will smith full biography

Will Smith transitioned from successful rapper to Hollywood A-lister, starring on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air before headlining such films as Independence Day , Men in Black , and Ali .

1968-present

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Music career, movies and tv shows, wife jada pinkett smith and children, who is will smith.

After Will Smith met Jeff Townes at age 16, the duo launched a highly successful rap career as DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. Smith starred on the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air for six seasons, before establishing himself as a Hollywood A-lister with Bad Boys (1995) and Independence Day (1996). He has since headlined such popular films as Men in Black (1997) and Hitch (2005) and earned Oscar nominations for Ali (2001) and The Pursuit of Happyness (2006). Smith also earned acclaim for Concussion (2015), before returning to action fare with Suicide Squad (2016).

FULL NAME: Willard Carroll Smith Jr. BORN: September 25, 1968 BIRTHPLACE: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania SPOUSE: Sheree Zampino (1992-1995) and Jada Pinkett Smith (1997-present; separated) CHILDREN: Trey, Jaden , and Willow ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Libra

Smith was born Willard Carroll Smith Jr. on September 25, 1968, in Philadelphia to mother Caroline, a school board employee, and father Willard C. Smith, a refrigeration company owner. His middle-class upbringing saw him attend the strict Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School, despite his family's observation of the Baptist faith. He went on to attend Overbrook High School.

His West Philadelphia neighborhood was a melting pot of cultures where Orthodox Jews co-existed with a large Muslim population. Smith was a good student whose charming personality and quick tongue were renowned for getting him out of trouble, a trait for which he soon gained the nickname "Prince.''

Smith began rapping at age 12, emulating heroes like Grandmaster Flash but tingeing his rhymes with a comedic element that would later become his trademark. At 16 Smith met future collaborator Jeff Townes at a party. The pair became friends, and the duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince was born.

As teens, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince began producing music but steered clear of the gangsta rap sound that was emerging from the West Coast by groups like N.W.A. The Fresh Prince rapped about teenage preoccupations in a clean, curse-free style that middle America found safe and entertaining. The pair's first single, "Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble," was a hit in 1986. Their 1987 debut album, Rock the House , hit the Billboard Top 200, and made Smith a millionaire before the age of 18. The early success put any thoughts of attending college out of Smith's mind.

Early on, it was reported that Smith had turned down a scholarship to Boston's elite Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), but Smith later dispelled the rumor when he told an interviewer: "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."

In 1988, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince continued their success with the album He's The DJ , I'm The Rapper . Featuring the radio-friendly singles "Parents Just Don't Understand," "Brand New Funk," and "Nightmare on My Street," the album won the first-ever Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance. It was followed in 1989 by And In This Corner..., which continued the pair's rise to stardom.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Two years later, Smith began his crossover into acting. Drawing on his experiences with fledgling stardom, NBC signed Smith to headline a sitcom about a street-smart kid from Philadelphia who moves in with stuffy relatives in the posh Los Angeles neighborhood of Bel-Air. Playing on his rapper persona, and at times featuring his friend Towne, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was a huge success that ran for six seasons.

Meanwhile, Smith and Towne continued producing music, their 1991 album Homebase producing the hits "Summertime" and "Ring My Bell." Their final album together, 1993's Code Red , was notable for "Boom! Shake the Room."

Where the Day Takes You and Six Degrees of Separation

While still making The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air , Smith began a second crossover into movies. Small roles in the drama Where The Day Takes You (1992) and the comedy Made In America (1993) were followed by a critically acclaimed lead in Six Degrees of Separation (1993). Holding his own alongside Donald Sutherland , Stockard Channing and Ian McKellen , Smith played a street-wise gay hustler who cons his way through elite circles.

Smith's first steps into superstardom came with his next film, Bad Boys (1995). The high-budget cop movie saw him team up with comic Martin Lawrence , breaking away from the Black-cop-white-cop formula that had been so successful for Beverly Hills Cop and the Lethal Weapon series. The two Black leads proved an instant success and Smith — playing the smooth lady killer to Lawrence's clown — was established as leading man material.

Independence Day

Smith next took on the epic sci-fi flick Independence Day (1996), a role that confirmed him as a major player in Hollywood and the go-to guy for summer blockbusters. He played a pilot leading the counterattack against invading alien forces, and his comedic talents effortlessly transformed into the pithy one-liners all action heroes need to be able to drop while dispatching their enemies.

Men in Black and Enemy of the State

Smith fought aliens again in his next blockbuster, the comic sci-fi action film, Men in Black (1997). Playing opposite Tommy Lee Jones , Smith chewed up the screen as the new recruit to Jones' old hand. Smith rapped the theme song, and its inclusion on his 1997 solo album, Big Willie Style, brought the multi-talented actor more success. Another blockbuster followed with the slick conspiracy thriller Enemy of the State (1998), which earned Smith an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture.

Wild Wild West and The Legend of Bagger Vance

The string of hits came to an end in 1999 with Wild Wild West , a sci-fi cowboy Western co-starring Kevin Kline. Despite the film's lackluster box-office performance, the track Smith cut for the film became a hit on his 1999 album, Willennium . The golf movie The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000) was his next big film, with Smith playing the caddie to Matt Damon 's out-of-sorts swinger.

Oscar Nomination for Ali

The 2001 biopic Ali , based on boxing legend Muhammad Ali , gave Smith the opportunity to regain his big-screen swagger. His turn as the charismatic boxing great saw Smith put in the performance of his life, training and disciplining himself to extraordinary lengths to do justice to the athleticism — and ego — of the titular character. The film underwhelmed at the box office despite a record-breaking opening day, but Smith's performance was strong enough to garner him his first Academy Award nomination.

Men in Black II , Bad Boys II , and I, Robot

A couple of sequels were next, with Smith reprising his roles in Men In Black II (2002) and Bad Boys II (2003). Neither was a flop, but neither matched the impressive box-office take of its predecessor. Staying with the sci-fi action theme, Smith moved on to I, Robot in 2004. The Isaac Asimov adaptation featured Smith as a futuristic cop investigating a murder by a robot and then battling a robot insurgency. The film performed well, grossing more than $144 million domestically.

