Will Smith Biography

Willard Christopher Smith Jr. O Willard “Carroll” Smith Jr., better known by his stage name Will Smith, was born on September 25, 1968, in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. He is a renowned comedian, composer, executive producer, actor and rap singer, standing out mainly in these last two. He has the merit of being the only actor so far to participate consecutively in a line of eight films that generated more than one hundred million dollars in revenues and headed the first positions after being released.

Will was born in a humble home, located in the Wynnefield neighborhood, as the second of four children of Willard Carroll Smith, a refrigeration engineer, and the school board administrator of Philadelphia Caroline Bright. His brothers are the eldest, Pamela Smith and the younger twins Harry Smith and Ellen Smith. Smith went to Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School, a private Catholic institution. In 1981, Will had to witness how his parents divorced, being legally official approximately in the year 2000.

Despite his parents’ divorce, he continued and completed his studies at Overbrook High School. Since he was a kid, Will showed the talent for music and singing, so he was determined from a very young age to not apply to college and to devote to the world of rap. So, from his 16 years of age in the company of Jeff Townes formed a duo called DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. They were characterized by a “clean” style of rap-oriented for all audiences, reflected in the five albums they produced between 1987 and 1993.

Will’s behavior earned him, on behalf of his teachers, the nickname of Fresh Prince, which he took as his stage name for a while and would be used for the television show in which he would star. The idea came to Benny Medina after meeting Will in 1989, proposing to create a comic series about his life in Beverly Hills. The following year the NBC would give the opening to the series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

The success that represented the television series caused young Will to take an interest in the world of entertainment, acquiring the desire to be one of the best actors in the cinema. For this, he studied each of the excellent characteristics of the blockbusters of the time. For 1993, he managed to participate in Made in America and Six degrees of separation. Nevertheless, his first remarkable role was in the year of 1995, when co-starring Bad Boys.

“Money and success do not change people; they only magnify what was already there from the beginning.” Will Smith

By 1992, he married the actress Sheree Zampino, with whom he had a son: Willard Christopher Smith III, also known as “Trey Smith.” Three years later, Will and Sheree divorced. In 1997, he remarried, this time with the actress Jada Pinkett, with whom he had two children: Jaden Christopher Syre Smith and Willow Camille Reign Smith Pinkett.

Later, Will continued collecting successes in the world of movies starring in films such as Independence Day (1996), Men in Black (1997), which outlined Will as an actor to take into account. In 1998 he starred in Enemy of the state in the company of Gene Hackman, and in the same year, he was offered the role of Neo in the movie Matrix, which he rejected. Sometime later he would say that Keanu Reeves’ performance was much better than he could have done in the film.

In the year of 2001, Will Smith turned his acting career around, looking for roles that represented a challenge due to their complexity. For this year, he starred in the biographical film Ali, playing the famous boxer Muhammad Ali. Critics praised his performance, and for this role he was nominated for an Oscar for best actor and Golden Globe as the best dramatic actor, establishing him as a recognized actor in the industry.

Between 2002 and 2005, he would record the sequels of Men in Black and Bad Boys, as well as other blockbusters such as I, Robot and Hitch. Along with his acting career, Will has tried his luck in music, presenting himself as a soloist, his first two albums Big Willie Style (1997) and Willenium (1999) which for the exuberant number of sales were awarded the multi-award platinum. In addition, he collaborated with some singles related to the films he starred in, he also published covers and own creations.

After starring in the company of his son the movie The Pursuit of Happiness (2006) Will was nominated again for the Oscar Award as best actor. On December 10, 2007 Will was recognized by the Grauman’s Chinese Theater allowing him to add his tracks on Hollywood Boulevard. That same year he would star in the movie I am Legend.

Throughout his career he has declined many other leading roles in films As Mr. And Mrs. Smith and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and has also been interested in suggestions such as the desire expressed by former President Obama, wanting him to represent him in a movie of his life. Will Smith has not stopped generating expectation in each role that he embodies. His extensive filmography demonstrates the considerable work he developed to fulfill his two great dreams: to be a recognized singer and actor.