Will Smith 1968–

Actor

At a Glance…

The DJ and the Rapper

The Fresh Prince Moved to Bel Air

Selected discography

Sources

On television he is the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, a streetwise Philadelphian sent to live with wealthy relatives in California. In real life he is Will Smith, a streetwise Philadelphian who has—by virtue of hard work and infectious charm—found stardom and wealth in Los Angeles. Smith has enjoyed vast success in two different fields of popular entertainment. While still too young to drink legally, he released several platinum rap albums and won the first-ever Grammy Award given in the rap category.

With his accomplishment in the music industry behind him, Smith moved to television situation comedy and scored a hit with The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. In the mid-1990s, while still a young man by any standards, Smith is in demand for television and film roles, some of which seriously test his acting talent. Premiere magazine contributor Veronica Chambers cited Smith for his “white-bread appeal that very few black men possess,” noting that the engaging star is “Ben Franklin with a backward baseball cap.”

Acting, for Smith, has often meant being his own quirky self in front of a camera. He has worked hard over the years to invest some realism into the character he plays on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air —even if that means flying in the face of stereotype.

“Look what the Fresh Prince represents,” Smith told Essence magazine. “He operates on several different levels—a symbol of urban youth, a symbol of black youth and, most specifically, of black male youth. As a rapper, some people knocked him for being too middle-class, too clean-cut. Now, as a TV character, he’s accused of being unreal. Well, my mission has been to make him more real, and I suppose that means more like me.”

Willard Smith, Jr., was born and raised in Wynnefield, Pennsylvania, a middle-class suburb of West Philadelphia. He was the oldest son and one of five 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. “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

At a Glance…

Born September 25, 1968, in Philadelphia, PA; son of Willard (a refrigeration engineer) and Caroline (a school board employee) Smith; married Sheree Zampino, 1992; children: Will III. Education: Graduated from Overbrook High School, 1986.

Rap musician with duo DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, 1986—; actor appearing on television in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, National Broadcasting Company (NBC), 1990—; and in films, including Where the Day Takes You, 1992, Made in America, 1993, and Six Degrees of Separation, 1994.

Selected awards: Grammy Award in rap category, 1989, for single “Parents Just Don’t Understand“; Image Award for best situation comedy, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), 1992, for The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

Addresses: Publicist—PSAK Public Relations, 955 S. Carrillo Dr.,∦200, Los Angeles, CA 90048.

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 at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) engineering program. By that time, though, fate had decreed a different path for the Prince.

When he was just twelve years old, Smith met Jeffrey Townes at a friend’s party. Townes 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. “I worked with 2,000 crews before I found this maniac,” Jazzy Jeff told People. “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.

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, Rock the House. Their first single, “Girls Ain’t Nothin’ But Trouble,” did well on 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 21.

The DJ and the Rapper

Rock the House was released in 1987 and sold some 600,000 copies. Major stardom came to Smith the following year with the double LP He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper, one of the first rap albums to reach platinum status with more than one 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, details 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 [1970s TV show] 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.

Because their subject matter was not particularly controversial, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince were 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. The “clean rap” image proved a mixed blessing, because some other rap artists criticized them for ignoring legitimate problems of black youths.

Smith’s reply to detractors was that he was just responding to his own personal environment—one that did not include the stresses of a dysfunctional family, drug abuse, or violent crime. “In the beginning, following the fashion of the day, my raps had a small amount of profanity,” he told Essence. “I’ll never forget what my grandmother said when she read them: ‘He who is truly articulate shuns profanity.’ Man, I didn’t even know what articulate meant, but I knew I wanted my grandmother’s approval, just as I wanted my parents’ approval.”

By 1990 the Fresh Prince had released three top-selling rap albums and was one of the best-known rappers in the nation. He was also broke. “I bought everything,” Smith told TV Guide. He had a mansion near Philadelphia, closets full of designer clothing, a fleet of expensive cars, and a jet-set lifestyle complete with fair weather friends. When the money ran out and his friends deserted him, Smith realized how foolish he had been. Already his popularity as a rapper was diminishing. Instead of panicking, however, he just cast about for a new opportunity.

The Fresh Prince Moved to Bel Air

Some Hollywood executives had already noticed Smith’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 described himself in Jet as being “too scared” to keep the appointments. Finally he met Benny Medina, the head of 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.

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air made its debut 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 upscale Bel Air section of Los Angeles. The show found an audience quickly, “almost singlehandedly keeping the network competitive on Monday nights,” according to Gordon Dillow in TV Guide. For Smith, who had never done any acting before, the show was quite a challenge. “I was a nervous wreck,” he recalled in TV Guide. “I was trying so hard. I would memorize the entire script, then I’d be lipping everybody’s lines while they were talking. When I watch those [early] episodes it’s disgusting. My performances were horrible.”

Smith might not have been satisfied with his work, but almost everyone else was. In a TV Guide poll, young adults voted the Fresh Prince “hippest teen on TV.” In addition, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air quickly became the most popular black situation comedy among white viewers, consistently placing in the Nielsen Top Twenty through its first two seasons. “Smith is such a naturally engaging comic talent that he and the show’s capable supporting cast usually sidestep the treacle trap,” noted Mike Duffy in the Detroit Free Press. “Smith never allows excess cutes to sabotage the chuckles.”

Situation comedies starring high school-aged actors can be troublesome. The actors grow into adulthood and suddenly are no longer convincing in their roles. Smith has helped to allay this problem on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air by suggesting ways in which his character could mature without losing his comic edge.

Reflecting on the show in Essence, Smith said: “I’ve been given input. I’ve placed myself in a position where I can make demands. As a result, the scripts have improved. I’m happier with the show, and so is everyone else. The stories are more natural, more human. I want my character to be warm and loving, to display integrity and, of course, to be funny. But funny doesn’t come first. Integrity does.” In TV Guide, Smith mused about the evolution of his role. “At the beginning it was easy,” he said. “The Fresh Prince was me, and I was just doing what I wanted to do. It was working. Now, personally, I’m moving away from the character—Will on the show doesn’t have a wife and a kid. I have to act now.”

An astute businessman who also seeks creative challenges, Smith is trying to broaden his horizons in Hollywood. Beginning in 1992 he sought film work and has since then appeared in several movies. His most notable dramatic performance came in 1994, 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. “I wanted to work with [filmmakers] Spike Lee and John Singleton,” Smith told Premiere, “and I needed to do a film like Six Degrees in order for those people to consider me. Spike Lee would never consider me for a role, because The Fresh Prince of Bel Air is all he’s ever seen. How would he know that I could do what he demands of an actor?” Smith added that an intelligent choice of future movie roles could assure him a long career in show business. “Film, I think, I can do forever,” he said. “As long as you’re good, you can always do film.”