Hitch and The Pursuit of Happyness

Smith's smooth-talking charmer persona was put to use in the 2005 romantic comedy Hitch, playing a dating consultant who helps luckless guys with their romantic moves. Smith also penned the theme song and included it on his 2005 album, Lost and Found . Hitch was a massive success, and it was followed in 2006 by another critical and financial hit, The Pursuit of Happyness (2006). Starring alongside his real-life son Jaden , Smith captivated audiences with the story of a single father who has to build a life from scratch. He received his second Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his performance.

I Am Legend

In 2007, Smith starred in I Am Legend , a remake of the Charlton Heston film Omega Man , in which he battled bloodthirsty vampires. The film became a national and international hit.

Hancock , Seven Pounds , and Men in Black 3

Smith then took on the dual role of actor and producer for Hancock (2008), in which he played an alcoholic anti-superhero, and for Seven Pounds (2008), about a man who sets out to change the lives of seven people. He also helped produce two more films released that year, Lakeview Terrace and The Secret Life of Bees .

After a hiatus, Smith returned to the big screen in 2012 with Men in Black 3 , followed by a turn as a military commander in the critically panned M. Night Shyamalan sci-fi flick After Earth , which co-starred Smith's son Jaden. He then made a cameo as Lucifer in the film Winter's Tale (2014).

Focus , Concussion , and Suicide Squad

Smith's next leading role came with the 2015 heist caper Focus , co-starring Margot Robbie . Later in the year, he starred as Dr. Bennet Omalu in the sports drama Concussion , earning a Golden Globe nomination for his role as a doctor fighting to raise awareness about head trauma in NFL players.

In 2016, Smith starred in the DC Comics blockbuster hit Suicide Squad , which became his most successful film since 1996's Independence Day . The same year, he also took on a more somber role as a father who loses his young daughter in the drama Collateral Beauty . Although a follow-up endeavor, Bright (2017), was thoroughly panned by critics, audiences responded more positively to the urban fantasy crime flick.

Aladdin , Gemini Man , and Bad Boys for Life

In February 2019, Smith announced that he would not be returning for the Suicide Squad sequel. Around that time, a commercial during the Grammy Awards revealed him as a wisecracking Genie in Guy Ritchie's live-action adaptation of Disney's Aladdin , which went on to top $1 billion at the global box office. Next up was Ang Lee's Gemini Man , which had Smith pulling double duty — with help from digital technology — as a 50-year-old assassin assigned to kill a 23-year-old version of himself.

The A-lister closed out the year by voicing super agent Lance Sterling in the animated Spies in Disguise , alongside Tom Holland , before opening 2020 with a return to his successful cop-buddy franchise in Bad Boys for Life .

Smith has been married twice. His first marriage, to Sheree Zampino in 1992, lasted only three years but produced a son, Willard Smith III (b. 1992), also known as Trey. He has been married to actress Jada Pinkett Smith since 1997. The couple's son, Jaden , was born in 1998, and their daughter, Willow , was born in 2000.

Smith leans politically liberal and has made donations to the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama . Smith is a fan of chess and video games and is known to take his mother on vacation every year, usually to the Canyon Ranch spa in Tucson, Arizona.

• I want to represent the idea that you really can make what you want ... I believe I can create whatever I want to create.
• I want to do good. I want the world to be better because I was here.
• I have a great time with my life and I want to share it. I love living. I think that's infectious. It's something that you can't fake.
• Being realistic is the most commonly traveled road to mediocrity. Why would you be realistic?
• There's no easy way round it. Your talent is going to fail if you're not skilled.
• I've never really viewed myself as particularly talented. Where I excel is ridiculous, sickening work ethic. While the other guys sleeping, I'm working. While the other guy is eating, I'm working.
• The first step before anybody else in the world believes it is you have to believe it.
• There's no reason to have a plan B because it distracts from plan A.
• Don't chase people. Be yourself, do your own thing and work hard.
• I'm a student of patterns, at heart I'm a physicist.

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Will Smith Biography (1968-)

Full name, Willard Christopher Smith, Jr.; born September 25, 1968, in Philadelphia, PA; son of Willard Christopher (a refrigeration engineer) and Caroline (a school administrator) Smith; married Sheree Elizabeth Zampino (a songwriter and actress), May 9, 1992 (divorced, 1995); married Jada Pinkett (an actress), December 31, 1997; children: (first marriage) Willard Christopher III (Trey); (second marriage) Jaden Christopher Syre, Willow Camille Reign. Addresses: Office: Overbrook Entertainment, 450 North Roxbury Dr., Fourth Floor, Beverly Hills, CA 90210.; Agent: Creative Artists Agency, 9830 WilshireBlvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90212-1804.; Publicist: Stan Rosenfeld, Stan Rosenfeld & Associates, Ltd., 2029 Century Park East, Suite 1190, Los Angeles, CA 90067.

Famous Works

Further reference.

OTHER SOURCES Books Contemporary Black Biography, Volume 18, Gale, 1998 Contemporary Musicians, Volume 26, Gale, 1999 Wallner, Rosemary, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Abdo and Daughters (Edina, MN), 1992 Periodicals Biography, July, 1999, pp. 34-38, 104 Entertainment Weekly, June 25, 1993, p. 54; December 24, 1993, pp.26-28; January 16, 2002, February 22, 2002, pp. 26-27 Essence, February, 1993, pp. 60-62; July, 1997, p. 60; May, 1998,p. 82 Flicks, January, 1999, p. 9 Jet, December 3, 1990, p. 58; April 29, 1991, p. 56; December 23,1991, p. 56 Los Angeles Times, December 10, 1995 Mademoiselle, December, 1993, p. 146 Newsweek, July 7, 1997, p. 63 People Weekly, September 24, 1990, pp. 83-84; February 23, 1998, p. 28 Philadelphia Inquirer, October 29, 2000 Premiere, January, 1994, p. 74; December, 2000 Rolling Stone, December 10, 1998, pp. 62-71, 137 Shoot, May 15, 1998, p. 7 Starlog, September, 1996; September, 1997 Sunday Times (London), June 27, 1999 Time Out New York, December 13, 2001 Total Film, September, 1997, p. 29 TV Guide, September 29, 1990, p. 5; October 13, 1990, p. 7; January 23, 1993, pp. 10-12 Urban Cinefile, February 21, 2002 Vanity Fair, July, 1999 Electronic Will Smith, http://www.willsmith.com, October 19, 2002

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The Fresh Prince of Belles-Lettres? Will Smith Has a Memoir.

