Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she is the daughter of Venezuelan actress Ileana Jacquet and Federico Albertini Smith, who is part-Colombian and part-American. Smith grew up in Venezuela and identifies herself with Venezuelan culture.
Her breakthrough came in the early 1990s when she played Estrellita Montenegro, the main character in Cara Sucia, her most successful telenovela as the lead actress. Smith remains a popular actress not only in Venezuela, also in other countries where her telenovelas have shown. In 2006, she returned to telenovelas with Olvidarte Jamás, her biggest hit as the lead actress since Cara Sucia, which was shot in Miami. Later, in 2007, she reappeared in Acorralada, in which she was one of the main stars and which has been a huge success. There, she was Fedora Gaviota.
During 2005, Smith made her Hollywood debut, playing Angela LaSalle in Cyxork 7, where she acted alongside Ray Wise. In 2007 she participated in another Hollywood film, Ladrón que roba a Ladrón, where she shared credits with actors, Fernando Colunga, Gabriel Soto, Miguel Varoni, and Saul Lizaso among others.
In 2007 she acted in Telemundo's Pecados Ajenos, where she played her first antagonist role, the hysterical Elena Torres.
In 2010 she acted in Telemundo's ¿Dónde Está Elisa?, where she played Dana Riggs Altamira.
Smith secretly married Mexican actor Gabriel Porras, her co-star in the telenovela Olvidarte Jamas, on 29 February 2008. They reside in Miami, Florida.