Smith has appeared in films include "The Whole Ten Yards" (2004), "Daddy's Little Girls" (2007), "The Longshots" (2008), "Couples Retreat" (2009), and "Jumping the Broom" (2011). She starred as Angela Williams in the Tyler Perry films "Why Did I Get Married?" (2007), its sequel "Why Did I Get Married Too?" (2010), and on the television series based on the movies, "For Better or Worse" (2011–2017). In 2015, she began a recurring role as Carol Holloway on the Fox musical drama series "Empire". Later in the same year, Smith made her directorial debut.