By Alexandra Jacobs

• Published Nov. 9, 2021 Updated Nov. 30, 2021
• Share full article

Fourth of July weekend, 1996. America has gasped en masse watching aliens detonate the White House in the movie “Independence Day” and, at 3 a.m. in Los Angeles, the telephone of its young star, Will Smith, jangles him awake.

It’s his domineering father, calling from Philadelphia to crow about the boffo box office receipts. “Remember I told you ! There’s no such thing as luck,” this man he calls Daddio reminds him several times.

Smith is baffled. Then Daddio, piling on affectionate profanity, concedes he was wrong about being the creator of your own destiny, about success being the result of preparation meeting opportunity and all that. His son, a rapper-turned-sitcom actor and now overnight matinee idol, is just the luckiest man he has ever met.

Titled simply “Will,” with all of that word’s felicitous double entendres of iron and resolve, Smith’s autobiography is indeed a fairy tale of dazzling good fortune — albeit one told by a narrator who admits by the second chapter that he is unreliable, a lifelong embellisher for whom “the border between fantasy and reality has always been thin and transparent.”

The book is also intermittently a call to self-actualization: Written with Mark Manson, a mega-selling personal-growth author himself prone to profanity, it’s sprinkled with homilies like “Living is the journey from not knowing to knowing. From not understanding to understanding. From confusion to clarity.” A Fresh Prince of all media, Smith has so many “angels” to thank along this “journey,” he directs readers to his Instagram account rather than kill more trees with lengthy acknowledgments.

It’s more like a wild ride than a journey, however, one whose most valuable insights are to be gleaned not on Instagram but in a pre-web world of suburban basements, cassette decks, network TV shows, fax machines, party lines and playing outside.

During Smith’s childhood in the Wynnefield neighborhood of West Philadelphia, Daddio was a hard-drinking self-employed refrigeration engineer of militaristic discipline but erratic temper. He once struck Smith’s mother, known as Mom-Mom — an office and then school administrator of her own considerable mettle — so hard she spit blood. Witnessing this at age 9, Will determined heartbreakingly that he was a “coward” for not intervening — a self-characterization that echoes throughout this story and, he theorizes later, drove him to compensate by powering through fear. (For his 50th birthday, he bungee-jumped backward out of a helicopter above the Grand Canyon .)

Smith developed a work ethic bagging ice and laying bricks for the family business, but he felt safest when Daddio, a frustrated photography buff, was making home movies. The camera had no sound and so the little boy learned to ham it up, forever bursting into frame. “I invented photobombing,” he writes.

Years later, when his old man is confined to a wheelchair with heart disease, Smith confesses he contemplated pushing him down a staircase, like Richard Widmark’s character in the film noir “Kiss of Death”: “My 911 call would be Academy Award level.” It’s a rare flash of darkness from a guy whose psychological adaptations were affability and popularity, the desire to make sure everyone around him was having a good time.

In the rap world where he made his name, those traits weren’t always appreciated, and Smith’s reputation for being “soft” and “bubble gum” still rankles. He encountered his share of violence outside as well as inside the home, solidly middle-class though it was. In one early meeting with an annoyed television executive, he and his entourage were so sure a brawl was about to break out that his manager lifted a five-pound snow globe in anticipatory self-defense.

He tells of learning to appeal to white sensibilities at the Catholic school he attended, until his parents withdrew him after a racist incident at the football awards banquet; and of getting into what Mom-Mom calls “hippity-hopping” at Overbrook High, which was predominantly Black. Smith’s collaboration with Jeffrey Allen Townes, a.k.a. DJ Jazzy Jeff, a nerdy kid from another neighborhood who survived non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, was so successful, with a hit song before graduation, that Smith decided against college. “We were seeking our sound,” he writes of their intense early partnership, “but we found ourselves.”

Scenes from tours with Public Enemy and 2 Live Crew are amazing 3-D postcards from the rosy dawn of the genre, including friction with local law enforcement in the South, onstage fellatio and the nightly “hanging” of a stuntman in a Ku Klux Klan hood. Smith squandered his earnings and neglected to pay taxes, only to get a lucky second break from Quincy Jones, his Obi Wan Kenobi, to star with Townes on a custom-built sitcom, “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”

Though Smith claims he didn’t read a book cover to cover until he was “well into” his 20s, he has the literary aplomb (thanks partly to Mom-Mom) and the trust in his manager’s discernment to turn down $10 million for an early project called “8 Heads in a Duffel Bag,” choosing instead Paul Poitier in John Guare’s “Six Degrees of Separation” for $300,000. Eventually he gorges on magical realism and mythology, falling in love with Paulo Coelho’s “The Alchemist” and Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero With a Thousand Faces.”

Smith’s own hero’s quest, at first, is for more money (“sucking all the cash out of the weekend”), more fame, more global records, a house as palatial as the one he saw growing up on “Dallas” — no matter that his second wife, the formidable Jada Pinkett, doesn’t want to arrive at breakfast on a stallion the way Sue Ellen Ewing did.

As the book progresses, and Smith’s celebrity becomes more stratospheric and snow globe-like, the air grows thinner; he starts to gasp for breath and turns inward. “Am I an addict?” he wonders during a period of introspection that includes meditation, a trip to Trinidad, the therapeutic identification of a persona called Uncle Fluffy and over a dozen ayahuasca ceremonies. He’s not hooked on drugs, or drink, or “sex like some ghetto hyena.” Smith is a workaholic, and a win-aholic, those most virtuous and therefore invisible of vices.

