Will Smith | Biography | Born in 1968, Fresh Prince in 1990 to Action Star & A-List Celeb in 2022

Will Smith | Biography | Born in 1968, Fresh Prince in 1990 to Action Star & A-List Celeb in 2022

To most of America, he's will smith the fresh prince of bel-air but to the folks back home he's just plain Willard on television he was the fresh prince of bel-air a street-wise Philadelphian sent to live with wealthy relatives in california.

In real life he was will smith a streetwise Philadelphian who has by virtue of hard work and infectious charm found stardom and wealth in Los Angeles reaching the top level of a-list superstardom. Look let me show you what would really happen if you try to go upstairs before he made it solidified. Movie star he released several platinum rap albums and won the first ever grammy award given in the wrap category all before he was even of legal age to drink and we want to dedicate this award to our parents at home right now. We want to thank you for making us what we are today. We're trying something a little new with a biography on the one and only will smith.

Willard smith jr was born on September 25th, 1968, and raised in Winfield Pennsylvania a middle-class suburb of west Philadelphia. He was the oldest son and one of four children of a refrigeration engineer and a school board employee his parents were loving but demanding the kind who took their children to mount Rushmore on vacation to prove that education does not end with the classroom dad was tough but not tyrannical smith told Essence magazine. 

He kept me in line he'd get this look that said one more step will and it'll get ugly he was an independent businessman he set up refrigeration in supermarkets and he always provided for us he's a steady and positive figure in my life. Mom worked as a school secretary she's a supervisor now and her thing was education. My folks sent me to a catholic school because it was the best school in the neighborhood but I felt some of the priests and nuns were racist. As a teen smith attended Overbrook high a public school in Philadelphia his teachers there nicknamed him the prince because they found him so charming. His best subject was mathematics and he earned good enough grades to be accepted to the prestigious Massachusetts institute of technology engineering program but by that time. He was already starting to realize that there might be more opportunities for him to pursue via his natural charm and good looks. I've been prince for years and years but about two years ago the DJs in the street started scratching fresh. This is fresh everything was fresh so I added the fresh prince to my name when he was just 12 years old smith met Jeffrey Townes at a friend's party towns was better known as Dj jazzy jeff and although he was only a few years older than smith he had been spinning records at parties for quite some time. 

Smith was just beginning to rap calling himself the fresh prince and he and Jazzy Jeff became friends for some years they performed in different rap groups and only occasionally paired up then in 1986, their partnership became more serious Jazzy Jeff said worked with 2000 crews before I found this maniac. There was a click when I worked with him that was missing before the two friends performed as DJ jazzy jeff and the fresh prince. You know hey you know you're pretty good you're one of the best I heard maybe you should get with this jazzy jeff guy so Jeff stole one of the jobs I was supposed to have on my block I was supposed to do a house probably on my block for 35 dollars about 17 pounds or something like that I guess Jeff stole my job I want everybody to know that jazzy jeff had already released an album so the new duo had little trouble finding a record label in 1986 they cut their first lp together rocks the house their first single girls ain't nothing but the trouble did well in the charts.  Already famous throughout the Philadelphia region, they found themselves in demand in the rest of the country as well as the money began to roll in smith was able to convince his parents that college could wait. In fact, he earned a million dollars before he turned 20. when you get a large sum of money that young it's really hard to keep control of yourself I mean I was out buying clothes and cars and all that kind of stuff and it's like you just feel like the money never ends you feel like it's there forever and I thought it was there forever man. I bought some dumb stuff man rock the house was released in 1987 and sold some 600 000 copies. 

Major stardom came to smith the following year with a double lp he's the DJ I'm the rapper one of the first rap albums to reach platinum status with over a million copies sold both albums but especially the second offered raps about what the musicians understood best the day-to-day troubles of modern teens the hit single parents just don't understand for instance detailed the nightmares of shopping for school clothes with a mother who is hopelessly out of touch with current styles. The fresh prince pleads with his mom to put back the bell-bottom Brady bunch trousers. This universal young adult complaint helped find a crossover audience for DJ Jazzy jeff and the fresh prince parents just don't understand won the very first grammy award given in the category of rap music. In 1988 we we won an American music award we were so excited and hyped we hop in the car we go back to Jeff's house his mom is cooking a big meal for us and everything so we go to Jeff's house we were excited. We sit down we look at each other he's like we did it, man, we did it Jeff's mom comes downstairs with five dollars and a list and she said Jeffrey I want you to go to the corner and give me some bread because their subject matter wasn't particularly controversial DJ Jazzy Jeff and the fresh prince was afforded greater opportunities to perform their work promoters saw less chance for violence at their shows so they were booked into major concert venues even network television executives felt comfortable putting them on the air change in mainstream media that they were proactively looking for we boycotted the 1989 grammy show. 