Smith, who describes himself as a “one-woman man,” married Sheree Zampino in 1992. Their first child, Willard Smith HI, was born the following year. “She’s wonderful,” Smith said of his wife in Essence. “She allowed me to finally put down the bags of emotional stress I’d been lugging around like a fool…. I realized that physically, emotionally, and intellectually she was on a higher plane than me.”

Smith told TV Guide that his high confidence in himself helped him to leap from local notoriety to national celebrity while still a teenager. “Confidence is what makes me different from guys at home…. I’m the one who always takes the risks.” In Seventeen, he concluded: “You have to believe in something greater than yourself. You have to have faith in the power and believe it has your best interest at heart. That’s how I was raised by my parents, and that’s my bottom line.”

Selected discography

With DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince

Rock the House (includes “Girls Ain’t Nothin’ But Trouble”), Jive, 1987, reissued, 1989.

He’s the DJ, Fm the Rapper (includes “Parents Just Don’t Understand”), Jive, 1988.

And in This Corner, Jive, 1989.

Homebase, 1991.

Code Red, 1994.

Sources

Cosmopolitan, October 1993, p. 102.

Detroit Free Press, May 10, 1993, p. E-l.

Ebony, February 1994, p. 30.

Emerge, September 1993, p. 11.

Essence, February 1993, pp. 60-2, 118-21.

Jet, December 3, 1990, pp. 58-61; January 10, 1994, p. 64.

People, September 24, 1990, pp. 83-4.

Premiere, January 1994, pp. 76-7.

Seventeen, July 1992, pp. 86-7.

TV Guide, September 29-October 5, 1990, p. 5; October 13-19, 1990, pp. 6-9; January 23-29, 1993, pp. 10-12.

Upscale, February 1994, p. 116.

—Anne Janette Johnson

Will Smith 1968–

Actor

He’s Really From Philly

The DJ and the Rapper

The Fresh Prince Moved to Bel Air

Goodbye TV, Hello Action Star

Married, Divorced, Remarried

Returned to Rap

Selected discography

Sources

On television he was the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, a streetwise Philadelphian sent to live with wealthy relatives in California. In real life he is Will Smith, a streetwise Philadelphian who has—by virtue of hard work and infectious charm—found stardom and wealth in Los Angeles. Smith has enjoyed vast success in two different fields of popular entertainment. While still too young to drink legally he released several platinum rap albums and won the first-ever Grammy Award given in the rap category.

With his accomplishment in the music industry behind him, Smith moved to television situation comedy and scored a hit with “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.” In the mid-1990s, while still a young man by any standards, Smith is in demand for television and film roles, some of which seriously test his acting talent. Premiere magazine contributor Veronica Chambers cited Smith for his “white-bread appeal that very few black men possess,” noting that the engaging star is “Ben Franklin with a backward baseball cap.”

Acting, for Smith, has often meant being his own quirky self in front of a camera. He has worked hard over the years to invest some realism into the character he played on “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air”—even if that meant flying in the face of stereotype. “Look what the Fresh Prince represents,” Smith told Essence magazine. “He operates on several different levels—a symbol of urban youth, a symbol of Black youth and, most specifically, of Black male youth.

He’s Really From Philly

Willard Smith, Jr., was born and raised in Wynnefield, 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 “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

At a Glance…

Born September 25, 1968, in Philadelphia, PA; son of Willard (a refrigeration engineer) and Caroline (a school board employee) Smith; married Sheree Zampino, 1992, divorced 1995; children: Will III; married jada Pinkett, December 31, 1997; children: expecting child in June of 1998. Education; Graduated from Overbrook High School, 1986.

Career : Rap musician with duo DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, beginning 1986; solo performer, 1997; actor appearing on television in “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” NBC, 1990-96; and in films, including Where the Day Takes You, 1992, Made in America, 1993, Six Degrees of Separation, 1993, Bad Boys, 1995, Independence Day, 1996, Men In Black, 1997, Wild, Wild West, and Enemy of the State, 1999.

Selected awards: Grammy Award in rap category, 1989, for singles “Parents Just Don’t Understand 1989, “Summertime” 1992, “Men In Black” 1998; Image Award for best situation comedy, NAACP, for “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” 1992, Best Rap Artist, 1998.

Addresses : Publicist-PMK Public Relations, 955 S. Carrillo Dr., #200, Los Angeles, CA 90048.

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 at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) engineering program. By that time, though, fate had decreed a different path for the Prince.

When he was just twelve years old, Smith met Jeffrey Townes at a friend’s party. Townes 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. “I worked with 2,000 crews before I found this maniac,” Jazzy Jeff told People “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.

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, Rock the House Their first single, “Girls Ain’t Nothin’ But Trouble,” did well on 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.

The DJ and the Rapper

Rock the House was released in 1987 and sold some 600,000 copies. Major stardom came to Smith the following year with the 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 [1970s TV show] 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.

Because their subject matter was not particularly controversial, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince were 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. The “clean rap” image proved a mixed blessing, because some other rap artists criticized them for ignoring legitimate problems of black youths.

Smith’s reply to detractors was that he was just responding to his own personal environment—one that did not include the stresses of a dysfunctional family, drug abuse, or violent crime. “In the beginning, following the fashion of the day, my raps had a small amount of profanity,” he told Essence “I’ll never forget what my grandmother said when she read them: ’He who is truly articulate shuns profanity’Man, I didn’t even know what articulate meant, but I knew I wanted my grandmother’s approval, just as I wanted my parents’ approval.”

By 1990 the Fresh Prince had released three top-selling rap albums and was one of the best-known rappers in the nation. He was also broke. “I bought everything,” Smith told TV Guide. He had a mansion near Philadelphia, closets full of designer clothing, a fleet of expensive cars, and a jet-set lifestyle complete with fair weather friends. When the money ran out and his friends deserted him, Smith realized how foolish he had been. Already his popularity as a rapper was diminishing. Instead of panicking, however, he just cast about for a new opportunity.

The Fresh Prince Moved to Bel Air

Some Hollywood executives had already noticed Smith’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 described himself in Jet as being “too scared” to keep the appointments. Finally he met Benny Medina, the head of 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.

“The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” made its debut 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 upscale Bel Air section of Los Angeles. The show found an audience quickly, “almost singlehandedly keeping the network competitive on Monday nights,” according to Gordon Dillow in TV Guide For Smith, who had never done any acting before, the show was quite a challenge. “I was a nervous wreck,” he recalled in TV Guide “I was trying so hard. I would memorize the entire script, then I’d be lipping everybody’s lines while they were talking. When I watch those [early] episodes it’s disgusting. My performances were horrible.”

Smith might not have been satisfied with his work, but almost everyone else was. In a TV Guide poll, young adults voted the Fresh Prince “hippest teen on TV.” In addition, “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” quickly became the most popular black situation comedy among white viewers, consistently placing in the Nielsen Top Twenty through its first two seasons. “Smith is such a naturally engaging comic talent that he and the show’s capable supporting cast usually sidestep the treacle trap,” noted Mike Duffy in the Detroit Free Press. “Smith never allows excess cutes to sabotage the chuckles.”

