Willard Carroll "Will" Smith II (born September 25, 1968, in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA) is an actor, rapper, and producer who stars as the fictionalized version of himself in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. As a rapper, Smith is known for his "clean rap" style, refusing to use vulgar, violent, sexual and misogynistic lyrics that are found in many rap songs which Smith adopted after his grandmother found his lyric book when he was a teenager and wrote in the back that "Truly intelligent people do not have to use words like this to express themselves. Please show the world that you’re as smart as we think you are."
Career[]
Before the series, he was primarily known as one-half of the rap duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince where they had hits such as "Parents Just Don't Understand" and "Summertime". In 1990, the struggling Smith was signed to a contract and had a sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air built around him. Fresh Prince proved itself to be a huge breakthrough in Smith's career, showcasing not only his abilities as a comedic and dramatic "actor", but also making him extremely popular as a solo artist once the show ended. As a solo artist, Smith is known for hits such as "Miami", "Gettin' Jiggy wit It", "Just the Two Of Us", "Men in Black", "Wild Wild West" and "Switch". As an actor, he has appeared in blockbuster hits such as the Men in Black film series, Independence Day, Enemy of the State, Bad Boys, Ali, Hitch, I Am Legend, The Pursuit of Happyness, Seven Pounds and Suicide Squad.
Smith has been nominated for two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, and eight Grammy Awards (winning half of them, two as a solo artist and two with DJ Jazzy Jeff & Will Smith).
Personal Life[]
Smith has been married to actress Jada Pinkett since 1997 and together they have a son named Jaden (born 1998) and a daughter named Willow (born 2000). Smith also has a son from a previous marriage named Trey (born 1992).
External links[]
- Will Smith on Wikipedia