‘Tradwife’ TikTok Star Nara Smith Is Making Her Acting Debut In Star-Studded New Movie

In more news that makes me question what timeline we’re in, so-called Tradwife influencer Nara Smith has been cast in an upcoming, star-studded movie titled Tyrant.

News of the surprise casting was confirmed by Deadline, which reported the TikTok star is joining the ensemble cast of the thriller, directed by David Weil.

I pray to God she’s not cooking a red sauce. (Images: TikTok)

The movie will mark the debut acting role for Smith, who has amassed a huge following online for her cooking content — where she infamously makes everything from scratch in ludicrous outfits — as well as her seven-year marriage to musician and fellow influencer Lucky Blue Smith.

A TikToker making an acting pivot isn’t exactly new (Liza Koshy and Addison Rae have made similar efforts), but the stars Smith is joining for Tyrant makes this casting update feel particularly noteworthy.

The ensemble is led by bonafide A-listers Charlize Theron, Julia Garner, and Demi Moore, with Heated Rivalry’s Hudson Williams, musician Omar Apollo and Paapa Essiedu from HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter TV reboot also featuring in the cast.

We know very little about the plot of Tyrant or the extent of Smith’s role, but Deadline reports that the movie will “be a high-stakes thriller in the vein of Wall Street and Whiplash set within New York City’s elite fine dining scene”.

*Smith joins Hudson Williams and Charlize Theron in the Tyrant cast. (Images: Getty Images)*

Smith once caught flak for a recipe using unpasteurised milk, so “fine dining” might not be her forte, but we will have to wait and see how her performance plays when Tyrant eventually hits screens.

Milk-gate is just one of the controversies Smith has weathered online in recent years. In 2024, she was accused of stealing another TikToker’s content, and last year, she was slammed for a video of homemade sunscreen that experts warned could actually make followers “subject to sunburn”.

Though her content is characterised as such, Smith has denied being a Tradwife, meaning a woman who embraces conservative traditional gender and marriage roles like homemaking, being domestic and child-rearing.

“I don’t understand where that [Tradwife label] came from because I’m a working mum,” Smith said in 2024. “I work, take care of my kids, and cooking is my passion. I love cooking, just showing that to people, so I never understand where that comes from.”