With his million-dollar smile and interminably charming demeanor, Will Smith has become one of the only stars in history to find major success in music, television, and film. Growing up in West Philadelphia (where he was born in 1968), Smith pursued a career as an emcee, despite gaining admission to M.I.T. Smith and friend Jeff Townes started the radio-friendly hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince in the late 1980s, and quickly found national fame, even winning the first-ever Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance with the song “Parents Just Don’t Understand”.
The sexy teen icon famously lived the high life after his success in the hip-hop world, and found himself nearly bankrupt at the end of the decade. But his move to television rescued his career and started a hot streak for the actor that still hasn’t let up. The popular sitcom, called “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”, was a breakout hit, and ran for six years. During the run of “The Fresh Prince” Smith started acting in films as well, with sizable roles in “Where the Day Takes You” and the Whoopi Goldberg/Ted Danson vehicle “Made in America”. But it was 1993’s film version of “Six Degrees of Separation” that got Smith noticed by critics, who correctly predicted that after his terrific performance in the film he would become a major film star. Right they were – in 1995 Smith and Martin Lawrence starred in the blockbuster hit “Bad Boys”, and in ’96 Smith headlined the alien invasion movie “Independence Day”, which became the sixth highest-grossing film of the 90s. His next film “Men in Black” was nearly as successful, and it became clear that Smith was a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood.
Around the time Smith was kicking alien butt in the mid-90s, he launched a solo career that more than lived up to expectations. His singles were commonly tie-ins with his films (such as the title songs to “Men in Black” and “Wild Wild West”), and his first solo album, 1997’s “Big Willie Style”, sold nine million copies in the U.S. and produced two #1 singles. Smith’s pop career has waned since his first album, but 2005’s “Lost and Found” produced the smash single “Switch” and briefly returned him to the top of the charts.
After “Men in Black” Smith continued to score major box office hits, including “Enemy of the State” and “Wild Wild West”, which despite being an atrocious film managed to gross over $200 million worldwide, probably due mostly to Smith’s involvement. 2001’s “Ali” earned Smith a much-deserved Oscar nomination for his detailed, mannered performance as Muhammad Ali, and since then he has starred in the hits “Men in Black 2”, “Bad Boys 2”, “I, Robot”, “Shark Tale” (voice), and 2005’s surprise blockbuster comedy “Hitch”. Smith famously turned down the lead role in “The Matrix”, a move he now regrets, and has been married to “The Matrix Reloaded” star Jada Pinkett Smith for almost ten years. The jaw-dropping couple has two children together. He can currently be seen in the tender drama "The Pursuit of Happyness", which recently earned him a Golden Globe nomination.
It isn’t a stretch to suggest that Smith is the most bankable and perhaps the most popular American movie star alive, with his only competition being Hollywood heavies Tom Cruise, Jim Carrey, and Tom Hanks. Eulogies for his career are a long, long way off.