An astute businessman who also seeks creative challenges, Smith began trying to broaden his horizons in Hollywood. He sought 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. “I wanted to work with [filmmakers] Spike Lee and John Singleton,” Smith told Premiere, “and I needed to do a film like Six Degrees in order for those people to consider me. Spike Lee would never consider me for a role, because “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” is all he’s ever seen. How would he know that I could do what he demands of an actor?” Smith added that an intelligent choice of future movie roles could assure him a long career in show business. “Film, I think, I can do forever,” he said. “As long as you’re good, you can always do film,” he added.

After Smith expanded his wings with Six Degrees of Separation, he was offered more roles in films such as Where The Day Takes You, and 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 films, Independence Day and Men in Black

Goodbye TV, Hello Action Star

For the past summers, Smith shot a film, and then would return to his role on “The Fresh Prince.” Despite losing one actress in a key role—Janet Hubert-Whitten left the show due to creative differences—and gaining another—Daphne Maxwell Reid—the show was still successful. After six seasons, Smith decided to call it quits. He wanted to focus on his budding film career.

Independence Day was an action packed science fiction film with an all-star ensemble cast. Smith was part of three leads which included actors Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum. ID4, as it was nicknamed, earned more than $100 million its opening week. Smith became a bona fide action movie star. He had the sex appeal, the cockiness, and the buffed body. The downside to his success was men wanted to see if he could actually fight. He told Jet that as the Fresh Prince, he “… was nonthreatening. So nobody wanted to fight me, but then I buffed up for Independence Day, came on a little cocky, and suddenly people want to knock me down.”

Smith’s next film was Men In Black Though another scifi film, when asked by executive producer Steven Spielberg to take the part of Agent J, he told Ebony, “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 was the number one best selling movie of 1997. It grossed over $200 million.

Married, Divorced, Remarried

Smith, who described himself as a “one-woman man,” married Sheree Zampino in 1992. Their first child, Willard Smith III, was born the following year. “She’s wonderful,” Smith said of his wife in Essence “She allowed me to finally put down the bags of emotional stress I’d been lugging around like a fool.… I realized that physically, emotionally and intellectually she was on a higher plane than me.”

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. Though devastated, Smith continued with his television, rap, and film careers.

Though Smith met Jada Pinkett when she auditioned for a role on “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” it was not until years later did they connect romantically. Both considered the other their soulmate. Smith told Ebony, “Jada is the first person I’ve been with willing to accept that it’s not always going to be great, but that’s okay.” The two married December 31, 1997 and are expecting a child in the summer of of 1998.

Returned to Rap

Though quoted as having no desire to make another record, Smith performed the title track to the Men In Black soundtrack. For rap fans who missed his style, it was a much-needed return. For those fans who only knew Smith from TV and film, they were surprised, so was the music industry. His last album bombed. The song won an NAACP Image award and garnered him his third Grammy.

In 1997, Smith released a solo album under his own name, titled Big Willie Style. His first single, “Gettin’ Jiggy With It” was a top ten hit. He spoke with Essence concerning why he released another rap album, “I loved Biggie [slain rapper Notorious B.I.G.], but my son doesn’t have any alternatives.” Big Willie Style was a multiplatinum success. Smith made an album based on his life. In it he discussed his divorce, his career, his son, and his significant other, Jada.

Smith told TV Guide that his high confidence in himself helped him to leap from local notoriety to national celebrity while still a teenager. “Confidence is what makes me different from guys at home.… I’m the one who always takes the risks.” In Seventeen, he said: “You have to believe in something greater than yourself. You have to have faith in the power and believe it has your best interest at heart. That’s how I was raised by my parents, and that’s my bottom line.” If there are any doubts that Smith will continue being successful, those should be laid to rest. One thing Will Smith has proven: he has the business sense, the charm, and the talent to utilize every opportunity that comes his way.

Selected discography

With DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince

Rock the House (includes “Girls Ain’t Nothin’ But Trouble”), Jive, 1987, reissued, 1989.

He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper (includes “Parents Just Don’t Understand”), Jive, 1988.

And in This Corner, Jive, 1989.

Homebase, 1991.

Code Red, 1994.

As a Solo Performer

Men In Black soundtrack, title cut, 1997.

Big Willie Style, 1997.

Selected Works

Television

“The Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” 1990-96.

Film

Where The Day Takes You, 1992.

Six Degrees of Separation, 1993

Made In America, 1993.

Bad Boys, 1995.

Independence Day, 1996.

Men In Black, 1997.

Sources

Books

Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television, Gale, 1995, p.378.

Current Biography Yearbook, Gale, 1996, p. 520-523.

Periodicals

Cosmopolitan, October 1993, p. 102.

Detroit Free Press, May 10, 1993, p. E-l.

Ebony, February 1994, p. 30; August 1996, p. 34.

Emerge, September 1993, p. 11.

Essence, February 1993, p. 60-62, 118-21; July 1997, p. 60.

Jet, December 3, 1990, p. 58-61; January 10, 1994, p. 64; Jan 27, 1997.

People, September 24, 1990, p. 83-84; July 22, 1996, p. 64.

Premiere, January 1994, p. 76-77.

Seventeen, July 1992, p. 86-87.

TV Guide, September 29-October 5, 1990, p. 5; October 13-19, 1990, p. 6-9; January 23-29, 1993, p. 10-12.

Upscale, February 1994, p. 116.

Other

Information obtained online at www.billboardonline.com and www.rollingstone.com.

—Anne Janette Johnson and Ashyia N. Henderson

Will Smith

1968-

Actor, rap artist, film and television producer

On television he was the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, a streetwise Philadelphian sent to live with wealthy relatives in California. In real life he is Will Smith, a streetwise Philadelphian who has-by virtue of hard work and infectious charm-found stardom and wealth in Los Angeles. Smith has enjoyed vast success in two different fields of popular entertainment. While still too young to drink legally he released several platinum rap albums and won the first-ever Grammy Award given in the rap category.

With his accomplishment in the music industry behind him, Smith moved to television situation comedy and scored a hit with "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air." In the mid-1990s, while still a young man by any standards, Smith is in demand for television and film roles, some of which seriously test his acting talent. Premiere magazine contributor Veronica Chambers cited Smith for his "white-bread appeal that very few black men possess," noting that the engaging star is "Ben Franklin with a backward baseball cap."

Acting, for Smith, has often meant being his own quirky self in front of a camera. He has worked hard over the years to invest some realism into the character he played on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air-even if that meant flying in the face of stereotype. "Look what the Fresh Prince represents," Smith told Essence magazine. "He operates on several different levels-a symbol of urban youth, a symbol of Black youth and, most specifically, of Black male youth."

