Jada Pinkett

NEW YORK - Instead of strutting in stilettos, they bounced in saddle shoes. No, these were not the usual models seen on the runways of Fashion Week, except for the labels on the clothes they were wearing: Escada, Hilfiger, Sean John, Kenneth Cole, Nicole Miller. Those were some of the designers showing their fall lines here yesterday - for 4- to 11-year-olds. Call it high fashion for the knee-high set, the kind of cashmere blazers, leather jackets and faux furs that trendy moms and dads wear, miniaturized for their offspring.

She's got it made on the home front, with two kids and a handsome husband who's one of the most beloved movie stars on the planet. She's got it made professionally, having just opened in a big summer movie alongside Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx. And she's got it made when it comes to ambition, having reached a point in her career that allows her to be selective when considering future roles. Certainly, this is a good time to be Jada Pinkett Smith. "Oh, it's a great time to be Jada right now," the 32-year-old actress says.

When actress Jada Pinkett and man-in-black Will Smith tied the knot at the Cloisters estate in Baltimore County last New Year's Eve, the high-profile couple successfully avoided a paparazzi carnival by keeping the location and every other detail, from caterers to corsages, under wraps."

"Woo" is the name of a Manhattan femme fatale with a knack for wreaking havoc wherever she places her hot-pink platform heels. She's a diva, a doyenne of the demimonde, a street-wise B.A.P. of the first order.Unfortunately, as played by Jada Pinkett Smith, she also has a mean streak as wide as the East River. And that makes all the difference. The exploitation humor that "Woo" tries for always teeters dangerously on the edge of being out-and-out objectionable.For these types of comedies to succeed, they need a sympathetic leading character to make up for fatuous stories, inane dialogue and puerile humor.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Rich, powerful, clever and popular as she is, even Madonna has problems, sometimes. Like what to wear to her birthday party. There's the Dolce & Gabbana coat, but Gwyneth Paltrow and Winona Ryder and God knows who else have already been photographed in it. An old Versace would do, but it seems so aggressive for a mild August day when the air smells of jasmine and the sky is blue and cloudless. No, an intimate celebration at a restaurant in Los Angeles calls for something elegant, original, very, very cool.

Tonight, Hollywood mega-star Will Smith and native Baltimore actress Jada Pinkett will be married in one of the most illustrious weddings ever to happen in Baltimore ... we think.While New Year's Eve appears certain as the date, other facts of the ceremony -- from precisely where in Baltimore County they'll be married, to, well, virtually everything else -- are harder to find than the literary subtext of "Baywatch."Family members close to the bride all but refuse to comment, and former friends, teachers and professional contacts either are uninformed or claim to be so.People magazine doesn't know a thing.

More than 500 people packed Martin's West last night to check out the latest high-fashion production by local designer Travis Winkey and to see one of Baltimore's most famous natives, actress Jada Pinkett, who was in town with television star and friend, actor Will Smith.The fashion show and reception, which attracted eager fans and Baltimore notables alike, was sponsored by Northwest Baltimore Corp., an umbrella organization of more than 60 city neighborhood groups.Proceeds from the event will help fund the organization's adult literacy, day care and other programs, which benefit more than 60,000 residents.

Who woulda thunk it?: Eddie Murphy can still be one funny guy.Or, in the case of "The Nutty Professor," seven funny guys.It's true. After a string of movies that left plenty of folks wondering if he hadn't left his sense of humor behind somewhere, "Professor" may be his best film yet. It's certainly his funniest since "Beverly Hills Cop."Why? Maybe because it contains Murphy's most restrained performance, one that requires him to contain the foul-mouthed, insufferably smug persona he's resorted to so often.

In yesterday's LIVE section, the wrong days were listed for free celebrity readings by actress Jada Pinkett and Dr. Benjamin Carson at the Walters Art Gallery, 600 N. Charles St. Dr. Carson will read to children at 2 p.m. Saturday. Ms. Pinkett will read at 2 p.m. Sunday. Call (410) 547-9000 for information.The Sun regrets the error.Celebrity readingTwo Baltimore celebrities in entertainment and medicine will be sharing their time this weekend with area children. Jada Pinkett, an actress who graduated from the Baltimore School of the Arts and starred in the film "Jason's Lyric," will read to children at 2 p.m. Saturday, and Dr. Benjamin Carson, a pediatric neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital, is scheduled to read at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Walters Art Gallery, 600 N. Charles St. The readings, which are part of the gallery's two-month calendar of activities in celebration of black history, will highlight books from the exhibition "Lasting Impressions: Illustrating African-American Children's Books."

Low Down Dirty Shame" is a case of Jada in the morning, Jada in the evening, Jada in the summertime. Jada Pinkett is pure sugar and you come away wanting more.The film is actually one of those movies -- "Top Gun" and the job it did for Meg Ryan is another that comes to mind -- in which the nominal star takes a back seat to a secondary performer who literally reinvents herself in front of your eyes. It's a great career move, but for Pinkett rather than writer-director-star Keenen Ivory Wayans.