Will Smith

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Will Smith

Smith at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con

International
Willard Carroll Smith Jr.
Born September 25, 1968 (age 49)[1]
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Residence Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other names The Fresh Prince
 Actor
 film producer
 rapper
 songwriter
Occupation
 comedian
 media personality
 record producer

Years active 1985–present

Net worth US$250 million (2014)[2]
 Sheree Zampino
Spouse(s) (m. 1992; div. 1995)
 Jada Pinkett
 (m. 1997)

Children Trey, Jaden, and Willow Smith

Musical career
Genres Hip hop
 Jive
 RCA
 Columbia
Labels  SME
 Interscope
 Universal

 DJ Jazzy Jeff
 Camp Lo
 Christina Vidal
 Eddie F
Associated acts  Kenny Greene
 Mary J. Blige
 Tichina Arnold
 Trackmasters

Website www.willsmith.com
Signature

Willard Carroll “Will” Smith Jr.[3] (born September 25, 1968)[4] is an American actor,
producer, comedian, rapper and songwriter. In April 2007, Newsweek called him "the most
powerful actor in Hollywood".[5] Smith has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards and
two Academy Awards, and has won four Grammy Awards.

In the late 1980s, Smith achieved modest fame as a rapper under the name The Fresh Prince. In
1990, his popularity increased dramatically when he starred in the NBC television series The
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which ran for six seasons until 1996. After the series ended, Smith
transitioned from television to film, and has gone on to star in numerous blockbuster films. He is
the only actor to have eight consecutive films gross over $100 million in the domestic box office,
eleven consecutive films gross over $150 million internationally, and eight consecutive films in
which he starred, open at the number one spot in the domestic box office tally.[6]
Smith has been ranked as the most bankable star worldwide by Forbes.[7] As of 2014, 17 of the
21 films in which he has had leading roles have accumulated worldwide gross earnings of over
$100 million each, five taking in over $500 million each in global box office receipts. As of
2016, his films have grossed $7.5 billion at the global box office.[8] For his performances as
boxer Muhammad Ali in Ali (2001) and stockbroker Chris Gardner in The Pursuit of Happyness
(2006), Smith received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor.[9]

Contents
 1 Early life
 2 Career
o 2.1 1985–1992: The Fresh Prince
o 2.2 1993–2006: Solo music and film beginnings
o 2.3 2006–2013: Leading man status
o 2.4 2015 – present
 2.4.1 Upcoming projects
 3 Personal life
o 3.1 Religious views
o 3.2 Political views
 4 Discography
o 4.1 With DJ Jazzy Jeff
o 4.2 Solo albums
 5 Filmography
 6 See also
 7 References
 8 Further reading
 9 External links

Early life
Smith was born on September 25, 1968 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Caroline (Bright), a
Philadelphia school board administrator, and Willard Carroll Smith Sr.,[10][11] U.S. Air Force
veteran[12] and refrigeration engineer. He grew up in West Philadelphia's Wynnefield
neighborhood,[13] and was raised Baptist.[14] He has three siblings, sister Pamela, who is four
years older, and twins Harry and Ellen, who are three years younger.[13] Smith attended Our Lady
of Lourdes, a private Catholic elementary school in Philadelphia.[15] His parents separated when
he was 13,[16] but did not actually divorce until around 2000.[17]

Smith attended Overbrook High School.[15] While it has been widely reported that Smith turned
down a scholarship to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he never applied
to college because he "wanted to rap."[18] Smith says he was admitted to a "pre-engineering
[summer] program" at MIT for high school students, but he did not attend.[17][19][20] According to
Smith, "My mother, who worked for the School Board of Philadelphia, had a friend who was the
admissions officer at MIT. I had pretty high SAT scores and they needed black kids, so I
probably could have gotten in. But I had no intention of going to college."[21]

Career
1985–1992: The Fresh Prince

Smith at the Emmy Awards in 1993

Smith started as the MC of the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, with his childhood
friend Jeffrey "DJ Jazzy Jeff" Townes as turntablist and producer.[22] Townes and Smith were
introduced to each other by chance in 1985, as Townes was performing at a house party only a
few doors down from Smith's residence, and he was missing his hype man. Smith decided to fill
in. They both felt strong chemistry, and Townes was upset when his hype man finally made it to
the party.[23]

Soon after, the two decided to join forces. Smith enlisted a friend to join as the beatboxer of the
group, Clarence Holmes (Ready Rock C), making them a trio. Philadelphia-based Word Up
Records released their first single in late 1985 to 1986 when A&R man Paul Oakenfold[24]
introduced them to Word Up with their single "Girls Ain't Nothing but Trouble," a tale of funny
misadventures that landed Smith and his former DJ and rap partner Mark Forrest (Lord Supreme)
in trouble.[25] The song sampled the theme song of "I Dream of Jeannie." Smith became known
for light-hearted story-telling raps and capable, though profanity-free, "battle" rhymes. The
single became a hit a month before Smith graduated from high school.[26]

