Poster: owepar
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As an identical twin sister, Tasha Smith was determined to carve out her own identity, an attitude which likewise served her well enough to break free and seek a future outside of her bleak neighborhood in Camden, N.J. "I never understood why my sister (Sidra) and I were always dressed alike by our mom when we could have doubled our outfits for the same price," says the outspoken Smith. "Sidra and I are totally different anyway. She's always 'Miss Prim-and-Proper'; I was always the ghetto-runner, the thrift-shop queen. She thought I was too 'street,' and I thought she was too prissy."
Born and raised in Camden, the twins and their younger sister grew up with their single mother, now a drug counselor in Atlanta. The twins proved to be valuable commodities as child models, and Smith continued in modeling school while participating in plays at the local community center. "We took drama classes there which proved to be our therapy, and gave us a goal instead of hanging around street corners," says Smith. Eventually, she took the advice of her friend -- local-girl-makes-good Tisha Campbell ("Martin") -- and moved to Los Angeles when she was 18.
After her arrival, Smith soon developed a keen desire to perform stand-up comedy, and supported herself with an array of odd jobs, working as a telemarketer, secretary and bartender in a strip joint. Through trial and error, she persisted and learned to develop her comedy act, eventually appearing in New York and Los Angeles comedy clubs. She participated in the Montreal Comedy Festival and toured in Europe with the rap artist Yo-Yo.
Smith became a regular on the sketch series "Townsend Television," starring Robert Townsend, but the show was quickly cancelled before any of her appearances were broadcast. She currently stars in the syndicated series, "The Shadow," and has guest-starred on "Sinbad" and the comedy specials "Def Comedy Jam" and "The Apollo Comedy Hour."
At the Montreal Comedy Festival, Smith met comedian Anthony Clark, and the two struck up a tight platonic friendship that led to her audition for Tasha, a character she admits she helped inspire. "The Tasha you see on TV won't take any guff from anyone," says Smith. "She's got a hard shell but is soft inside. She's very protective of her space. I could actually be her if I wanted to cop her attitude."
In her spare time, Smith is committed to providing inspiration to other children from low-income communities, which she visits frequently. "No one from my 'hood would think that anyone could come from there and make something of their life," she says. "It's important to me to go back to the community and tell young children that they can make it like anyone else." In addition, she loves to cook (particularly Indian and Jamaican dishes), work out, rollerblade, ice skate, travel, and play spades with friends. Her birthday is February 28.
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