Writing a book that will probably blow up the charts, and publicizing it, may not be good for his recovery. But one day at a time.

Alexandra Jacobs is a book critic for The Times and the author of “Still Here: The Madcap, Nervy, Singular Life of Elaine Stritch.” Follow her on Twitter: @AlexandraJacobs .

Will By Will Smith with Mark Manson Illustrated. 418 pages. Penguin Press. $30.

What You Never Knew About Will Smith

Will Smith's path to movie stardom has not been typical. As Biography noted, Smith burst on the scene as a PG-rated rapper: one-half of the duo known as DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. That initial burst of instant fame led him to television, and he starred in the beloved sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" for six hit seasons before branching out onto the big screen. 

Since then, the rapper-turned-actor has become one of Hollywood's most bankable stars: According to Box Office Mojo , his films have raked in a combined $9.3 billion at the box office. Now, however, Smith faces an uncertain future after letting his anger get the most of him during the 2022 Oscars when he strode onstage and smacked comedian Chris Rock across the face during the live television broadcast. The slap-heard-round-the-world occurred following an unfortunate joke that Rock made about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith . Making the entire thing even more bizarre, Smith just moments later went on to win his first Oscar.

There's undoubtedly much to learn about his fascinating public figure, so keep reading to find out what you never knew about Will Smith.

The reason he was disappointed when one of his movies opened at No. 1

When a movie opens at No. 1 at the box office, it's typically cause for celebration for that film's stars. Will Smith, however, has one outright stinker on his resume that he wishes, in hindsight, didn't do as well at the box office as it ultimately did:  "Wild Wild West,"  his 1999 western based on the 1960s TV series. 

During a roundtable discussion with Newsweek — which also included fellow actors Sissy Spacek, Nicole Kidman, Tom Wilkinson, Naomi Watts, and Billy Bob Thornton — Smith described the film's success as his "biggest emotional defeat and the greatest emotional pain" he'd experienced in his acting career. "The movie wasn't good," Smith admitted. "And it hurt so bad to be the No. 1 movie — to open at $52 million — and to know the movie wasn't good ." Ultimately, Smith said h felt he "cheated my audience" by releasing and promoting a terrible movie.

It's a lesson that Smith appears to have taken to heart. Speaking onstage at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival (via  Entertainment Tonight ), Smith admitted that he "found myself promoting something because I wanted to win versus promoting something because I believed in it."

He could have played Neo in 'The Matrix'

Will Smith's negative feelings about "Wild Wild West" were only compounded by the success of the film he passed up starring in it. "I did turn down Neo in 'The Matrix,'" Smith confessed in a "Storytime" video on his YouTube channel, explaining that an unconvincing pitch meeting with the Wachowski brothers — who directed "The Matrix" — guided his decision. "I'm not proud of it," Smith admitted but did concede that eventual star Keanu Reeves "was perfect" in the role.

As Smith explained, "The Matrix" would have been a very different movie had he played Neo "because I'm Black, then Morpheus wouldn't have been Black because they were looking at Val Kilmer" for the role that ultimately went to actor Laurence Fishburne. "So, I probably would've messed 'The Matrix' up. I would've ruined it." Smith believes that "I did y'all a favor" in passing.

During a red carpet interview (via Daily Motion ), Smith admitted that if he had the chance to go back in time to one of his movies and offer himself some advice, he would return to the set of "Wild Wild West" and tell himself, "***hole, why didn't you do 'The Matrix?'"

Will Smith will 'not be out-worked'

Ask Will Smith to explain the secret of his success, and you may get a surprising answer. As Smith explained during an interview with "60 Minutes" (via YouTube ), the actor never viewed his stardom as a result of his ability since he's never considered himself to be anything more than "slightly above average" in the talent department. His secret weapon, he revealed, is not his capability as a performer, but rather his "ridiculous, sickening work ethic." 

During another  interview about his drive, Smith put it even more bluntly. "I will not be outworked — period." To make his point, Smith used the example of exercising on a treadmill alongside a competitor. "There's two things: You're getting off first, or I'm gonna die," he said. "It's really that simple." 

During a conversation with the  "Rap Radar"  podcast (via CNBC ), Smith detailed the philosophy underlying the work ethic that has taken him to the upper echelons of show business. "For the most part, I don't live in a space of 'I can't," he said. "I live in a space of 'I feel confident that if I put in my 10,000 hours I can achieve anything."

Will Smith is a master at the Rubik's Cube

Will Smith's crazy work ethic is displayed in a crucial scene in his film "The Pursuit of Happyness," in which his character solves a Rubik's Cube within two minutes (via YouTube ).

There are no cutaways or camera trickery involved; Smith solved the Rubik's Cube by himself. But, of course, Smith didn't just pick the thing up and figure it out for himself but was taught by expert Tyson Mao, who holds the world's record for solving the puzzle in the shortest amount of time while blindfolded. As Mao told the Chicago Tribune , the original idea was to use a hand double for the scene, but Smith was insistent that he could do it "genuinely on-camera."

According to Mao, Smith was such a good student that he gained the ability to solve a Rubik's Cube "from any configuration." "You can scramble it for as long as you want, and it won't make it any harder for him," he added.  

Smith proved he hadn't lost that skill when he was handed a Rubik's Cube during a talk show appearance — and solved it on camera. 

He signed on to 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' to pay the IRS

Will Smith was a burgeoning rapper when he was cast to star in "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," and it's not hyperbole to say the sitcom's success launched his successful Hollywood career. However, that wasn't necessarily his plan. According to "Will Smith: A Biography,"  Smith was in a deep financial hole at the time, owing to the IRS nearly $3 million due to not paying taxes on his earnings as a rapper. "Before I was in trouble with Uncle Phil, I was in trouble with Uncle Sam," Smith joked in his "Storytime" video (via YouTube ).