Grew up in a Loving Family

Willard Smith, Jr., was born on September 25, 1968, and raised in Wynnefield, 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. "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 at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) engineering program. By that time, though, fate had decreed a different path for the Prince.

Entered the Music Business as a Teen

When he was just twelve years old, Smith met Jeffrey Townes at a friend's party. Townes 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. "I worked with 2,000 crews before I found this maniac," Jazzy Jeff told People. "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.

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, Rock the House. Their first single, "Girls Ain't Nothin' But Trouble," did well on 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.

Rock the House was released in 1987 and sold some 600,000 copies. Major stardom came to Smith the following year with the 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 bellbottom [1970s TV show] 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.

Found Success with Clean Rap

Because their subject matter was not particularly controversial, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince were 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. The "clean rap" image proved a mixed blessing, because some other rap artists criticized them for ignoring legitimate problems of black youths.

Smith's reply to detractors was that he was just responding to his own personal environment—one that did not include the stresses of a dysfunctional family, drug abuse, or violent crime. "In the beginning, following the fashion of the day, my raps had a small amount of profanity," he told Essence. "I'll never forget what my grandmother said when she read them: 'He who is truly articulate shuns profanity.' Man, I didn't even know what articulate meant, but I knew I wanted my grandmother's approval, just as I wanted my parents' approval."

At a Glance …

Born on September 25, 1968, in Philadelphia, PA; son of Willard (a refrigeration engineer) and Caroline (a school board employee) Smith; married Sheree Zampino, 1992 (divorced 1995); married Jada Pinkett, 1997; children: (first marriage) Will III; (second marriage) Jaden Christopher Syre, Willow Camille Reign.

Career: Rap musician with duo DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, 1986-; solo performer, 1997-; actor 1990-.

Awards: Grammy Award, for Best Rap Performance, "Parents Just Don't Understand," 1989; Grammy Award, for Best Rap Performance, for "Summertime,"1992; National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Image Award for Best Situation Comedy, for The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, 1992; Grammy Award, for Best Rap Performance, for "Men In Black," 1998; Grammy Award, for Best Rap Performance, for "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It," 1998; ASCAP Awards, 1998, 2000; Blockbuster Entertainment Awards favorite actor (sci-fi), 1996 and 1998, and favorite actor (action/adventure), 1999; Image Award, for Entertainer of the Year, Outstanding Music Video, and Outstanding Rap Artist, 1999; BET Award, for Best Actor, for Ali, 2002.

Addresses: Agent—Overbook Entertainment, Beverly Hills, CA 90210; Web-www.willsmith.net.

By 1990 the Fresh Prince had released three topselling rap albums and was one of the best-known rappers in the nation. He was also broke. "I bought everything," Smith told TV Guide. He had a mansion near Philadelphia, closets full of designer clothing, a fleet of expensive cars, and a jet-set lifestyle complete with fair weather friends. When the money ran out and his friends deserted him, Smith realized how foolish he had been. Already his popularity as a rapper was diminishing. Instead of panicking, however, he just cast about for a new opportunity.

Started Acting

Some Hollywood executives had already noticed Smith'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 described himself in Jet as being "too scared" to keep the appointments. Finally he met Benny Medina, the head of 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.

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air made its debut 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 upscale Bel Air section of Los Angeles. The show found an audience quickly, "almost singlehandedly keeping the network competitive on Monday nights," according to Gordon Dillow in TV Guide. For Smith, who had never done any acting before, the show was quite a challenge. "I was a nervous wreck," he recalled in TV Guide. "I was trying so hard. I would memorize the entire script, then I'd be lipping everybody's lines while they were talking. When I watch those [early] episodes it's disgusting. My performances were horrible."

Smith might not have been satisfied with his work, but almost everyone else was. In a TV Guide poll, young adults voted the Fresh Prince "hippest teen on TV." In addition, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air quickly became the most popular black situation comedy among white viewers, consistently placing in the Nielsen Top Twenty through its first two seasons. "Smith is such a naturally engaging comic talent that he and the show's capable supporting cast usually sidestep the treacle trap," noted Mike Duffy in the Detroit Free Press. "Smith never allows excess cutes to sabotage the chuckles."

Sought Film Work

An astute businessman who also seeks creative challenges, Smith began trying to broaden his horizons in Hollywood. He sought 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. "I wanted to work with [filmmakers] Spike Lee and John Singleton," Smith told Premiere, "and I needed to do a film like Six Degrees in order for those people to consider me. Spike Lee would never consider me for a role, because "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" is all he's ever seen. How would he know that I could do what he demands of an actor?" Smith added that an intelligent choice of future movie roles could assure him a long career in show business. "Film, I think, I can do forever," he said. "As long as you're good, you can always do film," he added.

After Smith expanded his wings with Six Degrees of Separation, he was offered more roles in films such as Where The Day Takes You, and 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.

Wanting to focus on his budding film career, in 1996 Smith decided to leave The Fresh Prince of Bel Air after six seasons, even though the show remained successful. The show was translated into more than a dozen languages, and Smith remembered it to Teen People in 2004 as "the biggest thing I ever did."

His move proved fruitful with his next film, Independence Day. Independence Day was an action-packed science fiction film with an all-star ensemble cast. Smith was one of three leads who included actors Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum. ID4, as it was nicknamed, earned more than $100 million its opening week. Smith became a bona fide action movie star. He had the sex appeal, the cockiness, and the buffed body. The downside to his success was men wanted to see if he could actually fight. He told Jet that as the Fresh Prince, he "was nonthreatening. So nobody wanted to fight me, but then I buffed up for Independence Day, came on a little cocky, and suddenly people want to knock me down."

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, "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 was the number one best selling movie of 1997. It grossed over $200 million.

Nurtured Strong Family Ties

Smith, who described himself as a "one-woman man," married Sheree Zampino in 1992. Their first child, Willard Smith III, was born the following year. "She's wonderful," Smith said of his wife in Essence. "She allowed me to finally put down the bags of emotional stress I'd been lugging around like a fool…. I realized that physically, emotionally and intellectually she was on a higher plane than me."

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. Though devastated, Smith continued with his television, rap, and film careers.

Though Smith met 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. Smith told Ebony, "Jada is the first person I've been with willing to accept that it's not always going to be great, but that's okay." The two married on December 31, 1997; they have two children: a son, Jaden Christopher Syre, and a daughter, Willow Camille Reign.

Continued Recording Music

Though quoted as having no desire to make another record, Smith performed the title track to the Men In Black soundtrack. For rap fans who missed his style, it was a much-needed return. Fans who only knew Smith from TV and film were surprised; so was the music industry. His last album had bombed. The song won an NAACP Image award and garnered him his third Grammy.

