Will Smith is an American actor, rapper, and film producer born on September 25, 1968. He’s won many big awards like an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and four Grammys. His movies have made over $9.3 billion worldwide, making him one of the most successful stars in Hollywood.
Smith started acting in a TV show called The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, where he played a version of himself. He also made music with DJ Jazzy Jeff and together they had hits like Parents Just Don’t Understand and Summertime. Later, Smith went solo and released albums like Big Willie Style and Willennium.
He became famous for action movies like Bad Boys and Comedies like Men in Black. He even got nominated for Oscars for his roles in Ali and The Pursuit of Happiness. Smith has been in lots of other successful movies too, like I, Robot, Hitch, and I Am Legend.
In 2021, Smith won another Oscar for playing Richard Williams in King Richard. But at the 2022 Oscars, he got into a big controversy. He slapped Chris Rock because Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. This made headlines everywhere, and Smith had to leave the Academy and couldn’t go to their events for ten years.
| Full Name | Willard Carroll Smith II |
| Date of Birth | September 25, 1968 |
| Place of Birth | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Occupation | Actor, Rapper, Producer |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Spouse | Jada Pinkett Smith (m. 1997), Sheree Zampino (m. 1992–1995) |
| Children | Trey Smith, Jaden Smith, Willow Smith |
| Net Worth | $350 million |
Will Smith’s Early Life and Education
Willard Carroll Smith II was born on September 25, 1968, in Philadelphia. His parents are Caroline and Willard Carroll Smith Sr. His mom worked for the school board, and his dad was a US Air Force veteran and a refrigeration engineer. His mom graduated from Carnegie Mellon University.
He grew up in West Philadelphia’s Wynnefield neighborhood and went to a private Catholic elementary school called Our Lady of Lourdes. Later, he attended Overbrook High School. Willard has an older sister named Pamela and two younger siblings, twins Harry and Ellen. His parents separated when he was 13 and got divorced around 2000.
Willard started rapping when he was just 12 years old. His grandma once found his notebook full of lyrics, including some curse words. She wrote him a note, saying that smart people don’t need to use bad words to express themselves. This made Willard decide not to use profanity in his music.
Career
Will Smith began his career as the MC in the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince. He teamed up with DJ Jazzy Jeff after filling in as a hype man at a party in 1985. They clicked instantly and soon added a beatboxer Ready Rock C to form a trio. Their first hit “Girls Ain’t Nothing but Trouble” came out in 1986. It was a funny story set to music and sampled the “I Dream of Jeannie” theme song. This early success caught the eye of Jive Records and Russell Simmons.
In 1987 their album “Rock the House” debuted and they won the first Grammy for Best Rap Performance in 1989 with “Parents Just Don’t Understand.” Their biggest single “Summertime” followed in 1991 reaching number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Despite their success financial troubles hit Will Smith hard in 1988 and 1989 when he underpaid his taxes by $2.8 million.
However, things turned around when NBC signed Smith for “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” in 1990. The show was a hit and launched Smith’s acting career. He set his sights on becoming a major movie star and analyzed successful films to achieve his goal. His breakout roles came in “Bad Boys” and “Independence Day” both major box-office hits.
In 1997 Will Smith starred in “Men in Black” which was a massive success grossing over $589 million worldwide. He also launched his solo music career that year with the hit song “Men in Black.” His debut solo album “Big Willie Style” went multi-platinum and produced another chart-topper “Gettin’ Jiggy wit It” in 1998.
Smith continued his film success with “Enemy of the State” and turned down the role of Neo in “The Matrix” for “Wild Wild West”. Despite the latter’s mixed reception Smith’s career continued to soar. His second album “Willennium” released in 1999 also achieved platinum status.
In 2001 Smith earned critical acclaim for his portrayal of Muhammad Ali in the biopic “Ali.” He received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for his performance. His subsequent films like “I Robot” and “The Pursuit of Happyness” further solidified his status as a leading Hollywood actor.
Smith’s commercial success continued with “I Am Legend” which had the largest December opening in U.S. history at the time. By 2008 he was recognized as one of America’s top ten most fascinating people.
Will Smith began his career as the MC in the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince. He teamed up with DJ Jazzy Jeff after filling in as a hype man at a party in 1985. They clicked instantly and soon added a beatboxer Ready Rock C to form a trio. Their first hit “Girls Ain’t Nothing but Trouble” came out in 1986. It was a funny story set to music and sampled the “I Dream of Jeannie” theme song. This early success caught the eye of Jive Records and Russell Simmons.
In 1987 their album “Rock the House” debuted and they won the first Grammy for Best Rap Performance in 1989 with “Parents Just Don’t Understand.” Their biggest single “Summertime” followed in 1991 reaching number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Despite their success financial troubles hit Smith hard in 1988 and 1989 when he underpaid his taxes by $2.8 million.
However, things turned around when NBC signed Will Smith for “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” in 1990. The show was a hit and launched Smith’s acting career. He set his sights on becoming a major movie star and analyzed successful films to achieve his goal. His breakout roles came in “Bad Boys” and “Independence Day” both major box-office hits.
In 1997 Smith starred in “Men in Black” which was a massive success grossing over $589 million worldwide. He also launched his solo music career that year with the hit song “Men in Black.” His debut solo album “Big Willie Style” went multi-platinum and produced another chart-topper “Gettin’ Jiggy wit It” in 1998.
In 1998, Will Smith starred in a movie called Enemy of the State alongside Gene Hackman. The next year, he had the chance to play Neo in The Matrix but chose to be in Wild Wild West instead. He later said he didn’t regret his choice, thinking Keanu Reeves did a better job as Neo. However, he admitted that Wild Wild West could’ve been better.