The IRS responded by confiscating all Smith's assets. "Being famous and broke is a *****y combination," quipped Smith, "because you're still famous and people recognize you, but they recognize you while you're sitting next to them on the bus."

When the opportunity arose for him to star in his own TV sitcom, Smith jumped at the chance to pay off his tax debt. But, as "Will Smith: A Biography" pointed out, the IRS took 70% of each of his "Fresh Prince" paychecks for the series' first three years.

He once considered killing his father

In 2021, Will Smith opened up about his life in his memoir, "Will."  An excerpt published in People detailed his fraught childhood due to his physically abusive father, William Carroll Smith Sr. As Smith wrote, his relationship with his alcoholic father was complex and not easily categorized. "My father was violent, but he was also at every game, play, and recital," Smith explained, conceding that the same "intense perfectionism" that "put food on the table" also "terrorized his family."

A defining moment occurred when Smith was nine when he witnessed his father strike his mother in the head "so hard that she collapsed. I saw her spit blood." He wrote that memory has never left him, leading to childhood fantasies that he "would one day avenge my mother." 

Smith was confronted with an opportunity for vengeance years later when his father was ill with cancer. Wheeling his terminally ill father to the bathroom, Smith recalled pausing at the top of a staircase. "I could shove him down, and easily get away with it," he wrote, describing "the decades of pain, anger, and resentment" that bubbled to the surface before he brushed those feelings aside. Smith's father died in 2016.

He met his future wife during a failed audition

Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith were married on New Year's Eve 1997 (via Brides ). Interestingly, the future spouses met in 1994 when she auditioned for a role on his sitcom, "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." However, she didn't get the part revealing to  "Extra"  that producers told her she was too short to play the title character's girlfriend. It wasn't until years later that they began dating. However, there was a significant complication: He was already married to his first wife, Sheree Zampino (who later went on to join the cast of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" ).

During an appearance on his wife's Facebook Watch series "Red Table Talk,"  Smith recalled being out to dinner with his then-wife and becoming overwhelmed with the "realization that I wasn't with the person I was supposed to be with." Smith and Zampino divorced in 1995 (via YouTube ).

Meanwhile, the role in "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" that Pinkett Smith had auditioned for ultimately went to actress Nia Long. "The joke that I have with Jada is that I got the job, but she got the husband," Long told People . "That's like our running joke."

His first Grammy win was both historic and controversial

In 1989, Will Smith and musical partner Jeffrey Allen Townes — or DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince — won a  Grammy for their single "Parents Just Don't Understand." Their win was a historical one, given that it was in the Best Rap Performance category — marking the first time that particular category had been introduced. 

However, Smith and Townes weren't on hand to accept their award because they decided to boycott the ceremony. The Hollywood Reporter reported that the pair balked when they discovered that the new category wouldn't be part of the televised award ceremony. "We chose to boycott," Smith told  Entertainment Tonight . "We feel that it's a slap in the face." 

As Smith explained, the Recording Academy — which puts on the annual award show — knew nothing about rap and wasn't giving the genre the respect he felt it deserved. "Our boycott was to open their eyes to rap music, so next year, some rapper will be able to perform at the Grammys, and the awards will be televised because the music is large enough and important enough to be on the show," he said.

He apologized to a former co-star after a feud that lasted decades

When actor Janet Hubert was replaced in the role of Aunt Viv on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," it led to a very public feud between Hubert and Will Smith that lasted decades. "I can say straight up that Janet Hubert wanted the show to be 'The Aunt Viv of Bel-Air Show,'" Smith sniped in a 1993 radio interview (via TV Line ). "She said once, 'I've been in the business for 10 years, and this snotty-nosed punk comes along and gets a show.' To her, I'm the Antichrist." 

That same year, Hubert told the  Los Angeles Times she was "hurt and disappointed" to part ways with the show. Her apparent bitterness was still on display when she told TMZ  in 2011 that a reunion was unthinkable because she would never again "do anything with an ***hole like Will Smith."

Ultimately, she agreed to be part of the 2020 reunion special (via HBO Max ), in which the former co-stars explained their behavior and then apologized for it. "We've said such hateful things about each other, probably. And I'm sorry," said Hubert, as reported by Vanity Fair , with Smith responding by telling her, "I'm sorry."

The reason he spent years thinking of himself as a coward

As Will Smith wrote in his 2021 memoir "Will" (via People ), watching, at age nine, his father assault his mother was a moment he could never put behind him. He had never been able to overcome the guilt he felt "for my inaction that day" for his inability to stand up to his father. 

Ironically, his feelings of cowardice have also driven him to achieve ever-greater heights in his career. "What you have come to understand as 'Will Smith,' the alien-annihilating M.C., the bigger-than-life movie star, is largely a construction — a carefully crafted and honed character — designed to protect myself," he wrote, as excerpted by GQ . 

It was his father's death, he told the magazine, that finally allowed him to share the secret he'd been keeping for his entire life. "I never would've been able to talk about that while he was alive," Smith admitted.

He achieved his goal of becoming the world's biggest movie star

Having successfully transitioned from rapper to actor via "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," when the series ended its six-season run in 1996, Smith set a somewhat audacious goal for himself: to become the biggest movie star in the world. "I wanted to do what Eddie Murphy was doing. I wanted to make people feel how I felt the first time I saw 'Star Wars,'" Smith wrote in his memoir, "Will" (via GQ ).

As The Hollywood Reporter pointed out, Smith achieved that goal by becoming the only actor in Hollywood history to boast 10 consecutive films that earned more than $150 million at the international box office.

Of course, that success didn't just happen accidentally. "When I moved into acting, that was the first time I started applying skill to my talents," he told the "Rap Radar" podcast (via  CNBC ). "You're born with talent, and there are certain things that you just do naturally ... But skill is acquired through discipline."

