Will Smith

Will Smith

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For other people with similar names, see William Smith or Willard Smith.

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Willard Carroll Smith, Jr.

Smith in a jolly mood

Smith in June 2011

Born September 25, 1968 (age 45)

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Other names The Fresh Prince

Occupation Actor, producer, rapper

Years active 1985–present

Spouse(s) Sheree Zampino

(m. 1992—1995; divorced)

Jada Pinkett Smith

(m. 1997—present)

Children Willard Carroll Smith III

Jaden Christopher Syre Smith

Willow Camille Reign Smith

Website

www.willsmith.com

Willard Carroll "Will" Smith, Jr. (born September 25, 1968)[1][2][3] is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood.[4] Smith has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards, two Academy Awards, and has won four Grammy Awards.

In the late 1980s, Smith achieved modest fame as a rapper under the name The Fresh Prince. In 1990, his popularity increased dramatically when he starred in the popular television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The show ran for nearly six years (1990–1996) on NBC and has been syndicated consistently on various networks since then. In the mid-1990s, Smith moved from television to film, and ultimately starred in numerous blockbuster films. He is the only actor to have eight consecutive films gross over $100 million in the domestic box office, and ten consecutive films gross over $150 million internationally and the only one to have eight consecutive films in which he starred open at #1 spot in the domestic box office tally.[5]

Sixteen of the twenty fiction films he has acted in have accumulated worldwide gross earnings of over $100 million, and four took in over $500 million in global box office receipts. As of 2012, his films have grossed $6.36 billion in global box office.[6] He received Best Actor Oscar nominations for Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness.

Contents [hide]

1 Family and early life

2 Recording and acting career

2.1 Early work

2.2 Feature films

3 Personal life

3.1 Religious beliefs

3.2 Political views

4 Discography

4.1 With DJ Jazzy Jeff

4.2 Solo

5 Filmography

6 Awards and Nominations

7 References

8 Further reading

9 External links

Family and early life

Smith was born and raised in West Philadelphia, and he has also lived in Germantown in Northwest Philadelphia. His mother, Caroline Bright, was a school administrator who worked for the Philadelphia school board, and his father, Willard Carroll Smith, Sr., was a refrigeration engineer.[7][8] He was raised Baptist.[9] His parents separated when he was thirteen,[10] but did not actually divorce until around 2000.[11]

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,[12] although he was admitted to a "pre-engineering program" there.[11] 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."[13]

Recording and acting career

Smith at the Emmy Awards in 1993

Early work

Smith started as the MC of the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, with his childhood friend Jeffrey "DJ Jazzy Jeff" Townes as turntablist and producer,[14] as well as Ready Rock C (Clarence Holmes) as the human beat box. The trio was known for performing humorous, radio-friendly songs, most notably "Parents Just Don't Understand" and "Summertime".[14] They gained critical acclaim and won the first Grammy awarded in the Rap category (1988).[14]

Smith spent money freely around 1988 and 1989 and underpaid his income taxes.[14] The Internal Revenue Service eventually assessed a $2.8 million tax debt against Smith, took many of his possessions, and garnished his income.[15] Smith was nearly bankrupt in 1990, when the NBC television network signed him to a contract and built a sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, around him.[14]

The show was successful and began his acting career. Smith set for himself the goal of becoming "the biggest movie star in the world," studying box office successes' common characteristics.[10]

Feature films

Smith's first major roles were in the drama Six Degrees of Separation (1993) and the action film Bad Boys (1995) in which he starred opposite of Martin Lawrence.

In 1996, Smith starred as part of an ensemble cast in Roland Emmerich's Independence Day. The film was a massive blockbuster, becoming the second highest grossing film in history at the time and establishing Smith as a prime box office draw.[16] He later struck gold again in the summer of 1997 alongside Tommy Lee Jones in the summer hit Men in Black playing Agent J. In 1998, Smith starred with Gene Hackman in Enemy of the State.[14]

He turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix in favor of Wild Wild West (1999). Despite the disappointment of Wild Wild West, Smith has said that he harbors no regrets about his decision, asserting that Keanu Reeves's performance as Neo was superior

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