We don't have a problem with the grammy as an award or the grammy as an institution we just had a problem with the 1989 design of the awards show we feel that our music was important enough and is important enough by 1990.  The fresh prince had released three top-selling rap albums and was one of the best-known rappers in the nation but on the flip side he was broke he had a mansion near Philadelphia closets full of designer clothing a fleet of expensive cars and a jet set lifestyle complete with celebrity friends when the money ran out and his friends deserted him. Smith realized how foolish he'd been on top of this his creditors were closing in and he owed a million in unpaid taxes being famous and broke is a shitty combination because you're still famous and people recognize you but they recognize you while you sit next to them on the bus as his popularity as a rapper was diminishing instead of panicking he set. 

His sights on what he was going to do next some Hollywood executives had already noticed miss's stage presence and his ability to charm an audience beginning in 1990 he was invited to audition for small roles on the Cosby show and a different world but he was too nervous to audition. Finally, he met benny medina the head of the warner brothers records black music division medina had moved from watts as a teen to a wealthy Los Angeles neighborhood and he thought that his experiences would make a funny situation comedy medina and smith talked the idea over and then approached producer Quincy jones about a pilot episode.  jones immediately sensed that a show of that nature starring will smith would be a hit.  Oh my god, Phillip Phillip doesn't make a big thing out of it if this is how he feels comfortable it's not killing anybody the fresh prince of bel air made it but on the national broadcasting company NBC in the fall of 1990.

Smith appeared in the starring role as Will a Philadelphia teen sent to live with his wealthy refined and decidedly republican aunt and uncle in the bougie Beller section of Los Angeles the show found an audience quickly for smith who had never done any acting before the show was quite a challenge he told the tv guide. I was a nervous wreck I was trying so hard I would memorize the entire script and I'd be lipping everybody's lines while they were talking when I watched those early episodes it was disgusting my performances were horrible although 70 of his earnings were being garnered by the IRS for the first few years things were turning around for well in his personal life in 1992 he married his first wife Shuri Zampino with whom he had his first son Willard smith iii who goes by the name Trey these days in 1993.  On top of this, his acting had improved immensely we'll begin trying to broaden his horizons in Hollywood he sought to film work and has since then appeared in several movies his most notable dramatic performance came in 1993 with the release of six degrees of separation a serious drama in which smith played a gay con artist trying to fool a couple of white social climbers. Oh, they took my money and my briefcase I said my thesis is bleeding isn't bleeding he's bleeding. Oh, I'm sorry I get this way around blood. Oh no no my god not on the run after Smith expanded his wings with six degrees of separation he was offered more roles in films such as where the day takes you which is made in America but his first role as an action hero made Hollywood sit up and take notice. 

Smith co-starred with Martin Lawrence in the comedy thriller bad boys the film was a box office success and it set the stage for his next film independence day.  Welcome to earth independence day was an action-packed science fiction film with an all-star ensemble cast. It earned more than 100 million dollars in its opening week Smith became a bonafide action movie Star Smith's life seemed to be perfect. He was a rapper tv star, husband, father, and a blossoming movie star but his marriage was on a rocky road his wife soon asked for a divorce. It was finalized in 1995 and they both share custody of their son trey in 1996 smith decided to leave the fresh prince of bel air after six seasons even though the show remained successful show was translated into more than a dozen languages Smith's next film was men in black though it was another sci-fi film when he was asked by executive producer Steven Spielberg to take the part of agent J.  He told ebony mag you just can't tell Steven Spielberg no he teamed up with academy award-winning actor Tommy Lee Jones and made box office history. 

Men in black were the number one best-selling movie in 1997. it grossed over 200 million Will meet Jada Pinkett when she auditioned for a role on the fresh prince of bel air it was not until years later that they connected romantically both considered the other their soulmate and will tell ebony mac. Jada is the first person I've been willing to accept that it's not always gonna be great but that's okay. The two married on December 31, 1997, and they have two children together Jaden and willow they live in a Hollywood mansion and although they've had plenty of crazy press over the past few months they're solidified as Hollywood royalty and will hopefully continue to entertain us for many years to come.