WILL SMITH

Rap Star, Actor

Will Smith became popular as a rapper, but when he set his sights on acting he quickly became a success there, too. First television, then movies, Smith seemed to be able to do it all.

Will Smith (Willard Christopher Smith II)was born on September 25, 1968, in Philadelphia, the second of four children. His parents are Caroline and Willard Smith, Sr. His father owned a refrigeration company and was an engineer. Smith graduated from Overbrook High School in 1986, doing so well in school that he was offered a scholarship to M.I.T. He refused it, though, to pursue his music career. Supposedly he got the nickname "Prince" while still in elementary school because he was as charming as royalty. He also started rapping then, along with a friend, Jeff Townes. They teamed up as "DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince", and were so succesful that they became millionaires while still in their teens. Their first album was Rock the House in 1987, and in 1988 they won a Grammy as Best Rap Performance for the album Parents Just Don't Understand. This was followed by another Grammy in 1989 for Summertime.

Smith told Benny Medina, an executive for Warner Brothers, that he wanted to try acting. Coincidentally, Medina had been trying to sell a sitcom about his life, being born into a poor family and then live with a rich Beverly Hills family as a teenager. He thought Smith would do well in the role, and NBC bought it. In 1990, Fresh Prince of Bel Air began and ran for six seasons, making Smith well known outside the music world.

His film debut came in 1992 in Where the Day Takes You. Smith's first starring movie role came in 1993 with Six Degrees of Separation, followed in 1995 with Bad Boys and in 1996 with Independence Day. This blockbuster was followed by another, Men in Black, in 1997, and in 1998 he starred in Enemy of the State. After Men in Black, Smith recorded his first album in four years, and the first without his partner Jeff Townes, called Big Willie Style, though Townes did have a part in making it. (Townes is now a music producer in Philadelphia). Smith's absence from recording was due partly to concentrating on movies, and partly because rap was "...glorifying ignorance, violence, misogyny. It's about hate, and that's one thing I don't understand."

After Wild Wild West in 1999 and The Legend of Bagger Vance in 2000, Smith wowed audiences with his portrayal of Muhammed Ali in the highly acclaimed Ali, for which he was nominated for both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Actor. Other popular films were 2002's Men in Black 2 and 2003's Bad Boys II. 2002 also saw another album release, . 2004 him star in I, Robot.

In 1992, Smith married Sheree Zampino. They have one son, Willard Smith III, whom is nicknamed Trey. Unfortunately, the marriage lasted only three years. He is currently married to actress Jada Pinkett-Smith.