The history leading to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock

Will Smith made headlines and Oscar history when he strode onstage during the 2022 Academy Awards and slapped presenter Chris Rock in the face (via YouTube ) after the comedian had jokingly compared Jada Pinkett Smith's bald look to Demi Moore's shaved head in "G.I. Jane." For her part, Pinkett Smith had previously opened up about her struggles with alopecia  (via Page Six ).

However, there may have been more history behind Smith's action — which led him to be banned from the Oscars for 10 years, Variety has reported — than viewers realized. When Rock hosted the 2016 Oscars, he made a joke at the expense of Pinkett Smith, who was publicly boycotting the event due to that year's #OscarsSoWhite controversy (via the BBC ). "Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna's panties," Rock quipped at the time (via YouTube ). "I wasn't invited."

When asked about Rock's mockery, reported Entertainment Tonight , Pinkett Smith seemingly brushed it off. "It comes with the territory," she said.

He had an ayahuasca-fueled vision of his career imploding

Whatever the ultimate impact of that slap on Will Smith's career, he shared a somewhat eerie revelation during an interview taped before the Oscars. Appearing on David Letterman's Netflix interview series, "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction," Smith revealed he'd been on a quest for spiritual enlightenment that included 14 experiences taking ayahuasca in Peru over two years. According to Smith, as reported by Entertainment Weekly , his "journeys" via the hallucinogenic substance represented "the individual most hellish psychological experience" he'd ever faced.

As Smith explained, one of those visions involved his career evaporating before his eyes. "I started seeing all of my money flying away, and my house is flying away, and my career is going away, and I'm trying to grab for my money, and my career and my whole life is getting destroyed," he recounted. 

Bad trip or a legitimate premonition? That's open to interpretation.

Will Smith Biography

Will Smith, an immensely popular American actor, began his career as a rap artist before making a successful transition into the world of movies. With a string of blockbuster films and numerous awards to his name, including an Academy Award and four Grammy Awards, Smith has proven himself to be a versatile and talented performer. From his debut in “Six Degrees of Separation” to his iconic role in the “Men in Black” series, Smith’s power-packed performances have captivated audiences worldwide. His ability to effortlessly portray both emotional and action-packed roles has earned him praise from directors and fans alike.

Quick Facts

• Nick Name: The Fresh Prince
• Also Known As: Willard Carroll Smith II
• Age: 55 Years, 55 Year Old Males
• Spouse/Ex-: Jada Pinkett Smith (m. 1997), Sheree Zampino (m. 1992–1995)
• Father: Willard Christopher Smith Sr.
• Mother: Caroline Bright
• Siblings: Ellen Smith, Harry Smith, Pam Smith
• Children: Jaden Smith, Trey Smith, Willow Smith
• Born Country: United States
• Quotes By Will Smith
• Height: 6’2″ (188 cm), 6’2″ Males
• U.S. State: Pennsylvania, African-American From Pennsylvania
• Personality: ENFP
• City: Philadelphia
• Founder/Co-Founder: Treyball Development Inc., Overbrook Entertainment, New Village Leadership Academy
• Humanitarian Work: Established the ‘New Village Leadership Academy’ elementary school

Childhood & Early Life

Willard Christopher Smith, Jr. was born on September 25, 1968, in Pennsylvania. His parents were Willard C. Smith, Sr., the proprietor of a refrigeration company, and Caroline, a member of the ‘School Board of Philadelphia’. He grew up in the neighbourhood of Wynnefield with his younger siblings Harry and Ellen, as well as an older sister Pamela. Smith had a Baptist upbringing at home but received his elementary education from a Catholic institution named ‘Our Lady of Lourdes’. After his parents separated, he attended ‘Overbrook High School’ in Philadelphia. Instead of attending college, he decided to pursue a career in music.

Smith met record producer and musician Jeffrey Townes, also known as DJ Jazzy Jeff, at a party, and the two formed a group with another friend called Ready Rock C. They became known as ‘DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince’ and gained popularity with songs like ‘Summertime’ and ‘Parents Just Don’t Understand’. In 1988-89, Smith faced trouble with the ‘Internal Revenue Service’ due to unpaid taxes, which almost led to bankruptcy. However, he was hired for the sitcom ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ in 1990, which brought him recognition as an actor.

Smith made his debut in feature films in 1993 with the movie ‘Six Degrees of Separation’. He gained further success with movies like ‘Bad Boys’, ‘Independence Day’, ‘Men in Black’, and ‘Enemy of the State’. He received an Academy Award nomination for his role in ‘Ali’. In the following years, he starred in movies like ‘I, Robot’, ‘Hitch’, ‘Pursuit of Happyness’, and ‘I Am Legend’. More recent works include ‘Focus’, ‘Concussion’, ‘Bad Boys For Life’, ‘Aladdin’, ‘Suicide Squad’, and ‘King Richard’.

Major Works

Smith is known for his roles in the ‘Men in Black’ franchise and his performance in ‘Pursuit of Happyness’, which earned him critical acclaim and award nominations.

Personal Life & Legacy

Smith was first married to actress Sheree Elizabeth Zampino, with whom he has a son named Trey. They divorced after three years. He then married actress Jada Koren Pinkett, and they have two children together, Jaden and Willow. Smith has been involved in philanthropy, donating to various organizations and establishing an elementary school called ‘New Village Leadership Academy’ with his wife.

Smith was originally offered the role of ‘Neo’ in ‘The Matrix’ but turned it down, and the role went to Keanu Reeves.

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Taylor Swift name-drops Patti Smith and Dylan Thomas on new song. Here’s why

The chorus of the title track of Taylor Swift’s 11th era album mentions two literary legends and one of the places that connects them: Patti Smith, Dylan Thomas and the Chelsea Hotel.

Swift sings in “The Tortured Poets Department”: “I laughed in your face and said, ‘You’re not Dylan Thomas. I’m not Patti Smith. This ain’t the Chelsea Hotel. We’re modern idiots.”

Dylan Thomas is a Welsh poet and writer famous for " Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night ,” “Under Milk Wood” and “Fern Hill.” Thomas was born in 1914 and died in 1953.

