Khaneshia Smith Black (née Smith) , (born 6 May 1985) known professionally as KJ Smith, is an American actress, known for her role as Andrea "Andi" Barnes in the comedy-drama, ''Sistas''.

Early life

Smith was born on 6 May 1985, in

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...

. She was a cheerleader and softball player in high school. She studied

Business Marketing Business marketing is a marketing practice of individuals or organizations (including commercial businesses, governments, and institutions). It allows them to sell products or services to other companies or organizations, who either resell them, ...

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

, where she earned her bachelor's degree and later went on to work in corporate America. Smith later went back to further her education at

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. ...

, where she studied

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

Career

Smith began her acting career in 2009 with appearing in short films and small parts in television comedies include '' Conan'', '' Real Husbands of Hollywood'', ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...

'' and ''

Comedy Bang! Bang! ''Comedy Bang! Bang!'' (formerly ''Comedy Death-Ray Radio'') is a weekly comedy audio podcast, which originally began airing as a radio show on May 1, 2009.A Special Thing Forums:Comedy Death-Ray Radio starts today! It is hosted by writer and ...

''. She also guest-starred in a number of sitcoms such as ''

Survivor's Remorse ''Survivor's Remorse'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Mike O'Malley that aired on Starz. It premiered on October 4, 2014, and ended on October 15, 2017. The plot centers around the lives of Cam Calloway (Jessie Usher, ...

'', '' Mann & Wife'', ''

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'', also known colloquially simply as ''Always Sunny'', is an American sitcom created by Rob McElhenney and co-developed by Glenn Howerton for FX (TV channel), FX. It premiered on August 4, 2005, and stars Charl ...

'' and ''

Black-ish ''Black-ish'' (stylized as black·''ish'') is an American sitcom television series created by Kenya Barris. It aired on ABC from September 24, 2014, to April 19, 2022, running for eight seasons with 176 episodes. ''Black-ish'' follows an uppe ...

''. She played secondary role in the 2015 made-for-television movie '' Whitney'' and the following year had a recurring role in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series, ''

Queen Sugar ''Queen Sugar'' is an American drama television series created and executive produced by Ava DuVernay, with Oprah Winfrey serving as an executive producer. DuVernay also directed the first two episodes. The series is based on the 2014 novel o ...

''.

In 2017, Smith had a recurring role during the first season of the CW comedy-drama series, ''Dynasty'', and guest-starred on ''

Being Mary Jane ''Being Mary Jane'' is an American drama television series created by Mara Brock Akil and starring Gabrielle Union. The pilot aired on July 2, 2013, as an hour-long television film across a 90-minute timeslot, before resuming as a weekly series ...

'', '' Saints & Sinners'' and ''

Ozark The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cov ...

''. In 2018, she co-starred in the web drama series, ''

Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) * Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'g ...

'' produced by

Issa Rae Jo-Issa Rae Diop (born January 12, 1985), known professionally as Issa Rae, is an American actress, writer, and producer. She achieved recognition as the co-creator, co-writer, and star of the HBO comedy series '' Insecure'' (2016–2021), for ...

. Smith also made guest appearances on '' NCIS: Los Angeles'', '' The Fosters'', ''

Lethal Weapon ''Lethal Weapon'' is a 1987 American action film directed by Richard Donner and written by Shane Black. It stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover alongside Gary Busey, Tom Atkins, Darlene Love, and Mitchell Ryan. In ''Lethal Weapon'', a pai ...

'', '' Fuller House'', ''

Family Reunion A family reunion is an occasion when many members of an extended family congregate. Sometimes reunions are held regularly, for example on the same date of every year. A typical family reunion will assemble for a meal, some recreation and discuss ...

'', '' All Rise'' and ''

blackAF ''#blackAF'' is an American sitcom created by Kenya Barris. It premiered on Netflix on April 17, 2020. The title derives from AAVE Internet slang, where " AF" is a term of emphasis, meaning " as fuck". In June 2020, the series was renewed fo ...

''. From 2015 to 2018, she had a recurring role on Bounce TV sitcom ''Family Time'' and in 2019 had a recurring role in short-lived ABC legal drama, ''The Fix'', In 2019, she co-starred in the comedy film '' A Madea Family Funeral'' and the following year appeared in psychological thriller ''

Fatal Affair ''Fatal Affair'' is a 2020 American psychological thriller film directed by Peter Sullivan, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rasheeda Garner. It stars Nia Long, Omar Epps, Stephen Bishop, and KJ Smith. It was released on July 16, 2020, by Ne ...

'' for Netflix. Smith also played the lead role in the drama film ''The Available Wife'' (2020). From 2019 to 2021, Smith starred in the BET family drama series, ''The Family Business''. In 2019 she landed her breakthrough role as Andrea "Andi" Barnes in the BET comedy-drama series, ''Sistas'' opposite

Ebony Obsidian Ebony Obsidian is an American actress. She had a supporting role in the 2018 drama film '' If Beale Street Could Talk'' and the following year began starring as Karen Mott in the BET comedy-drama series, '' Sistas''. In 2024, Obsidian played Len ...

, Novi Brown and Mignon Von. In 2022, she also had a recurring role in season two of the ''Power'' prequel series, '' Power Book III: Raising Kanan'', on

STARZ Starz (stylized in all caps as STARZ; pronounced "stars") is an American pay television network owned by Starz Entertainment, and is the flagship property of Starz Inc. Launched in 1994 as a multiplex service of what is now Starz Encore, ...

Personal life

Smith is married to

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and ''Sistas'' co-star Skyh Alvester Black. In May 2025, Smith and Black announced that they were expecting their first child.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, KJ Khaneshia 21st-century American actresses American film actresses American television actresses Living people Florida State University alumni 21st-century African-American actresses Year of birth missing (living people)