In 1997, Smith released a solo album under his own name, titled Big Willie Style. His first single, "Gettin' Jiggy With It" was a top ten hit. He spoke with Essence concerning why he released another rap album, "I loved Biggie [slain rapper Notorious B.I.G.], but my son doesn't have any alternatives." Big Willie Style was a multi-platinum success. In 1999 he released another rap album, Willennium, at about the same time as his film Wild Wild West opened in theaters. Willennium was another multi-platinum success. The single "Will 2K" from the album broke into the Top 10 list and the video for the song was nominated for a Grammy Award. Continuing his outpouring of clean rap, Smith released Born to Reign in 2002. The album featured vocals from his wife and son, and a song about his young daughter. In 2005 he released yet another album titled Lost and Found.

Showed Diverse Acting Talents

Smith added two movies to his resume in 2000: Men in Black Alien Attack, and The Legend of Bagger Vance, directed by Robert Redford. In 2001 Smith stayed busy as the star of the feature film Ali, the story of heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. His performance earned him his first Grammy nomination as an actor.

Sequels to Men in Black in 2002 and Bad Boys in 2003 proved box-office hits. Smith followed these blockbusters with a starring role in Isaac Asimov's classic sci-fi adventure I, Robot. In the 2004 film, Smith plays a skeptical police officer who "is basically Shaft, a black cop who wears lots of leather, earrings, a Mike Tyson gait, an ancient grudge and a face that says: 'I can't stand people's unquestioning faith in robots,' as James Christopher of the London Times put it in his review of I, Robot.

Smith switched gears in 2005 to star in the romantic comedy Hitch. In the film, Smith played a dating consultant who helped men woo the women of their dreams. Film Journal International found Smith the "perfect fit" for the role. And Smith told People that "I am Hitch in my real life." The film became an international success.

Smith told TV Guide that his high confidence in himself helped him to leap from local notoriety to national celebrity while still a teenager. "Confidence is what makes me different from guys at home…. I'm the one who always takes the risks." In Seventeen, he said: "You have to believe in something greater than yourself. You have to have faith in the power and believe it has your best interest at heart. That's how I was raised by my parents, and that's my bottom line." One thing Will Smith has proven: he has the business sense, the charm, and the talent to utilize every opportunity that comes his way.

Selected works

Albums

(With DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince) Rock the House (includes "Girls Ain't Nothin' But Trouble"), Jive, 1987, reissued, 1989.

(With DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince) He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper (includes "Parents Just Don't Understand"), Jive, 1988.

(With DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince) And in This Corner, Jive, 1989.

(With DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince) Homebase, 1991.

Code Red, 1993.

Men In Black soundtrack, title cut, 1997.

Big Willie Style, 1997.

Willennium, 1999.

Born to Reign, 2002.

Lost and Found, 2005.

Television

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, 1990-96.

(Co-creator) All of Us, 2003-.

Films

Where The Day Takes You, 1992.

Made In America, 1993.

Six Degrees of Separation, 1993.

Bad Boys, 1995.

Independence Day, 1996.

Men In Black, 1997.

Enemy of the State, 1998.

Wild Wild West, 1999.

The Legend of Bagger Vance, 2000.

Ali, 2001.

Men in Black 2, 2002.

Bad Boys II, 2003.

I, Robot, 2004.

Hitch, 2005.

Sources

Books

Nickson, Chris, Will Smith, St. Martin's, 1999.

Periodicals

Cosmopolitan, October 1993, p. 102.

Detroit Free Press, May 10, 1993, p. E-1.

Ebony, February 1994, p. 30; August 1996, p. 34.

Emerge, September 1993, p. 11.

Essence, February 1993, p. 60-62, 118-21; July 1997, p. 60; February 2005, p. 134.

Film Journal International, April 2005, p. 118.

Hollywood Reporter, September 15, 2003, p. 19.

Jet, December 3, 1990, p. 58-61; January 10, 1994, p. 64; Jan 27, 1997.

People, September 24, 1990, p. 83-84; July 22, 1996, p. 64; February 21, 2005, p. 91.

Premiere, January 1994, p. 76-77.

Seventeen, July 1992, p. 86-87.

Teen People, August 1, 2004, p. 102.

TV Guide, September 29-October 5, 1990, p. 5; October 13-19, 1990, p. 6-9; January 23-29, 1993, p. 10-12.

Upscale, February 1994, p. 116.

On-line

"All of Us," UPN, www.upn.com/shows/all_of_us/index.shtml (August 15, 2005).

"I, Robot," Times Online, www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7943-1202108,00.html (August 15, 2005).

"Will Smith," Biography Resource Center, www.galenet.com/servlet/BioRC (August 18, 2005).

Will Smith, www.willsmith.net (August 15, 2005).

—Anne Janette Johnson, Ashyia N. Henderson, and Sara Pendergast

Will Smith
1955–

Actor, rap musician

Fun-loving and funny, Will Smith captivates audiences in a variety of media: music, television, and film. By his twelfth birthday, Smith was known as a rap musician. He and Jeffrey Townes, as D.J. Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, recorded several platinum albums and won the first Grammy ever presented for the Best Rap Performance. Smith also starred in the television series The Fresh Prince of Bel Air Then he moved into film, taking lead roles in such movies as Independence Day, Men in Black, and Ali.

Born September 25, 1968, Smith remembers his home as a supportive and solid environment and credits his parents with teaching him right from wrong. His father, Willard Christopher Smith, owned a refrigeration business, and his mother, Caroline Smith, served on the Philadelphia board of education. In Wynnefield, Pennsylvania, a suburb of West Philadelphia, the couple raised four children: Pam, Will Jr., and twins Ellen and Harry. Smith's parents created a loving environment for their children. Even when they divorced in Smith's thirteenth year, the entire family remained close.

Smith's parents played major roles in his life. He described them to Lynn Norment as "the only people [he had] ever idolized." His father, a veteran Air Force drill sergeant, focused on discipline. Smith recalls the routine of making tight hospital corners and bouncing coins off his bed. He told Janet Cawley that the question, "What do you think we could do to assist you in keeping your room clean?" sent him scrambling. But because of that discipline, he never tried drugs or became involved in some of the serious troubles many teens go through. One time, their father gave Will and Harry the time-consuming and challenging task of taking apart and rebuilding a crumbling brick wall. After they had completed the project, he pointed out that they had accomplished something that they had not thought possible. This memorable experience helped Smith find his self-confidence.

Caroline Smith helped her children learn to value education. The Smiths sent their children to a Catholic school, Our Lady of Lourdes, because it offered the best education available in their community. His mother encouraged Will's love of reading. He found himself especially drawn to Dr. Seuss books, which he later noted carried a hip-hop sound.

Music also played a strong role in the Smith household. Will played piano, his father played guitar, and the family often engaged in jam sessions. In 1979, Smith heard the Sugar Hill Gang's song "Rapper's Delight." He began to write and perform rap music for local parties and church programs. In 1981, he met Jeffrey Townes, and they began recording in the Townes' basement.

