Birthdate: September 25, 1968
Birthplace: West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Soundbyte: "I don't know what my calling
is, but I want to be here for a bigger
reason. I strive to be like the greatest
people who have ever lived."
When it comes to Will Smith, there's not much the man hasn't done. He's got the movie thing down pat, and the same goes for television, music and music producing. A husband and father of three, Will has been called the most powerful actor on the planet by Newsweek magazine.
Will and his childhood friend Jeffrey Townes, a.k.a. DJ Jazzy Jeff, broke in to the music biz as DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, of which Will was the MC; the group won the first-ever Grammy under the Rap category in '88. Though more recent solo recordings of Will's have often times been tied to his movies, it's his days as a MC that I think many remember him by musically - Summertime and Parents Just Don't Understand are classic Fresh Prince numbers.
Will went from rapping as The Fresh Prince to starring on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, arguably one of the best sitcoms ever to be broadcast. (I'm so tempted to turn this into a "What Was Your Favourite Fresh Prince Episode?" post. It's a tough call for me, but I think mine would have to be the one where they go on Oprah.) The show and his character were created around Will and it catapulted him into stardom; he went on to star in blockbusters like Independence Day, Men in Black, The Pursuit of Happyness and I Am Legend.
Yet it was his performance as gay con-artist Paul in 1993's Six Degrees of Separation that made me realize what an incredible talent Will is. In Separation, he proved his ability as a strong dramatic actor and hinted at his potential star power. Even now, with a slew of mega-hits and Hollywood heavyweight status under his belt, I think that role is his best yet.
In 1997, Will married Jada Pinkett, and together the two have two children - Jaden Christopher Syre and Willow Camille Reign (Will also has a son, Willard Christopher III, with his first wife Sheree). Will and Jada have always appeared to be a strong couple and seem to me to be quite in tune with one another. Ten years of marriage in Hollywood is the equivalent of an eternity, and Will recently said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that for he and Jada, divorce is simply not an option.
"What I found is divorce just can't be an option," he said. "It's really that simple. And I think that's the problem with L.A. – there are so many options. So a huge part of the success for [Jada] and I is that we just removed the other options.
"We're like listen, we're going to be together one way or the other so we might as well try to be happy," he said.
That theory seems to be working quite nicely for them, because there's no doubt that the Smiths are one of the strongest couples in Hollywood.
[photos:source/google images]
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