Despite the latter’s mixed reception Smith’s career continued to soar. His second album “Willennium” released in 1999 also achieved platinum status.
In 2001 Smith earned critical acclaim for his portrayal of Muhammad Ali in the biopic “Ali.” He received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for his performance. His subsequent films like “I Robot” and “The Pursuit of Happyness” further solidified his status as a leading Hollywood actor.
Smith’s commercial success continued with “I Am Legend” which had the largest December opening in U.S. history at the time. By 2008 he was recognized as one of America’s top ten most fascinating people.
During the 94th Academy Awards on March 27, 2022, Will Smith shocked everyone by walking on stage and slapping comedian Chris Rock. Rock had made a joke about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith comparing her shaved head to the main character in the movie G.I. Jane. Jada had shaved her head due to alopecia areata a condition she was diagnosed with in 2018. After the slap, Will Smith angrily shouted at Rock from his seat telling him to keep Jada’s name out of his mouth.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) asked Smith to leave but he refused. Later that night Smith won the Best Actor award for his role in King Richard. In his acceptance speech he apologized to the Academy and the other nominees but not to Rock. Facing public backlash Smith issued a formal apology on Instagram. AMPAS ABC and the Screen Actors Guild all condemned Smith’s actions leading to an investigation by the Academy’s Board of Governors. Rock chose not to press charges.
On April 1, 2022, Smith resigned from the Academy expressing regret for overshadowing the other nominees and winners. AMPAS President David Rubin accepted his resignation but continued the investigation. Smith’s resignation meant he could no longer vote on Oscar nominations. Many speculated that the incident damaged his “family brand.”
On April 8, 2022, the Academy banned Smith from attending the Oscars and related events for ten years. Several of his film projects were put on hold. Smith accepted the Academy’s decision and later issued an on-camera apology saying he was deeply remorseful. The fallout included Netflix canceling a planned action film starring Will Smith. His film Emancipation released in December 2022 was both a critical and commercial failure with some attributing its poor performance to the Oscars incident.
In 2023 it was announced that Will Smith would return in Bad Boys: Ride or Die the fourth film in the Bad Boys series which includes a comedic nod to the Oscars incident. He is also set to co-star with Michael B. Jordan in a sequel to I Am Legend along with roles in the crime thriller Sugar Bandits and the sci-fi film Brilliance.
Smith is also returning to music. In September 2023 it was reported that he and Joyner Lucas would be working on a joint album. On May 20, 2024, Smith hinted at new music in an interview with Fandango. He later added a phone number to his Instagram for album updates and hinted that the album might be titled “Dance in Your Darkest Moments.” Smith confirmed new music coming in 2024 calling it his most personal work yet. Teddy Swims also confirmed he recorded music with Smith for the upcoming project.
On June 27 Smith announced on Instagram that his first solo single in nearly 20 years “You Can Make It” would be released the next day. He shared that music had always been a source of support for him during tough times and hoped it would bring joy and light to others. The song featuring Friday and the Sunday Service Choir was released at midnight.
Net Worth
Will Smith’s Net Worth is estimated to be $350 Million as of 2024, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Personal life
Will Smith and his brother Harry run a company called Treyball Development Inc. It’s based in Beverly Hills and named after Trey Smith. They live in Los Angeles, California. In 2018, Will Smith turned 50 and marked the occasion by bungee jumping from a helicopter in the Grand Canyon. Lloyd’s of London insured him for $200 million for the jump, which raised funds for the charity Global Citizen.
In 1992, Will Smith married Sheree Zampino, and they had a son named Willard Carroll “Trey” Smith III later that year. Unfortunately, they got divorced in 1995. Trey appeared in one of his dad’s music videos and had small roles in a TV show and some special TV events.
In the late 1980s, Smith briefly dated Sandra Denton, known as Pepa from Salt-N-Pepa.
Then, on December 31, 1997, Will Smith married actress Jada Koren Pinkett. They met when she auditioned for a role on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. They make movies together through their company, Overbrook Entertainment. They have two kids: Jaden Christopher Syre Smith, who acted with his dad in The Pursuit of Happyness and After Earth, and Willow Camille Reign Smith, who was in I Am Legend.
Will Smith and Jada Smith have a different kind of marriage, calling it a “bad marriage for life” as a joke. They’ve both admitted to having relationships outside of marriage and thinking it’s okay. Will even wanted to have a relationship with Halle Berry and Misty Copeland but he gave up on the idea after going to therapy.
In October 2023, Jada said they’ve been separated since 2016, but they’re not planning to get divorced.
Awards
Will Smith has won lots of big awards in his acting career. One of his biggest wins was getting an Academy Award for his role as Richard Williams, the dad and coach of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, in the movie King Richard. He also got a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for the same role. Plus, he was nominated for an Oscar for producing the movie.
Before this, he was nominated a bunch of times for other big awards too. He was up for an Oscar twice, for his roles in Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness. He was nominated for a Golden Globe five times, for his work in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Ali, The Pursuit of Happyness, and Concussion. He was nominated once for a Screen Actors Guild Award for The Pursuit of Happyness.
In 2005, he got an honorary César Award. That same year, he was in the running for a Tony Award for his role in the musical Fela! And in 2021, he got a nomination for producing Cobra Kai for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series.
Outside of acting, he’s also dipped his toes into hip-hop music. He released a few songs and won four Grammy Awards for them. One was for “Parents Just Don’t Understand,” another for “Summertime,” and two for “Men in Black” and “Gettin’ Jiggy wit It.” The last two he won with his partner DJ Jazzy Jeff when they were known as DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince.
All of these nominations for big awards like the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards make him one of the few black actors to be up for all four major entertainment awards in the US.