Smith, who graduated from Overbrook High School in 1986, admits he had trouble paying attention in class. His winsome attitude in seeking pardon for late assignments gained him the title "Prince Charming" with his teachers. Going to school first among mostly whites and then among mostly blacks helped Smith develop interpersonal skills.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) offered Smith a scholarship, and the Milwaukee School of Engineering accepted him into their program. But when decision time came along, Smith chose not to attend college. He soothed his mother's disappointment about this decision with a signed record contract and the reassurance that he had a workable plan.

DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince's first album, Rock the House, released in 1987, sold around 600,000 copies. Two singles became especially popular: "Girls Ain't Nothing but Trouble" and "Parents Just Don't Understand." In 1988, their album He's the D.J., I'm the Rapper sold three million copies and received the first Grammy ever given for Best Rap Performance.

The duo's early records contained some of the profanity expected of hip-hop music. But Smith told Nancy Collins, "My grandmother got ahold of my rap book, read it and wrote in the back: 'Dear Willard, truly intelligent people do not have to use these types of words to express themselves.'" Smith's recordings thereafter became known for their clean-cut lyrics, or what Dream Hampton called the "raised right" style of rap. When responding to criticism from rappers noted for their more violent content, Smith pointed out that his lyrics reflect his own experience, just as harsher lyrics reflect the reality of a different lifestyle.

And in This Corner, released in 1989, sold a million copies, and one of its songs, "I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson," received a Grammy nomination. A 900-number set up for fans brought in about $10 million. Smith rapidly spent his millions on cars, expensive travel, jewelry, and shopping sprees. He explained to Janet Cawley, "'Being able to buy anything you want makes you a little crazy.'" Deeply in debt, he needed to tighten his spending habits and find a more dependable source of income.

Launches Television Career

In December 1989, Smith flew to Los Angeles to sing in NBC's Disneyland's 35th Anniversary Celebration. While there, he attended an Arsenio Hall Show and met producer Benny Medina, who oversaw the black music division of Warner Brothers Records. Medina had spent much of his early life in foster homes and juvenile detention centers and then found himself adopted by white parents and living in Beverly Hills. He approached Quincy Jones about making a television series around a similar theme. They found their star in Will Smith, and NBC gained a sitcom popular with both hip-hop and mainstream audiences.

Chronology

1968

Born in Wynnefield, Pennsylvania on September 25

1987

Releases album Rock the House

1988

Releases album He's the D.J., I'm the Rapper

1989

Releases album And in This Corner

1990

Begins role in television show The Fresh Prince of Bel Air

1991

Releases album Home Base

1992

Marries Sheree Zampino

1993

Appears in film Six Degrees of Separation

1995

Divorces Sheree Zampino; releases film Bad Boys

1996

Appears in film Independence Day

1997

Marries Jada Pinkett; appears in film Men in Black; releases album Big Willie Style

2000

Appears in film The Legend of Bagger Vance

2001

Appears in film Ali

2004

Appears in film I, Robot

2005

Appears in film Hitch; releases album Lost and Found

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air ran for six seasons (1990–96). In the show, the character Will Smith moves from an East Coast ghetto to live with his rich aunt and uncle in Los Angeles. Smith's friend Jazzy Jeff appeared frequently in the series. New to acting and nervous, young Smith overcompensated by memorizing the entire script. But even in those first seasons, audiences responded to Smith's wit and charm. A TV Guide poll named Smith the "hippest teen on TV." In its second and third seasons, the show placed among Nielson's Top Twenty ratings.

Smith spent the first years of the show observing set dynamics, studying the genre, and building his acting skills. By the fourth season, he began producing the program, making significant changes to the scripts. In 1992, Fresh Prince won an NAACP Image Award for Best Situation Comedy. Smith's hilarious antics won him a Golden Globe Award nomination for best actor in a television series. By the show's sixth season, it had become one of the longest-running comedies on prime-time television. In 1996 and 1997, Smith received a nomination for an Image Award as outstanding lead actor in a comedy series.

During summer breaks, Smith had begun making movies and found that he liked the chance to become different characters in front of the camera. That experience made the television role seem confining. He decided to make the sixth season the final one, choosing to quit while the show maintained its broad popularity. Smith had also continued recording with Jeffrey Townes. One of Smith's favorite songs, "Summertime," from their album Homebase (1991), won a Grammy for Best Rap Performance. After releasing the album Code Red in 1993, Smith decided to quit recording—partially in protest to increasing violence in rap lyrics—and focus on his acting career.

In May 1992, Will married songwriter Sheree Zampino in Santa Barbara, California. They divorced in 1995 and share joint custody of son Trey-Will Smith III.

Early Movie Career

In one of his early films, Where the Day Takes You (1992), Smith played Manny, a homeless man wrestling with survival in Los Angeles. In 1993, he played Tea Cake Walters in Made in America, featuring Ted Dansen and Whoopi Goldberg. That same year, he prepared for his first dramatic role by working with an acting coach and a dialect coach. Six Degrees of Separation (1993), a film version of John Guare's Broadway play, starred Stockard Channing and Donald Sutherland. Playing the role of a hustler claiming status as Sidney Poitier's son Paul stretched Smith's acting skills. But he performed the part in a way that made critics note his versatility and depth as an actor.

In 1995's Bad Boys, Smith and Martin Lawrence played undercover cops. Their assignment involved recovering $100 million of heroin that had been stolen from the police department while also protecting a witness to a murder. Smith's portrayal of Mike Lowrey contributed to the film's box office success, bringing in $15.5 million the first weekend, and won him the ShoW-est Award for Male Star of Tomorrow. The movie garnered $140 million worldwide and a nomination for an MTV Movie Award for the best on-screen duo. Smith and Lawrence formed a lifelong friendship.

In 1996, Smith took on the role of Marine Corps Captain Steven Heller in the science fiction film Independence Day. With stars Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum, Smith's character protected the earth from an alien invasion. The film became a number one hit at the box office, grossing $96 million during its first six days and $306.1 million by year's end. The year 1997 brought Smith an MTV Movie Award nomination for Best Male Performance and a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for favorite actor in a science fiction film.

Director Steven Spielberg sent a helicopter for Smith to talk about a new film, and Smith noted that an actor does not say no to Spielberg. As James Darrel Edwards III, or "Agent J," Smith joined Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black to once again save the world. In 1998, Smith won a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for favorite actor in a science fiction film. He and Jones received nominations for best comedic performance and best onscreen duo in the MTV Movie Awards. Smith's performance of the title song on the movie soundtrack won another NAACP Image Award and his third Grammy.

