As a dark-skinned actress and model, Jodie Turner-Smith has faced obstacles due to colorism. But after giving birth to a mixed-race daughter, Turner-Smith’s view on the issue has changed.
In an interview with Elle UK, Turner-Smith opened up about the struggles she faced as a dark-skinned woman transitioning careers from a banker to model to an actor.
“When I started modeling, I went around to agencies, and they would be like, ‘We already have one Black girl, and she’s mixed-race,'” she shared.
Because of the colorism she faced, she wanted fully Black children to show them the love and support she never received from the outside world. Her plans changed once she fell in love with white actor Joshua Jackson. In 2020, the two welcomed their first child, Janie Jackson, into the world.
She admitted to being hesitant about having a baby with Jackson.
“To decide not to have a child with somebody you love, just because they’re white, was insane to me,” she said. “But, at the same time, I did have this mini pause, where I was like, ‘She’s going to be walking through the world not only having an experience that I did not have but looking like people that, in a way, I’d always felt a bit tormented by.'”
She continued, “Now that I’ve got this little, tiny, light-skinned boss, I feel like it’s the universe teaching me lessons. I’ve been given a daughter who looks like a way to heal my own conversations around colorism.”
As years progress, the representation of dark-skinned women in the media has increased. However, it’s undeniable that the media, specifically TV shows and movies, have portrayed darker women as the ones who aren’t romantically desired. However, it’s women like Turner-Smith who work to break those stereotypes.
She became the first Black actress to portray the English queen Anne Boleyn in a 2021 film. She’s also joined Netflix’s Murder Mystery 2 (Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston) and will appear in Sex Education‘s fourth season.
