Jada Pinkett Smith was "afraid of fame".
The ‘Magic Mike XXL’ actress has confessed she became wary of the spotlight after her close friend, the rapper Tupac Shakur was shot dead in 1996.
She said: "When I think about what I had going on when I was younger, I do think I was really afraid of fame. I really worked hard to keep everything small.
"I saw how Tupac got devoured by having fame too fast. I watched what happened to him and, in all honesty, I think it scared me."
The 43-year-old star also admitted that her fear of fame meant she was reluctant to take on certain roles in case she became too successful.
The brunette beauty – who has been married to fellow Hollywood star Will Smith since 1997 – explained: "For a long period of time, I really tried to put a cap on fame. I’ll never forget when Michael Mann called me for ‘Ali’, I was like, I have no interest in being in your movie."
Although she later accepted the part, she added to The Sunday Times newspaper’s Style magazine: "I look back on things like that in my youth and think, ‘What a freakin’ idiot you were!’ But I realise now I was really scared … I was afraid of the success. Look, I can deal with the failures. Trust me. Falling on my ass and getting up, I’m good at that one. It’s the other stuff."
Jada Pinkett Smith was ‘afraid of fame’
