Biography

Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, producer, and entertainer whose career has moved successfully between hip hop, television, and feature films. Performing under the name The Fresh Prince, he first became known through his partnership with Philadelphia DJ and producer Jeff Townes, better known as DJ Jazzy Jeff.

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince developed a humorous, accessible style that brought rap to a broad mainstream audience. Their early albums included Rock the House (1987), He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper (1988), and Code Red (1993). Songs such as "Parents Just Don't Understand," "Summertime," and "A Nightmare on My Street" established Smith as a charismatic performer with a clear, conversational delivery. "Parents Just Don't Understand" won the first Grammy Award presented for Best Rap Performance in 1989, while "Summertime" later earned another Grammy. The duo also became among the first rap acts to achieve major success on both radio and music television.

Smith's transition to acting began with the television sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which premiered in 1990. Cast as a fictionalized version of himself, he played a streetwise teenager from Philadelphia sent to live with relatives in an affluent Los Angeles neighborhood. The series made him a television star and shaped the upbeat, comic public persona that would influence his early film career. It also gave him a platform to address subjects including race, class, family conflict, and social responsibility without abandoning its broad entertainment appeal.

His breakthrough as a movie star came with Bad Boys (1995), in which he appeared opposite Martin Lawrence. He followed it with Independence Day (1996), a global science fiction hit, and Men in Black (1997), which paired his comic timing with the role of Agent J. The latter film's title song became one of Smith's best-known solo recordings. His solo album Big Willie Style, released in 1997, combined pop rap with polished production and produced the singles "Gettin' Jiggy wit It," "Just Cruisin'," and "Miami." It was followed by Willennium (1999), Born to Reign (2002), and Lost and Found (2005).

During the late 1990s and 2000s, Smith became one of Hollywood's most dependable leading men. His major roles included Enemy of the State (1998), Ali (2001), I, Robot (2004), Hitch (2005), The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), Hancock (2008), and Seven Pounds (2008). His performance as boxer Muhammad Ali in Ali earned his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He received a second nomination for The Pursuit of Happyness, in which he played salesman Chris Gardner.

Smith later appeared in films including Suicide Squad (2016), Aladdin (2019), and Bad Boys for Life (2020). He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for portraying tennis coach Richard Williams in King Richard (2021), a performance that emphasized restraint and determination rather than his familiar comic energy. He also served as one of the film's producers.

In 2022, Smith's public image was affected by his onstage confrontation with Chris Rock at the Academy Awards ceremony. The incident became a major turning point in the public discussion surrounding his career, although he continued to work in film and music. After a long recording hiatus, he returned to music with the album Based on a True Story in 2025. Across several decades, Smith's defining achievement has been his ability to translate the personality of a rapper and television performer into sustained international success as a film actor and producer.