Will Smith

Born on September 25, 1968, Willard Christopher Smith Jr., was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Starting his career at the early age of 12, Will began creating his own style of rap under the influence of Grandmaster Flash. Then at the age of 16, he met Jeff Townes, as known as DJ Jazzy Jeff, who helped him come up with the name Fresh Prince. These two produced several songs together, winning Grammy's and creating albums. In 1997, Will went solo with his first album titled, Big Willie Style. Along with his music career, Will Smith was cast in 1990 for the lead role in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. After his music and acting career took off the movie offers came rolling in. The first films he was featured in were Made in America, Six Degrees of Separation, and Bad Boys. Following these came Independence Day in 1996, Men in Black in 1997, Enemy of the State in 1998, Ali in 2001, Hitch in 2005, and The Pursuit of Happyness in 2006. He has won 28 awards and has been nominated for 49 others, including 2 Oscar nominations for Best Performance by an actor in a leading role. These two nominations were for his performances in Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness. Will Smith is now a producer. He and his partner, James Lassiter, just recently launched Overbrook Entertainment, a film and television production company that also does artist management. Since he launched this company it has produced several box office hits, including his movies, I, Robot, Hitch, and The Pursuit of Happyness. Smith has and still is one of the most recognized and esteemed performers and producers in the industry.

Written by: Lauren Welch

The Official Will Smith Website. "Will Smith". Retrieved April 21, 2008. http://www.willsmith.net/_bin/artist.cfm.