Patti Smith is a famous poet, author, songwriter, singer and painter born in 1947. Her Instagram bio reads, “Writer. We are all alive together.” Smith is still an active writer. She did a book signing in New York City Thursday morning.

'Tortured Poets' release live updates: Taylor Swift's new album has dropped

The Chelsea Hotel (or Hotel Chelsea or The Chelsea) is in Manhattan. Built in the late 19th century, the 12-story hotel is a New York designated landmark that has famously housed writers, painters, authors and the who’s who of fashionable socialites. And still does.

Stephanie Burt, a Harvard professor who teaches a class on Swift, explained the layers of the lyric.

“Swift is not only telling (the guy in the song), you're not that talented,” Burt says. “She's saying, let's not be the kind of artists who make our self-destructive, tortured natures central to our art, which invites everyone to look at what a mess we are.”

Both Smith and Thomas lived in the hotel. According to John Brinnin's 1955 biography, “Dylan Thomas in America,” Thomas was reputed to be a "roistering, drunken and doomed poet." Smith went on to produce albums and tour the world. She sang and performed with Bruce Springsteen . 

“Patti Smith is who you invoke if you want to talk about a woman onstage who is absolutely magnetic and a poet with a capital ‘P,’” Burt says. “Dylan Thomas is who you invoke if you want to talk about a romantic, self destructive poet who had the talent to back it up, but had absolutely no self-care skills who made everything too much.”

Swift is saying let’s not be self-destructive artists and let’s leave that to the “modern idiots.”

'The Tortured Poets Department'

If you didn't get the memo from the department's Chairman, "Tortured Poets" is Swift's 11th era album with 16 tracks and four bonus songs (four versions of the album each have a different bonus track).

Swift announced the project at the Grammys, when she won her 13th career Grammy for pop album of the year. Post Malone and Florence and The Machine  are two contributors on the pop album.

Its track titles are brutal. Fans speculated the album was about Swift’s six-year relationship with English actor Joe Alwyn and their breakup. Both stars kept the relationship out of the public eye. The back of the first version of the album reads, “I love you, it’s ruining me,” serving as a dagger-to-the-chest harbinger.

The album was released during Swift's two-month break from her massively popular and economically fruitful Eras Tour . "Tortured Poets" serves as an exclamation point to the behemoth success the billionaire has seen over the past year since the three-plus-hour show launched in Glendale, Arizona. Swift will return to the stage in Paris, France, on May 9. Fans anticipate that her newest era will be added to the show.

Don't miss any Taylor Swift news; sign up for the  free, weekly newsletter "This Swift Beat."

Follow Taylor Swift reporter Bryan West on  Instagram ,  TikTok  and  X as @BryanWestTV .

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Will Smith Filmography

• Movies or TV
• IMDb Rating
• In Theaters
• Release Year

1. Where the Day Takes You (1992)

R | 105 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

King is a young man, but he's already a veteran of life on the streets of Los Angeles. The leader of a group of runaways, King acts as a mentor to troubled kids such as gay hustler Little J and junkie Greg.

Director: Marc Rocco | Stars: Dermot Mulroney , Robert Knepper , Laura San Giacomo , Sean Astin

Votes: 3,907 | Gross: $0.39M

2. Made in America (1993)

PG-13 | 111 min | Comedy

A young black woman discovers that her father was a sperm donor, and if that weren't bad enough, he's white.

Director: Richard Benjamin | Stars: Whoopi Goldberg , Ted Danson , Will Smith , Nia Long

Votes: 17,791 | Gross: $44.94M

3. Six Degrees of Separation (1993)

R | 112 min | Comedy, Drama, Mystery

An affluent New York City couple finds their lives touched, intruded upon, and compelled by a mysterious young black man who is never quite who he says he is.

Director: Fred Schepisi | Stars: Will Smith , Stockard Channing , Donald Sutherland , Ian McKellen

Votes: 22,547 | Gross: $6.41M

4. Bad Boys (1995)

R | 119 min | Action, Comedy, Crime

Two hip detectives protect a witness to a murder while investigating a case of stolen heroin from the evidence storage room from their police precinct.

Director: Michael Bay | Stars: Will Smith , Martin Lawrence , Lisa Boyle , Michael Taliferro

Votes: 286,176 | Gross: $65.81M

5. Independence Day (1996)

PG-13 | 145 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

The aliens are coming and their goal is to invade and destroy Earth. Fighting superior technology, mankind's best weapon is the will to survive.

Director: Roland Emmerich | Stars: Will Smith , Bill Pullman , Jeff Goldblum , Mary McDonnell

Votes: 605,310 | Gross: $306.17M

6. Men in Black (1997)

PG-13 | 98 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

James, an NYC cop, is hired by Agent K of a secret government agency that monitors extraterrestrial life on Earth. Together, they must recover an item that has been stolen by an intergalactic villain.

Director: Barry Sonnenfeld | Stars: Tommy Lee Jones , Will Smith , Linda Fiorentino , Vincent D'Onofrio

Votes: 612,519 | Gross: $250.69M

7. Enemy of the State (1998)

R | 132 min | Action, Thriller

A lawyer becomes targeted by a corrupt politician and his N.S.A. goons when he accidentally receives key evidence to a politically motivated crime.

Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Will Smith , Gene Hackman , Jon Voight , Lisa Bonet

Votes: 258,816 | Gross: $111.55M

8. Wild Wild West (1999)

PG-13 | 106 min | Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi

The two best special agents in the Wild West must save President Grant from the clutches of a diabolical, wheelchair-bound, steampunk-savvy, Confederate scientist bent on revenge for losing the Civil War.

Director: Barry Sonnenfeld | Stars: Will Smith , Kevin Kline , Kenneth Branagh , Salma Hayek

Votes: 167,239 | Gross: $113.81M

9. The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)

PG-13 | 126 min | Drama, Fantasy, Sport

A down-and-out golfer attempts to recover his game and his life with help from a mystical caddie.

