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Will Smith was born in Philidalphia on September 25, 1968. Born Willard Christopher Smith Jr, to mother Caroline, a school board employee, and father Willard C. Smith, the owner of a refrigeration company. His middle class upbringing saw him attend the strict—and Catholic—Overbrook High School, despite his family's observation of the Baptist faith.
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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.
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The pair began producing music, but steered clear of the Gangsta Rap sound that was emerging on the West Coast in groups like Public Enemy and NWA. 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.
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In 1988, DJ Jazzy Jeff and 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 a Rap Performance. That album was followed by And In This Corner... which continued the pair's rise to stardom.
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Two years later, Smith began his remarkable crossover into acting. Drawing on his experiences with fledgling stardom, NBC signed Smith to star in a sitcom about a street-smart kid from Philadelphia. On the show, the character is shipped off to California to live with wealthy relatives in Bel-Air, California. 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.
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In 1990, Smith moved into acting with his role in the TV show The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air
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The 1991 album Homebase produced the hits "Summertime" and "Ring My Bell." Their final album together, 1993's Code Red, was notable for "Boom! Shake the Room."
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Smith married Sheree Zampino in 1992. They had a son, Willard Christopher Smith III, also known as "Trey", but divorced in 1995. Trey appeared in his father's music video for the 1998 single "Just the Two of Us".
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IN 1992, SMITH CROSSED OVER INTO MOVIES. HE HAS BEEN STARRING IN IN POPULAR FILMS EVER SINCE.
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Smith married actress Jada Pinkett in 1997 and practice an open marriage.Together they have had two children: Jaden Christopher Syre (born 1998), his co-star in The Pursuit of Happyness, and Willow Camille Reign (born 2000), who appeared as his daughter in I Am Legend. Along with his brother, Harry Smith, he owns Treyball Development Inc.,a Beverly Hills-based company named after his first son. Smith and his family reside on Star Island in Miami Beach, Florida and in Los Angeles, Stock
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It is untrue, though widely reported, that Smith turned down a scholarship to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); he never applied to the school,although he was admitted to a "pre-engineering program" there.According to Smith, "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.
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Their debut album Rock the House (1990) hit the Billboard Top 200, and made Smith a millionaire before the age of 18. His early success put any thoughts of attending college out of Smith's mind.
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In 2005, Smith was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for attending a record breaking three premiers in a 24-hour span.
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Smith gave $1.3 million to charities in 2007, of which $450,000 went to two Christian ministries, and $122,500 went to three Scientology organizations; the remaining beneficiaries included "a Los Angeles mosque, other Christian-based schools and churches, and the Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Center in Israel". Smith and his wife have also founded a private elementary school in Calabasas, California, the New Village Leadership Academy, which has attracted controversy and speculation over its
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ON DECEMBER 10, 2007, SMITH WAS RECOGNIZED AT GUAMANS CHINESE THEATRE ON HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD.
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LATER THAT MONTH, SMITH STARRED IN A FILM I'M A LEGEND, RELEASED DECEMBER 14, 2007. DESPITE MARGINALLY POSITIVE REVIEWS, ITS OPENING WITH THE LARGEST EVER FOR A FILM RELEASED IN THE UNIITED STATES IN DECEMBER. WITH WILL SMITH IN THE MOVIE STARRED HIS SON JADEN SMITH.
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On December 1, 2008, TV Guide reported that Smith has been selected as one of America’s top ten most fascinating people of 2008 for a Barbara Walters ABC special that aired on December 4, 2008.
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December 11, 2009, Smith and his wife hosted the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway, when Obama had won the prize.
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As of 2011, his films have grossed $5.7 billion in global box office.[4] His most financially successful films have been Bad Boys, Bad Boys II, Independence Day, Men in Black, Men in Black II, I, Robot, The Pursuit of Happyness, I Am Legend, Hancock, Wild Wild West, Enemy of the State, Shark Tale, Hitch and Seven Pounds. He also earned critical praise for his performances in Six Degrees of Separation, Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness, receiving Best Actor Oscar nominations for the latter two.
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On August 19, 2011, it was announced[25] that Smith had returned to the studio with producer La Mar Edwards to make a new album. Edwards has worked with artists such as T.I., Chris Brown, and Game.
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He is currently filming Men in Black III for a 2012 release playing Agent J one of his more popular earlier roles, making this his first major starring role in four years.
