Jada Pinkett Smith is a girl’s girl. She has stepped into the role of a mentor and sister figure for Cynthia Erivo, as the Emmy, Grammy, and Tony-winning actress rides the wave of career superstardom. Pinkett Smith called Erivo a “dear sister” and a “special being” and added that she’s been “checking in on her a lot” amid Erivo’s rise. “A lot of times, it’s difficult if you haven’t been through something like that, being popped into stardom in a certain manner,” Pinkett Smith told Harper’s Bazaar.

Erivo is carving her own path with clear intention. In her cover story interview, she declared, “This is what I want to look like. I love a heel, I love a nail, I love a jaw, I love a bald head, I love a good outfit. It is legitimately a way of just expressing parts of myself.” 

She reflected on fame coming later in life and said, “I’m really glad that fame has come to me later, because I feel so fully myself right now that it’s not knocking me off my axis.”

The friendship between Pinkett Smith and Erivo is pure girlhood, grounded in mutual respect and guidance. Pinkett Smith tells Erivo to “nourish the truth within you, and recognize the beauty and the power that you possess.” With nothing able to knock Erivo off her square, Pinkett Smith urges her to steer clear of external validation. This bond is so important to the fabric of Hollywood, but also for Black women who climb and hope to be lifted up by those before them, as they climb. 

In a time when Erivo is starring in films like “Wicked” — part one of which has already become iconic —and breaking barriers in representation, her journey and Pinkett’s support remind us to be sure of who it is that walks with you on your way.

When Jada presented Erivo with an award at the Los Angeles LGBT Center Gala last year, Erivo said that the tribute “celebrates those of us whose star burns brightly enough so that others may dare to shine.” She thanked Jada for “showing up so often for me,” and added, “I am in awe of you and your capacity to see people in all their fullness. And the power you have to encourage me to personally keep mining for the deepest parts of myself is unmatched.”

Now, a year later, Erivo said, “If it’s the only thing I put into this world, that everyone’s individual beauty is worth seeing and experiencing, and you don’t have to change it for anyone else other than yourself, then I’m happy.”

Erivo will reprise her role as Elphaba in “Wicked: For Good,” in theaters everywhere on Nov. 21.