Will Smith

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Updated: Oct 28, 2021

Birth Name: Willard Carroll Smith Jr.

Nickname/Stage Name: Will Smith

Birth Date: September 25, 1968

Genres: Action, Comedy, Drama, Sci-fi

Occupation(s): Actor, Rapper, Producer

Years Active: 1986 till Present

Net Worth: $350 million

Personal Life

Will Smith was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He married Sheree Zampino in 1992 and their son Willard Carroll Trey Smith III was born on November 11, 1992.

Smith and Zampino divorced in 1995 and the actor married Jada Koren Pinkett in 1997. Together, they have two children; Jaden Christopher Syre Smith (born 1998) and Willow Camille Reign Smith (born 2000).

Education

He attended Our Ladies of Lourdes (a private Catholic elementary school) in Philadelphia and was also a student at Overbrook High School.

Smith was admitted to a pre-engineering summer program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for high school students but he did not attend because he had no intention of going to college.

Career

NBC signed Smith in 1990 to build a sitcom titled The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. It was a success and launched his Hollywood career.

He got his first movie roles in the drama Six Degrees of Separation (1993) and the action film Bad Boys (1995), the latter pairing him with Martin Lawrence.

In 1996, Smith was among the star-studded cast of Roland Emmerich's sci-fi film Independence Day. It was a massive blockbuster and cemented the actor as a box office star.

He starred alongside Tommy Lee Jones in the hit Men in Black (1997). It garnered worldwide acclaim and was a box office success. He reprised his role in the subsequent sequels.

The movie star portrayed former heavyweight boxing champion, Muhammad Ali, in the 2001 biopic Ali. His performance earned him Academy and Golden Globe nominations.

Smith and his son Jaden played father and son in the biographical drama The Pursuit of Happyness (2006). Critics praised his performance.

He starred as the titular character in the superhero movie Hancock (2008) and was seen alongside his son Jaden in another film, After Earth. It was both a critical and commercial failure.

The actor played a con artist, starring opposite Margot Robbie in Focus (2015), and portrayed Dr. Bennet Omalu in the 2015 drama Concussion.

In 2016, he starred as the DC character Deadshot in the action film Suicide Squad and headlined the Netflix movie Bright in 2017.

He had a starring role alongside Tom Holland in the animated film Spies in Disguise in 2019 and was also chosen to play the magical Genie in Disney's live-action version of Aladdin.

Awards

Grammy Award (1989, 1992, 1998, 1999)

MTV Video Music Award (1989, 1997, 1998, 1999)

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award (1991, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009)

NRJ Music Award (1999)

NAACP Image Award (1999, 2000, 2009)

American Music Award (1999, 2000, 2005)

MTV Movie Award (1998, 2002, 2008, 2016)

World Music Award (2000)

Golden Raspberry Award (2000, 2014)

Teen Choice Award (2007, 2008, 2019)

Young Artist Award (2007)

Saturn Award (2008)

Hollywood Film Award (2015)

Quotes

"My biggest emotional defeat and the greatest emotional pain I've had as an actor was when Wild Wild West opened to $52 million. The movie wasn't good. And it hurt so bad to be the no. 1 movie, to open to $52 million and to know the movie wasn't good."

"When I turned 28, everything clicked. I even got way better in bed."

"Being an actor is about changing who you are. You make yourself a different person. You become a different person."

"I love being black in America, and especially being black in Hollywood."

Trivia

Enjoys playing chess.

Was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1998.

Speaks Spanish fluently.

In his movie career, what he regrets most is turning down an opportunity to star in The Matrix (1999).

Grew to his height of 6' 2 when he was 13 years old.

Movies

Where the Day Takes You (1992)

Six Degrees of Separation (1993)