to feature black casts, including Carmen Jones (1954) and Porgy and Bess (1959) as well as on Broadway . Julia (1968) was one of the first series on American television to star a black woman in a nonstereotypical role and was followed by her portrayal of Dominique Deveraux in the primetime soap opera Dynasty from the penultimate episode of season four, and the following three seasons. She is the recipient of numerous stage and screen nominations and awards, including the Golden Globe Award for "Best Actress In A Television Series" in 1968. She received an Academy Award for Best Actress nomination for the 1974 film Claudine . A breast cancer survivor and activist, Carroll was scheduled to return to the Broadway stage in the 2014 revival of A Raisin in the Sun as Mama, but withdrew prior to opening citing the demands of the rehearsal and performance schedule.

Meagan Monique Good-Franklin (born August 8, 1981) is an American actress. Beginning her career in 1985 at the age of four, Good has appeared in numerous television shows, films, and music videos.

Loretta Devine (born August 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer, best known for her roles as Marla Hendricks in the Fox drama series Boston Public , and for her recurring role as Adele Webber on the Shonda Rhimes ' Grey's Anatomy , for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series in 2011. She had a role in the series Everybody Hates Chris as Rochelle's mother. In film, Devine appeared in Waiting to Exhale , The Preacher's Wife , I Am Sam , Urban Legend , Crash , Woman Thou Art Loosed , For Colored Girls , This Christmas and Jumping the Broom . She also played Cynthia Carmichael on the NBC sitcom The Carmichael Show .