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Jada Pinkett Smith shares unmissable footage from family archives to pay tribute to 'baby girl' Willow Smith on birthday

The Worthy author shares two children with Will Smith

Willow and her mom Jada Pinkett Smith at the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party
Hanna Fillingham
US Managing Editor
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Jada Pinkett Smith was feeling all the emotions on October 31, as she paid tribute to her youngest child, Willow Smith, on her 23rd birthday. 

The Worthy author took to Instagram to share a montage featuring a selection of videos of Willow taken from over the years. 

The majority of the clips focused on Willow performing on stage, which fitted in nicely considering the talented singer will be releasing a new single on November 3. 

VIDEO: Willow Smith shares glimpse inside impressive Malibu home

In the caption, the proud mom wrote: "Happy Willoween!!! i love you i love you and i love you. Happy birthday my baby girl." Jada shares Willow, along with 25-year-old Jaden, with Will Smith. 

The Red Table Talks star has found herself making multiple headlines over the past few weeks, following on from the release of her tell-all memoir, Worthy. 

View post on Instagram
 

The book left fans open-mouthed as the star made some bombshell revelations about her family, most notably the fact that she and Will were no longer an item, having secretly parted ways in 2016, deciding that they were "going to live completely separate lives".

During a chat with Hoda Kotb on the Today Show just before the release of Worthy, Hoda started: "It was not a divorce on paper?" to which Jada confirmed: "Yes." 

Willow Smith© Jerritt Clark
Willow Smith turned 23 on October 31

However, when the NBC reporter reiterated: "But it was a divorce," Jada then declared: "Divorce," and confirmed that the two have been "apart" since 2016. The TV star continued to explain that she had decided to wait seven years before revealing the change to their relationship simply because the pair were not ready to tell the world. 

"Still trying to figure out between the two of us how to be in partnership, right, and in regards to how do we present that to people, you know? And we hadn't figured that out," she said. 

Photo shared by the Pratt Library in Baltimore of Will Smith, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and their kids Trey, Willow and Jaden at Jada's book tour for her memoir Worthy© Pratt Library / X
Willow has a close bond with her mom Jada Pinkett Smith

Jada continued: "I think by the time we got to 2016, we were just exhausted with trying. I think we were both kind of just still stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be." 

The mother-of-two also confirmed that to this day, the two do live "separately," however she maintained: "I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce. We will work through whatever. And I just haven't been able to break that promise." 

Willow Smitharrives at the Apple Original Films' "Emancipation"  Los Angeles Premiere  at Regency Village Theatre on November 30, 2022 in Los Angeles, California© Getty Images
Willow is releasing a new single on November 3

Willow has been incredibly supportive about her parents' decision and of her mom's memoir. She has an exciting week ahead of her too, as she's not only celebrating her birthday, but gearing up for her new single. 

The talented singer announced the news of her upcoming song last week, alongside a series of photos featuring her and singer-songwriter Eddie Benjamin, who has been working with her on the song. 

Photo shared by Jada Pinkett-Smith on Instagram August 2023 posing by the beach with her husband Will Smith, stepson Trey Smith, and kids Jaden and Willow Smith© Instagram
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith are separated but have remained close

One of the pictures saw Willow and Eddie sunbathing outside on the grass, with the star looking stylish in a black string bikini top and oversized shades. 

In the caption, Willow paid tribute to Eddie, writing: "BIG GRATITUDE to @eddiebenjamin for putting up with my shenanigans while masterfully playing damn near every instrument in the studio as you can see we had way too much fun making this track & I can’t wait for you all to transcend this earthly plane while listening … I know we did. Nov 3."

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