"It's never over," Jada Pinkett Smith said of her mom's late-in-life fame.
Adrienne Banfield-Norris is as stunning as ever at 65!
The mom of Jada Pinkett Smith and grandmother to Willow Smith joins her kin on the cover of Harper Bazaar's digital December issue. For Adrienne, her newfound fame -- a result of co-hosting Facebook Watch's Red Table Talk with Jada and Willow -- has been "an adjustment."
"They're not used to me in this world, so it's been an adjustment for my family,” Adrienne admits. “There's still that group that kind of looks at you like, ‘Oh, that's Jada's mom!’ -- I've been going through that for years, so it's all good.”
When it comes to her daughter and granddaughter, they couldn't be more proud to see Adrienne -- whom they call "Gam" or "Gammy" -- shine.
"It's not so much her being in the spotlight, but just like, she's 65 ... she's taking on a whole new career,” Jada, 47, says. “As a woman, it's such an amazing story, because women feel like as they get older their lives are over. It's not. It's never over. I don't care how old you think you're getting. My mother is 65 and her first freaking photo shoot is freaking Harper's Bazaar!”
“I'm in my late 40's. This is time that they send you out to pasture,” Jada adds of herself. "Don't let people tell you that you're too old. That it's over, 'cause that's a lie."
“I just am so happy! Go Gam! She's just giving it. I just love seeing her explore that side of herself,” Willow, 18, says before telling Adrienne, "You're so beautiful. It's inspiring to see you really shine."
The family's series has become known for its unfiltered conversations, one of which surrounded Adrienne's current sobriety and previous addiction to heroine.
“People come up and just thank me. [They] say, ‘I'm trying. I'm working on it,’ that kind of stuff. I just try to encourage them,” Adirenne says. “I felt like the impact that I could have to change the stigma of addiction and the help that I could offer was more important.”
Jada, she says, lauds her mom both for overcoming her addiction and sharing her story.
“She had a heroin addiction for so long... It's not no itty bitty thing, you know?" Jada says. "She's not what people would consider [an addict to look like]... It's like, yeah, so let's be clear, it's not one kind of person that is an addict."
“Sometimes people feel like they get into a hole so deep, they can't get out, and that's just my truth. It's just mine. And, she's living testimony to that," Jada adds of her mother. "Gammy, you just keep building. I swear to God, I just think about her life from having a baby at 18, married at 18... Willow's age... look at Willow. My mother had me at her age and a crazy a** husband. Then, from that... that's a hell of a journey, but that's life.”
The addiction story is just one of many personal discussions on Red Table Talk, which includes conversations about self-harm, marital problems and domestic violence. For Jada, openness is the key ingredient to making the series.
“I think we spend more time trying to keep up an image... Appearances, really, than living truth. But, I think that's changing,” she says. “I think people are really tired of that, and see that's not working. It's not worth it. It costs too much. That, for me, is what also inspires me to share my experiences, because women who've had the courage to share their experiences with me could change my life in the biggest way, you know?”
Jada certainly practices what she preaches, working hard to create a safe space for Willow to share her aspirations, no matter how large or small.
“I'm really excited to see what Willow will do with her life, because she's 18 and she's so talented in so many different areas," the proud mom gushes. "She told me the other day, ‘Mom, I might just be a checkout person at Whole Foods.’ I said, ‘You know what Willow, that'd be alright with me as long you're happy. I really couldn’t care less. You could freaking disappear and get off the grid -- as long as you're happy.’”
Back in October, ET caught up with Jada, who dished on her marriage to Will Smith and the life they've built together. Watch the video below to see what she had to say:
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