Saddened by the murder of rap star Biggie Small, Smith returned to music and released a solo album in 1997, Big Willie Style, which sold eight million copies. The single "I Jiggy with It" reached top ten multi-platinum status. Smith wrote another song, "Just the Two of Us," for his son Trey. Smith considered it the best song he had written to date. He told Nancy Collins that he felt the emotions so strongly that he wrote the lyrics in five minutes. When he received a 1998 MTV Music Award for the song, he carried Trey to the podium with him.

Smith crowned a successful 1997 with a relatively secret wedding. On New Year's Eve, he and Jada Pinkett married. They housed their guests in Baltimore, Jada's hometown. On the morning of the wedding, the guests received envelopes containing directions to the location. They gave the envelopes to limousine drivers, who delivered them to The Cloisters, a sixty-five-year-old mansion featuring medieval architecture. When Smith arrived, he relaxed by playing chess before dressing for the ceremony. Jada had arrived earlier. The couple walked down the aisle together and gave each other away. They declared their love through letters they had written to each other. The family now includes son Jaden Christopher Syre and daughter Willow Camille Reign.

Continues Success

Smith released two more solo albums: Willenium in 1999 and Born to Reign in 2002. Dream Hampton observed that Smith "single-handedly created a space for 'fun' rap." Smith told Hampton, "Speaking proper English on a rap record, rhyming about being punched in the eye and taking it, not pulling out some giant gun—that's the hard part."

Smith appeared in a succession of hit movies. In the 1998 thriller Enemy of the State, he co-starred with Gene Hackman. Smith played Robert Clayton Dean, a labor lawyer targeted by mobsters, spies, and National Security agents. In 1999, he played James West in Wild, Wild West, prequel to the popular television series. The year 2000 brought Men in Black: Alien Attack and a starring role as a golf caddy in The Legend of Bagger Vance. Smith observed to Dream Hampton, "Golf is the ultimate sport…. It's the perfect blend of physical ability and mental prowess."

Awards kept coming. In 1997, Smith won the National Association of Theater Owners/ShoWest Award for International Box Office Achievement. In 1998, he received the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Best Male Actor. ShoWest presented him its 1999 Actor of the Year Award. That same year, he won three trophies at the American Music Awards: favorite male artist, favorite R&B album for Big Willie Style, and favorite pop-rock album for Big Willie Style. At the eleventh World Music Awards in Monte Carlo, Smith received four titles: world's best-selling pop male, R&B male, dance male, and rap male.

Stars in Ali

For seven years, Smith declined a role as Muhammad Ali. Smith feared this part, but director Michael Mann outlined a convincing plan to help him prepare for the role. Mann told Harry Haun: "I knew this is the only person who could do it. I knew the commitment." It took a telephone call from Ali himself to finally convince Smith to accept the challenge of playing the part.

Smith gained weight, trained in the boxing ring, and studied Ali's faith and his gestures and speech for over a year. No one doubled for him in the boxing ring. He specifically asked that Jada appear in the role of one of Ali's wives, Sonji Roi. Smith wanted to do the love scene with his own wife. In an interview with People magazine, Smith stated that when the movie premiered in 2001, Ali turned to him during the show and said, "'Man, you almost as pretty as I was.'" Smith won an Oscar nomination in 2002 and Best Male Performer at the MTV Movie Awards.

Smith wanted a role in John Grisham's Runaway Jury, but Grisham said no to Smith. Still, the movies, television shows, and music kept coming: Men in Black II in 2002, Bad Boys II in 2004. Also in 2004, Smith played Detective Del Spooner in I, Robot, a film based on Isaac Asimov's 1950s short stories. That same year, Smith lent his voice to a little fish named Oscar in the animated film Shark Tale. He and Jada created the sitcom All of Us, relating the adventures of a blended family. In 2005, Smith starred in Hitch as the dazzling date doctor who specialized in solving romantic woes. Smith also kept singing. He released a new album, Lost and Found, in March 2005.

Aware of his public responsibility, Will Smith has chosen to live his life in a way that honors the parents who gave him such a good start in life. Writers often note his solid confidence and his charm. He has focused his talents in music, television, and film, but Smith assured Nancy Collins: "'I'm headed for something greater…. Right now I make people laugh. It's an important service to make people feel good. But I want to be here for a bigger reason.'"

REFERENCES

Books

Johnson, Anne Janette, and Ashyia N. Henderson. "Will Smith." Contemporary Black Biography. Ed. Shirelle Phelps. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale Group, 1998.

Shelton, Sonya. "Will Smith." Newsmakers: The People Behind Today's Headlines. Ed. Sean R. Pollock. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale Group, 1998.

Periodicals

Cawley, Janet. "Topping the Charts and Saving the World." Biography Magazine 3 (July 1999): 34-39.

Collins, Nancy. "Will Smith." Rolling Stone 80 (1 December 1998): 62-67.

Giles, Jeff, and David Ansen. "Don't Mention the Oscars!" Newsweek 139 (4 February 2002): 54-61.

Norment, Lynn. "Will Smith." Ebony 51 (August 1996):34-38.

Ritz, David. "Will Power." Ebony 23 (February 1993):60-65.

Ting Yu, et al. "Pop Quiz with Will Smith." People 57(1 April 2002): 24.

Tresniowski, Alex, et al. "Mr. Smith Takes a Bride."People 49 (19 January 1998): 52-56.

"Will Smith Explains Why He Decided to Play 'Ali' in a New Movie." Jet 101 (24 December 2001): 58-63.

                                    Marie Garrett

Will Smith

Rap singer

For the Record…

Selected discography

Sources

As the rapping half of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, Will Smith achieved almost overnight stardom after the duo’s debut album was released by Jive Records in 1987. Platinum-level record sales proved to be only the beginning of the Philadelphia-born artist’s phenomenally rewarding multi-media career. Smith managed to parlay his G-rated rap appeal into a starring role in the long-running Fresh Prince of Bel-Air\e\ev\s\on series and also into box-office success with such films as Independence Day and Men In Black. Even as his screen career was reaching new heights, he returned to recording as a solo rap artist with a multi-platinum 1997 release, Big Willie Style.

Though critics often dismissed his recordings as “cute” and “lightweight,” Smith had little trouble connecting with a multi-racial audience from his first hit single “Parents Just Don’t Understand” onwards. He made no apologies for avoiding profanity and violent themes in his recordings, preferring to concentrate on romance and ordinary teenage troubles. In reviewing their first three albums, critic Paul Evans wrote in The Rolling Stone Album Guide that Smith and his partner Jeffrey Townes were “clean-cut and ingratiating … turning out credible grooves for the pre-teen set.” In contrast to the angry, often politically controversial records by NWA, Public Enemy and similar artists, Smith and Townes offered a family-friendly version of hip-hop that appealed to millions in the United States and abroad.

Born September 25, 1968, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Smith grew up in a middle-class household and learned the value of education and discipline in his early years. While still in elementary school, he showed an interest in music and took piano lessons. By age 12, he was listening to early rap recordings and beginning to try out his own rhyming skills. While performing at a house party in 1981, he met Townes and soon formed a performing partnership with him. Smith adopted the performing name “Fresh Prince” after his grade school teachers began calling him “Prince” because of his charming personality and “regal attitude.”

