Willard Smith was born on September 25, 1968 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Caroline (Bright), a school board administrator, and Willard Carroll Smith, Sr. a refrigeration engineer.
Prior to his role as Will Smith in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Will Smith enjoyed a successful career as a rapper under the pseudonym, "The Fresh Prince" as part of a duo with his friend Jeffrey "DJ Jazzy Jeff" Townes. Together, the duo had several platinum-selling albums and singles in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The pair met in 1985 when Townes, who was performing at a party a few doors down from Smith's home, needed a hype man, as his normal guy hadn't shown up. Smith, who was only 17 years old at this point, happily filled in. Their first single was "Girls Ain't Nothing Back Trouble."
Smith was admitted to a pre-engineering summer program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology but did not attend college as DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince were starting to gain fame.
During a speech made by Will Smith, at the MTV Music Awards, he stated that he didn’t need to swear to sell his records. He explained he doesn't curse is his raps because when he was 12, his grandma found his profanity-laced notebook and got mad with him inspiring him to be a "clean" rapper.
He became an actor when he starred on the television show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as Will Smith, a teenager from Philadelphia sent to live with his rich relatives in Southern California.
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| Will Smith at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con International. By Gage Skidmore |
Prior to his role as Will Smith in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Will Smith enjoyed a successful career as a rapper under the pseudonym, "The Fresh Prince" as part of a duo with his friend Jeffrey "DJ Jazzy Jeff" Townes. Together, the duo had several platinum-selling albums and singles in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The pair met in 1985 when Townes, who was performing at a party a few doors down from Smith's home, needed a hype man, as his normal guy hadn't shown up. Smith, who was only 17 years old at this point, happily filled in. Their first single was "Girls Ain't Nothing Back Trouble."
Smith was admitted to a pre-engineering summer program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology but did not attend college as DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince were starting to gain fame.
During a speech made by Will Smith, at the MTV Music Awards, he stated that he didn’t need to swear to sell his records. He explained he doesn't curse is his raps because when he was 12, his grandma found his profanity-laced notebook and got mad with him inspiring him to be a "clean" rapper.
He became an actor when he starred on the television show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as Will Smith, a teenager from Philadelphia sent to live with his rich relatives in Southern California.
Will Smith was about to declare bankruptcy until he was picked to star in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He had to pay the IRS 70% of his salary over the first three seasons.
Jazzy Jeff played the popular recurring character Jazz in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, whose trademark was to be physically kicked out of the house.
Will Smith would memorize the entire script then mumble other peoples' lines while they were being said during Season 1 of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
He has appeared in many movies including Independence Day, Men in Black, Wild Wild West, Ali, The Pursuit of Happyness, I Am Legend, and Suicide Squad.
His 1997 track "Men in Black" from the film of the sane name led the UK singles chart in the summer of 1997.
Will Smith turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix. Instead, he took the lead role in Wild Wild West.
In 1999 Smith topped the US singles chart with "Wild Wild West," the theme song of the film off the same name. Despite its pop success, the song was criticized for both sampling Stevie Wonder's song "I Wish" and for its incongruity with the western it serves as the theme song. The track won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst "Original" Song of 1999.
Smith became the first Hip-Hop artist to be nominated for an Academy Award when got chosen for playing the title role in the movie Ali.
Will Smith is the only actor to have eight consecutive films gross over $100 million in the domestic box office and eleven consecutive films gross over $150 million internationally.
Will Smith trained so hard for I, Robot that he could bench 385 lb – or about 175kg.
He met wife actress Jada Pinkett when she auditioned for the role of his girlfriend on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. (The role went to Nia Long.)
They married in 1997. Will Smith proposed to Jada while they were laying in bed. He rolled over and said "Wassup? You wanna marry me?"
They have had two children Jaden and Willow. At the age of 11, Jaden Smith starred in The Karate Kid taking the role made famous by Ralph Macchio in the original classic 1984 movie.
Willow Smith made her acting debut at the age of 6, starring alongside her father in 2007's I Am Legend. Her film credits also include voice-over work for the animated feature Madagascar 2.
Willow had a worldwide hit aged nine with "Whip My Hair."
Jazzy Jeff played the popular recurring character Jazz in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, whose trademark was to be physically kicked out of the house.
Will Smith would memorize the entire script then mumble other peoples' lines while they were being said during Season 1 of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
He has appeared in many movies including Independence Day, Men in Black, Wild Wild West, Ali, The Pursuit of Happyness, I Am Legend, and Suicide Squad.
His 1997 track "Men in Black" from the film of the sane name led the UK singles chart in the summer of 1997.
Will Smith turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix. Instead, he took the lead role in Wild Wild West.
Smith became the first Hip-Hop artist to be nominated for an Academy Award when got chosen for playing the title role in the movie Ali.
Will Smith is the only actor to have eight consecutive films gross over $100 million in the domestic box office and eleven consecutive films gross over $150 million internationally.
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| Smith at the Emmy Awards in 1993. By photo by Alan Light, |
Will Smith trained so hard for I, Robot that he could bench 385 lb – or about 175kg.
He met wife actress Jada Pinkett when she auditioned for the role of his girlfriend on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. (The role went to Nia Long.)
They married in 1997. Will Smith proposed to Jada while they were laying in bed. He rolled over and said "Wassup? You wanna marry me?"
They have had two children Jaden and Willow. At the age of 11, Jaden Smith starred in The Karate Kid taking the role made famous by Ralph Macchio in the original classic 1984 movie.
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| 2009, in Oslo: Smith with wife Jada and children Jaden and Willow. By Harrywad |
Willow Smith made her acting debut at the age of 6, starring alongside her father in 2007's I Am Legend. Her film credits also include voice-over work for the animated feature Madagascar 2.
Willow had a worldwide hit aged nine with "Whip My Hair."
In 2018, Jada Pinkett Smith was diagnosed with alopecia and later shaved her hair off due to the condition. During the 94th Academy Awards on March 27, 2022, Smith walked onstage and slapped presenter Chris Rock after the comedian joked about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head with a reference to the movie G.I. Jane.
Will Smith can solve a Rubik's Cube puzzle in less than a minute. He also speaks fluent Spanish and is a keen fencer.
Will Smith can solve a Rubik's Cube puzzle in less than a minute. He also speaks fluent Spanish and is a keen fencer.
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