Roger Guenveur Smith aka Smith was born in Berkley, California on the 27th of July 1959 to Helen Guenveur, who was a dentist & Sherman Smith who was a judge. As his biography reveals, Smith was raised in Los Angeles, where he went to Occidental College where he pursued his bachelors in American Studies. Smith bio tells that as a child, he saw that his family had to move to California to Los Angeles so as to find better opportunities because they were black & were often segregated. Hence, he chose to study American Studies to know more about it. While studying, he fancied with the idea of theaters & play, however, he was apprehensive if he would be able to make a living out of it. But on completion of his degree, Smith was seriously considering the idea of acting as a career. Owing to this passion, he applied for Thomas J. Watson Scholarship & won a fellowship to Keskidee Arts Centre, London, which was an African-Caribbean theater. On his arrival back to the USA, Smith initially enrolled at the prestigious Yale University for African-American studies, but the acting bug made him transfer to Yale School of Drama.
Smith made his on-screen debut in 1980s, where he considered taking serious roles which were deep in principle. He appeared in small roles, specially the ones directed by budding Afro-American filmmakers, whose movies brought a powerful & realistic image of Afro-American life on the screen. He soon became affiliated with Spike Lee, who cast him in the musical School Daze (1988) & Do The Right Thing (1989). This association went on to do many films together which include Malcolm X, Jungle Fever, Get On The Bus. Smith has showcased his acting finesses in movies like King of New York, Deep Cover, Tales from the Hood, Poetic Justice, Eve’s Bayou, He Got Game, Summer of Sam & a movie based on the Afro-American militant group the Black Panthers titled Panther, which were all very well acclaimed.
Smith being attached to his community with a sense of responsibility, taught drama to juvenile offenders while working in regional theater. Theater remains his first love & he has worked in plays like Frederick Douglass Now, Inside the Creole Mafia, Christopher Columbus 1992, A Huey P. Newton Story, The Birthday Party, Agamemnon, The Task, Suenos, It’s a Man’s World, That Serious He-Man Bull, & Coriolanus.
The work A Huey P. Newton Story is based on the life of the Black Panther leader Huey Newton, with Smith playing the protagonist. However, it did not make an on-screen release & was released on Cable Network. However, the movie was very well acclaimed & it gave Smith 2 NAACP Awards, one for Best Playwright & one for Best Actor along with LA Weekly’s Best Solo Performance Award. For Inside the Creole Mafia, Smith received LA Weekly’s award for the Best Two Person Show.
Smith married Carolina, his girlfriend, but later got divorced & is currently single & ready to mingle. Smith Net worth is estimated at $3 Million.
| Net Worth 2021: | 1 million |