Director: Robert Redford | Stars: Will Smith , Matt Damon , Charlize Theron , Bruce McGill

Votes: 59,453 | Gross: $30.70M

10. Ali (2001)

R | 157 min | Biography, Drama, Sport

A biography of sports legend Muhammad Ali , focusing on his triumphs and controversies between 1964 and 1974.

Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Will Smith , Jamie Foxx , Jon Voight , Mario Van Peebles

Votes: 105,526 | Gross: $58.20M

11. Men in Black II (2002)

PG-13 | 88 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

Agent J is sent to find Agent K and restore his memory after the re-appearance of a case from K's past.

Director: Barry Sonnenfeld | Stars: Tommy Lee Jones , Will Smith , Rip Torn , Lara Flynn Boyle

Votes: 403,372 | Gross: $190.42M

12. Bad Boys II (2003)

R | 147 min | Action, Comedy, Crime

Two loose-cannon narcotics cops investigate the flow of Ecstasy into Florida from a Cuban drug cartel.

Director: Michael Bay | Stars: Will Smith , Martin Lawrence , Gabrielle Union , Jordi Mollà

Votes: 266,957 | Gross: $138.61M

13. I, Robot (2004)

PG-13 | 115 min | Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi

In 2035, a technophobic cop investigates a crime that may have been perpetrated by a robot, which leads to a larger threat to humanity.

Director: Alex Proyas | Stars: Will Smith , Bridget Moynahan , Bruce Greenwood , Alan Tudyk

Votes: 575,020 | Gross: $144.80M

14. Shark Tale (2004)

PG | 90 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

When a son of a gangster shark boss is accidentally killed while on the hunt, his would-be prey and his vegetarian brother decide to use the incident to their own advantage.

Directors: Bibo Bergeron , Vicky Jenson , Rob Letterman | Stars: Will Smith , Robert De Niro , Renée Zellweger , Angelina Jolie

Votes: 198,786 | Gross: $160.86M

15. Hitch (I) (2005)

PG-13 | 118 min | Comedy, Romance

A smooth-talking man falls for a hardened columnist while helping a shy accountant woo a beautiful heiress.

Director: Andy Tennant | Stars: Will Smith , Eva Mendes , Kevin James , Amber Valletta

Votes: 335,282 | Gross: $179.50M

16. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

PG-13 | 117 min | Biography, Drama

A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career

Director: Gabriele Muccino | Stars: Will Smith , Thandiwe Newton , Jaden Smith , Brian Howe

Votes: 560,391 | Gross: $163.57M

17. I Am Legend (2007)

PG-13 | 101 min | Action, Drama, Horror

Years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor in New York City struggles valiantly to find a cure.

Director: Francis Lawrence | Stars: Will Smith , Alice Braga , Charlie Tahan , Salli Richardson-Whitfield

Votes: 813,633 | Gross: $256.39M

18. Hancock (2008)

PG-13 | 92 min | Action, Comedy, Drama

Hancock is a superhero whose ill-considered behavior regularly causes damage in the millions. He changes when the person he saves helps him improve his public image.

Director: Peter Berg | Stars: Will Smith , Charlize Theron , Jason Bateman , Jae Head

Votes: 511,417 | Gross: $227.95M

19. Seven Pounds (2008)

PG-13 | 123 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

A man with a fateful secret embarks on an extraordinary journey of redemption by forever changing the lives of seven strangers.

Director: Gabriele Muccino | Stars: Will Smith , Rosario Dawson , Woody Harrelson , Michael Ealy

Votes: 315,129 | Gross: $69.95M

20. Men in Black³ (2012)

PG-13 | 106 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

Agent J travels in time to M.I.B.'s early days in 1969 to stop an alien from assassinating his friend Agent K and changing history.

Director: Barry Sonnenfeld | Stars: Will Smith , Tommy Lee Jones , Josh Brolin , Jemaine Clement

Votes: 386,819 | Gross: $179.02M

21. After Earth (2013)

PG-13 | 100 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

A crash landing leaves Kitai Raige and his father Cypher stranded on Earth, a millennium after events forced humanity's escape. With Cypher injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help.

Director: M. Night Shyamalan | Stars: Jaden Smith , David Denman , Will Smith , Sophie Okonedo

Votes: 208,869 | Gross: $60.52M

22. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)

PG-13 | 119 min | Comedy

With the 1970s behind him, Ron Burgundy, San Diego's former top-rated newsreader, returns to take New York City's first twenty-four-hour news channel by storm.

Director: Adam McKay | Stars: Will Ferrell , Christina Applegate , Paul Rudd , Steve Carell

Votes: 192,267 | Gross: $127.35M

23. Winter's Tale (2014)

PG-13 | 118 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery

A burglar falls for an heiress as she dies in his arms. When he learns that he has the gift of reincarnation, he sets out to save her.

Director: Akiva Goldsman | Stars: Colin Farrell , Jessica Brown Findlay , Russell Crowe , Jennifer Connelly

Votes: 56,708 | Gross: $0.02M

24. Focus (II) (2015)

R | 105 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

In the midst of veteran con man Nicky's latest scheme, a woman from his past - now an accomplished femme fatale - shows up and throws his plans for a loop.

Directors: Glenn Ficarra , John Requa | Stars: Will Smith , Margot Robbie , Rodrigo Santoro , Adrian Martinez

Votes: 274,593 | Gross: $53.86M

25. Concussion (2015)

PG-13 | 123 min | Biography, Drama, Sport

In Pittsburgh, accomplished pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu uncovers the truth about brain damage in football players who suffer repeated concussions in the course of normal play.

Director: Peter Landesman | Stars: Will Smith , Alec Baldwin , Albert Brooks , David Morse

Votes: 100,562 | Gross: $34.54M

26. Suicide Squad (2016)

PG-13 | 123 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy

A secret government agency recruits some of the most dangerous incarcerated super-villains to form a defensive task force. Their first mission: save the world from the apocalypse.

Director: David Ayer | Stars: Will Smith , Jared Leto , Margot Robbie , Viola Davis

Votes: 722,065 | Gross: $325.10M

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