Ada Beatrice Queen Victoria Louise Virginia Smith was born in Alderson. Her stage debut was at age five in Uncle Tom's Cabin; by the time she was 16, she was performing on the vaudeville circuit.

She received the nickname "Bricktop" from a saloon keeper based on her striking red hair, somewhat unusual for an African American woman. This distinctive name stayed with her throughout her career, becoming synonymous with her larger-than-life presence and enduring influence in the entertainment world.

Bricktop’s time in Paris in the 1920s solidified her reputation as an entertainer of exceptional talent. She performed at high-profile venues and, in 1926, opened the Music Box, a nightclub that evolved into Bricktop's, a famous hotspot for musicians, actors, and other creative people. It’s rumored that Cole Porter wrote "Miss Otis Regrets She's Unable to Lunch Today" for her. During the rise of Nazi Germany, she continued her career with radio broadcasts in France before returning to the United States before the start of World War II.

In 1970, she made her only recording, "So Long, Baby," with Cy Coleman. Bricktop co-wrote an autobiography chronicling her extraordinary life. In 2013, she was posthumously inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.