Recording in Townes’s basement, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince began experimenting with soundtrack samples and drums loops, crafting a fast-paced, distinctive sound. Their debut single “Girls Ain’t Nothing But Trouble” was released in 1986 on the small Word-up label, reaching number 81 on the R&B charts. After a dispute with Word-up over royalties, the duo signed with Jive Records, who released their Rock This House album in 1987. A year later, they scored their first big pop radio breakthrough with “Parents Just Don’t Understand,” a

For the Record…

Born Willard C. Smith II, September 25, 1968, in Philadelphia, PA; son of Willard C. Smith Sr. (a refrigeration engineer) and Caroline (a school board employee); married Sheree Zampino, 1992 (divorced, 1995); married Jada Pinkett, 1997; children: Willard C. Smith III, (from first marriage), born 1992; Jaden Christopher Syre Smith, (from second marriage), born 1998.

Began performing as rap singer c. 1980; formed duo DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince with Jeffrey Townes, 1981; released debut single “Girls Ain’t Nothing But Trouble” on Word-up label, 1986; signed with Jive and released Rock The House, 1987; recorded further albums on Jive, 1988-1993; began first season of television series Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, 1990; left Fresh Prince, starred in films Independence Day inl996, Men In Black, 1997; released title song from Men in Black soundtrack, 1997; released solo debut album on Columbia, Big Willie Style, 1998.

Awards: Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance, “Parents Just Don’t Understand,” 1988; Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, “Summertime,” 1991; NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Rap Artist, “Summertime,” 1991: MTV Music Award for Best Video From a Film, “Men In Black,” 1997; NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Rap Artist, “Men In Black,” 1997; Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance, “Men In Black,” 1998; MTV Video Music Award for Rap Video, “Gettin’Jiggy Witlt,” 1998.

Addresses: Record company —Columbia Records, 550 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10022-3211; Fan mail—Creative Artists Agency, 9830 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90212.

number 12 hit that eventually became a certified-gold single.

Putting aside plans to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology on a scholarship, Smith plunged into his rap career full-time, continuing his hitmaking streak with such singles as “A Nightmare On My Street” and a re-recorded version of “Girls Ain’t Nothing But Trouble.” 1988 saw the release of He’s The D.J., I’m The Rapper, which went on reach the triple-platinum sales level. “Parents Just Don’t Understand” went on to earn DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince a 1988 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance, the first ever given in this category. Their next album, 1989’s … And In This Comer, surpassed the platinum sales level and yielded the single “I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson.”

A new opportunity presented itself to Smith when he met Warner Brothers Records executive Benny Medina in December, 1989. Seeking a star for a TV situation comedy concept, Medina interested Smith in the lead role in the series that would eventually be aired by NBC-TV as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire. Broadcast from 1990 through 1996, the series enjoyed high ratings and made Smith into a multi-media celebrity. He received a Golden Globe nomination for best performance by an actor in a television series in 1992, with The Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire winning an award for best comedy series at the NAACP Image Awards that same year. The series increased in ratings in its later years, but Smith decided to leave the show at the end of its sixth season in favor of new challenges.

Smith continued his partnership with Townes during his days with The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, releasing the albums Homebase and Code Red in 1991 and 1993, respectively. The duo scored a particularly big success in 1991 with “Summertime,” a number one R&B and number four pop hit that went on to be awarded a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Further high-charting singles continued, including “Ring My Bell” later on in 1991 and “Boom! Shake The Room” in 1993, the latter a number one hit in Britain. Nevertheless, he decided to put aside his rap career in favor of acting after he began to win motion picture roles. His most notable early film was 1993’s Six Degrees Of Separation, which cast him as a gay street hustler opposite Stockard Channing and Donald Sutherland and earned him largely favorable reviews.

Smith’s winning streak as a screen actor began with Bad Boys, a 1995 action film that received largely negative reviews but became a notable box-office success. His next role was as a fighter pilot in the science fiction thriller Independence Day, a huge hit with both film-goers and the critics that became the highest-grossing film of 1996. A year later, Smith co-starred with Tommy Lee Jones in Men In Black, a sci-fi excursion with a comedie twist that again set box-office records. 1998’s Enemy of the State saw him in a more serious action role, while 1999’s Wild, Wild West was a special effects-laden, tongue-in-cheek film vehicle similar in tone to Men In Black.

During this period, Smith refrained from recording. In interviews, he expressed concern over the violence associated with the hip-hop scene. “That was a large part of why I didn’t make a record,” he said in an interview found on his official website. “It was like I don’t even wanna rhyme. I made records in my crib. I thought that if this what the world is going to, then I don’t think there’s any place for me.” In the end, it was the popularity of Men In Black that helped to encourage Smith to launch himself as a solo rap recording artist. The film soundtrack’s title number earned him a number one single in both the United States and Britain, and earned him a Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance in 1998. Signing with Columbia Records, he released his solo debut Big Willie Style in 1997. The CD was both in keeping with Smith’s smooth, broad-appeal style of his earlier days and reflective of a greater maturity and self-reflection. Such tracks as “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” and “Miami” were infectious, playful numbers, while “Just The Two Of Us” found Smith rapping about fatherhood in highly personal terms. Though Townes produced several songs, the album’s sonic polish was largely the work of the Trackmasters production team. Big Willie Style went on to sell 8,000,000 copies, proving that Smith had lost none of his touch as a rapper.

By any measure, Smith has enjoyed exceptional success and had a major impact on popular culture in the 1990s. In interviews, his outlook on life and his career seems as positive and confident as his work as a rap artist. As he told Lynn Hirschberg in a Vanity Fair interview, “I look at my neighborhood—I know personally 15 people who could do exactly what I’m doing right now. But they’re scared to take that shot. If they give me the position, I’ll shoot my shot. The only thing that can go wrong is, I miss. And if I miss, I’ll shoot again.”

Selected discography

with DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince

Rock The House, Jive, 1987.

He’s The D.J., I’m The Rapper, Jive, 1988.

And In This Corner…, Jive, 1989

Homebase, Jive, 1991.

Code Red, Jive, 1993.

solo

Big Willie Style, Columbia, 1997.

Sources

Books

DeCurtis, Anthony and Henke, James, editors, The Rolling Stone Album Guide, Random House, 1992.

Larkin, Colin, The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Muze, 1998.

Periodicals

Ebony, July 1999.

Teen People, August 1999.

Vanity Fair, October 1990.

Online

E!Online, http://www.eonline.com (May 21, 1999).

Wall of Sound, http://wallofsound.go.com (May 21, 1999).

Additional information was provided by Will Smith publicity materials, 1999.

—Barry Alfonso