Will Smith

For his self-titled character, see Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air). For other people named Will Smith, see Will Smith (disambiguation).

Will Smith
Smith in 2019
Born
Willard Carroll Smith II

(1968-09-25) September 25, 1968 (age 56)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Other namesThe Fresh Prince
Occupations
  • Actor
  • rapper
  • film producer
Years active1985–present[1]
Works
Spouses
  • Sheree Zampino
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1992; div. 1995)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1997; sep. 2016)​
Children3, including Jaden and Willow
AwardsFull list
Musical career
GenresPop rap[2]
Labels
Formerly ofDJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince
Signature

Willard Carroll Smith II[3] (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper and film producer. He has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, and four Grammy Awards.[4][5][6] As of 2024, his films have grossed over $9.5 billion globally,[7] making him one of Hollywood's most bankable stars.[8][9]

Smith began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990–1996), for which he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy in 1993 and 1994. He first gained recognition as part of a hip hop duo with DJ Jazzy Jeff, with whom he released five studio albums which contained five Billboard Hot 100-top 20 singles—"Parents Just Don't Understand", "A Nightmare on My Street", "Summertime", "Ring My Bell", and "Boom! Shake the Room"—from 1985 to 1994. He released the solo albums Big Willie Style (1997), Willennium (1999), Born to Reign (2002), and Lost and Found (2005), which spawned the U.S. number-one singles "Gettin' Jiggy wit It" and "Wild Wild West" (featuring Dru Hill and Kool Moe Dee). He has won four Grammy Awards for his recording career.[10]

Smith achieved wider fame as a leading man for the action film Bad Boys (1995), and the science fiction comedy Men in Black (1997); he later reprised both roles in several sequels. After starring in the thrillers Independence Day (1996) and Enemy of the State (1998), he received Academy Award for Best Actor nominations for his portrayals of Muhammad Ali in Ali (2001), and Chris Gardner in The Pursuit of Happyness (2006). He starred in the commercially successful films I, Robot (2004), Shark Tale (2004), Hitch (2005), I Am Legend (2007), Hancock (2008), Seven Pounds (2008), Suicide Squad (2016), and Aladdin (2019).[11]

For his portrayal of Richard Williams in the biographical sports drama King Richard (2021), Smith won the Academy Award for Best Actor.[12] At the 2022 ceremony, shortly before winning, Smith slapped presenter Chris Rock after Rock made an unscripted derogatory joke[13] referencing Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith's baldness, which was due to an autoimmune disease. The controversial event earned substantial media coverage and criticism, with Smith ultimately resigning from the Academy along with being banned from attending all their events for ten years.[14]

  1. ^ Huey, Steve. "DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 16, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  2. ^ Britt, Bruce (May 24, 2019). "Will Smith, a pioneering black nerd, helped raise and change rap music". Andscape. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  3. ^ Smith, Will (November 13, 2021). "Will Smith: 'I watched my father punch my mother so hard she collapsed'". The Times. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022. My full name is Willard Carroll Smith II — not Junior.
  4. ^ "Top Actors and Actresses: Star Currency". Forbes. Archived from the original on December 20, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  5. ^ "WEEKEND ESTIMATES: 'Hancock' Delivers $107M 5-Day Opening, Giving Will Smith a Record Eighth Consecutive $100M Grossing Movie!; 'WALL-E' with $33M 3-Day; 'Wanted' Down 60 Percent for $20.6M; 'Kit Kittredge' a Disaster!". Fantasy Moguls. July 3, 2008. Archived from the original on July 6, 2008. Retrieved July 7, 2008.
  6. ^ Smith, Sean (April 9, 2007). "The $4 Billion Man". Newsweek. Archived from the original on January 24, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
  7. ^ "Will Smith Movie Box Office Results". Archived from the original on December 5, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
  8. ^ Ide, Wendy (November 13, 2021). "Will Smith: now Hollywood royalty, the star's rise has been far from painless". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 26, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  9. ^ Miller, Julie (June 22, 2016). "Why Will Smith Regrets Wanting to Be the World's "Biggest Movie Star"". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  10. ^ "Artists Will Smith". Grammy.com. Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  11. ^ "Will Smith – Turner Classic Movies". TCM. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  12. ^ Grein, Paul (March 28, 2022). "30 Milestones in Hip-Hop Awards History: Will Smith, Lauryn Hill & More". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 29, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  13. ^ "Will Smith: Chris Rock's Oscar Joke about Jada Pinkett Smith not scripted, insider says". independent.co.uk. March 29, 2022. Archived from the original on March 29, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  14. ^ "The Academy bans Will Smith for 10 years for Chris Rock slap". NPR. Archived from the original on May 28, 2022. Retrieved May 28, 2022.