Based on this success, the duo were brought to the attention of Jive Records and Russell
Simmons. The duo's first album, Rock the House, which was first released on Word Up in 1986
debuted on Jive in March of 1987. The group received the first Grammy Award for Best Rap
Performance in 1989 for "Parents Just Don't Understand" (1988), though their most successful
single was "Summertime" (1991), which earned the group their second Grammy and peaked at
number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Smith and Townes are still friends and claim that they never
split up, having made songs under Smith's solo performer credit.[27]

Smith spent money freely around 1988 and 1989 and underpaid his income taxes.[22] The Internal
Revenue Service eventually assessed a $2.8 million tax debt against Smith, took many of his
possessions, and garnished his income.[28] Smith was nearly bankrupt in 1990, when the NBC
television network signed him to a contract and built a sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,
around him.[22] The show was successful and began his acting career. Smith set for himself the
goal of becoming "the biggest movie star in the world", studying box office successes' common
characteristics.[16]

1993–2006: Solo music and film beginnings

Smith's first major roles were in the drama Six Degrees of Separation (1993) and the action film
Bad Boys (1995) in which he starred opposite Martin Lawrence. The latter film was
commercially successful, grossing $141,407,024 worldwide — $65,807,024 in North America
and $75,600,000 overseas.[29] However, critical reception was generally mixed.[30] In 1996,
Smith starred as part of an ensemble cast in Roland Emmerich's Independence Day. The film
was a massive blockbuster, becoming the second highest-grossing film in history at the time and
establishing Smith as a prime box office draw.[31]

In the summer of 1997 he starred alongside Tommy Lee Jones in the summer hit Men in Black
playing Agent J. The film was released on July 2, 1997, by Columbia Pictures, and grossed over
$589.3 million worldwide against a $90 million budget, becoming the year's third highest-
grossing film, with an estimated 54,616,700 tickets sold in the US.[32] It received worldwide
acclaim, with critics highly praising its witty, sophisticated humor, as well as Jones and Smith's
performances.

During the summer of 1997, Smith also began his solo career with the release of "Men in Black",
the theme song for the film of the same name, which topped singles charts in several regions
across the world, including the UK.[33] "Men in Black" (and second single "Just Cruisin'") was
later included on Smith's debut solo album Big Willie Style, which reached the top ten of the US
Billboard 200 and was certified nine times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of
America (RIAA).[34][35] The third single from the album, "Gettin' Jiggy wit It", became Smith's
first Billboard Hot 100 number one when it was released in 1998.[36]

In 1998, Smith starred with Gene Hackman in Enemy of the State.[22] The following year he
turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix in favor of Wild Wild West (1999). Despite the
disappointment of Wild Wild West, Smith has said that he harbors no regrets about his decision,
asserting that Keanu Reeves's performance as Neo was superior to what Smith himself would
have achieved,[37] although in interviews subsequent to the release of Wild Wild West he stated
that he "made a mistake on Wild Wild West. That could have been better."[38]

Smith's second album was again supported by the release of a film theme song as the lead single:
"Wild Wild West", featuring Dru Hill and Kool Moe Dee, topped the Billboard Hot 100 and was
certified gold by the RIAA.[35][36] The album in question, Willennium, reached number five on
the Billboard 200 and was certified double platinum by the RIAA.[34][35] "Will 2K", the second
single from the album, reached number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100.[36] Before the end of 1999,
a video album was released featuring Smith's seven music videos released to date,[39] which
reached number 25 on the UK Music Video Chart.[40] The same year, the rapper was also
featured on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air co-star Tatyana Ali's single "Boy You Knock Me Out",
which reached number three on the UK Singles Chart and topped the UK R&B Singles
Chart.[33][41]

Smith portrayed heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali in the 2001 biopic Ali. For his performance
he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor, and the Golden Globe Award for Best
Actor – Motion Picture Drama.[42][43] In 2002, following a four-year musical hiatus, Smith
returned with his third album Born to Reign, which reached number 13 on the Billboard 200 and
was certified gold by the RIAA.[34][35] The album's lead single was Men in Black II theme song
"Black Suits Comin' (Nod Ya Head)", which reached number three on the UK Singles Chart.[33]
Later in the year, Smith's first compilation album Greatest Hits was released, featuring songs
from his three solo albums as well as those produced with DJ Jazzy Jeff.[44]

2003 saw Smith return for Bad Boys II, the sequel to the 1995 film Bad Boys and the second
installment in the Bad Boys series, the film follows detectives Burnett and Lowrey investigating
the flow of ecstasy into Miami. Despite receiving generally negative reviews, the film was a box
office success, grossing $270 million worldwide.[45]

Smith's latest album Lost and Found was released in 2005, peaking at number six on the
Billboard 200.[34] Lead single "Switch" reached the top ten of both the Billboard Hot 100 and the
UK Singles Chart.[33][36] In 2005, Smith was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records
for attending three premieres in a 24-hour time span.[46]