Will Smith Biography

Jun 27, 2008

Birthdate: September 25, 1968
Birthplace: Philadelphia, PN

Will Smith went from rapper, to actor, to the world's biggest box office star. Kidzworld checks out the Prince of Hollywood.

In West Philadelphia, Born and Raised...

Born and raised in West Philadelphia, just like the theme song says, Will's mom worked for the school board and his dad was a refrigeration engineer. He has a fairly large family, and is the second of four kids including two brothers and a sister. In school, his charm and ability to slide out of trouble earned him the nickname Prince, and when he began rapping in his teens, it became Fresh Prince. He met rap partner DJ Jazzy Jeff Townes at a house party, and began releasing successful, critically acclaimed rap albums.

Rapper Slash Actor

In 1990, NBC approached Will with an idea for a sitcom which eventually turned into the six-year run of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, where Will launched his acting career. Will's goal was to become the biggest movie star in the world, and starred in the action flick Bad Boys in 1995. As his TV series wound down, Will starred in huge box office successes Independence Day and Men in Black, which cemented him as one of the top Hollywood heavyweights.

Family Man

Will's career really skyrocketed after 1997, and he also began a family, marrying actress Jada Pinkett. They have two children, Willow and Jaden, and Will is also the father of Trey, a son from a previous marriage. Since 2000, Will has continued to star in enormously successful movies including Enemy of the State, The Legend of Bagger Vance, Ali, I Robot, Hitch, The Pursuit of Happiness, and I am Legend. His latest role is as the anti-superhero Hancock, in what is sure to be another huge July 4th opening for him.

Did U Know?

With the release of Hancock, Will is trying to become the first actor to ever open eight $100 million movies in a row.
Will met wife Jada when she auditioned to play his girlfriend on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
Will won the first ever Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance in 1989 for Parents Just Don't Understand, and has been nominated for two Academy Awards.
He turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix.
Will incorporates the line, "Aw, hell no!" into all of his films.

Will Says...

"It's a whole different thing being an actor. A rapper is about being completely true to yourself. Being an actor is about changing who you are. You make yourself a different person. You become a different person."