The Most Influential Person On AIB This Week Is Will Smith

Willard Carroll “Will” Smith II was born on September 25, 1968. He is the son of Willard Carroll Smith, Sr., a refrigeration engineer, and Caroline (Bright), a Philadelphia school board administrator,

Smith was born in West Philadelphia. He has three siblings: twins Harry and Ellen, who are three years younger than Smith, and Pamela, who is four years older. He attended the private Catholic elementary school Our Lady of Lourdes in Philadelphia. Additionally, he went to Overbrook High School. Smith claims that despite having quite high SAT scores, he chose not to apply to college because he wanted to become a rapper.

He was 13 when his parents first got separated but divorced in the year 2000.

He is an American rapper, composer, producer, actor, and comedian. In music, movies, and television, he has achieved remarkable success. Newsweek referred to him as “the most influential actor in Hollywood” in April 2007. Smith has received four Grammy Award wins, five Golden Globe nominations, and two Academy Award nominations.

He began his career as the MC of the hip-hop combo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, with Jeffrey “DJ Jazzy Jeff” Townes, a childhood buddy, serving as producer.

They were renowned for singing funny songs that would play on the radio. They garnered popularity and won the first Grammy in the Rap category (1988).

Smith rose to moderate prominence as a rapper in the late 1980s going by the stage name The Fresh Prince. His appearance in the hit TV shows The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in 1990 significantly improved his popularity. The program debuted on NBC in 1990 and continued there until 1996. Since then, it has constantly aired on different networks. Smith made the switch from television to film once the series finished. He played the lead in many successful movies. He is the only actor to have eight films in a row gross over $100 million domestically, eleven films in a row gross over $150 million internationally, and eight films in a row in which he starred debut at the top of the domestic box office list.

Smith’s attendance at three premieres in 24 hours in 2005 earned him a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Smith wed Jada Koren Pinkett, an actress, in 1997. Jaden Christopher Syre Smith, who was born in 1998, and Willow Camille Reign Smith, who was born in 2000, are their two children.

Smith frequently appeared on Fortune Magazine’s list of the 40 richest Americans under the age of forty.