Will Smith Biography

American actor and musician Will Smith was born in 1968 in West Philadelphia. Smith was an exceptional student while in high school, but has said that he never had any interest in going to college; he was always determined to make a career for himself as a rap artist. In the late 1980’s, Will Smith launched his music career as one half of the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, ultimately going on to earn the first Grammy award for the new rap category, in 1988.

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince became well-known not only for their humorous and light-hearted raps, but also for Smith’s comedic talents, which became clear in their highly popular MTV music videos. It wasn’t long before the NBC network tapped Will to star in a new sitcom custom-tailored around his talents.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air debuted in 1990, and became an enormous hit and enduring television series, lasting for six seasons. During those years, Will Smith also made the leap to the big screen, appearing first in the drama Six Degrees of Separation in 1993; the film showcased Smith’s wide acting range and earned him critical acclaim. From there, he went on to star in the action film Bad Boys (1995) and then his biggest film breakthrough, Independence Day (1996.) Independence Day became an enormous blockbuster and established Will Smith as one of the era’s most bankable stars.

Since that time, Will Smith has become not only one of the era’s most well-known and successful actors, but one of the most respected and critically acclaimed as well. Notable performance from Will Smith include roles in: Men in Black (1997), Ali (2001), I Robot (2004), I Am Legend (2007), Seven Pounds (2008), Concussion (2015), and The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his portrayal of entrepreneur Chris Gardner.

Today, Will Smith is among the most bankable stars of the era, with an accumulated worldwide gross earnings of nearly eight billion dollars as of 2016. Smith most recently appeared in 2016 film Collateral Beauty, and he will next appear in the film Bright, scheduled for release in 2017.