| Will Smith, Willard Christopher Smith Jr., born 1968 — is an American actor and rapper.
Biography:
Willard Christopher Smith, Jr. was born on September 25, 1968 in Philadelphia, USA. In Philadelphia he met musician Jeff Townes and soon received wide popularity in the late eighties as a participant of the hip-hop duet DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, which became the first possessor of a “Grammy” for best rap performance. Since 1990, Will Smith starred in the leading role in the popular television series “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”. During the early years Will used the stage pseudonym the Fresh Prince.
In the mid-nineties the career of Will Smith became obsolete as the idol of the teenage audience, however, the actor would return to popularity by playing leading roles in the blockbusters “Independence Day” (1996) and “Men in Black” (1997), the musical theme under his performance headed the British charts. In the beginning of 1998, his composition “Gettin ' Jiggy wit ' It” (based on the disco-hit Sister Sledge “He’s the Greatest Dancer”) topped the most prestigious hit-parade of the world — the Billboard Hot 100.
Will Smith refused the leading role in the “Matrix” so as to feature in the cowboy comedy “Wild, Wild West”. The film failed at the box-office; however, the sound track once again topped the American charts. In 2000, Smith concentrated on more serious films. Will Smith was nominated for an “Oscar” for the Muhammad Ali role in the biopic movie with the same name in 2001; his second “Oscar” nomination was in 2006
Interesting facts:
* The wife of Will Smith – Jada Pinkett starred in the “Matrix II” and “Matrix III”;
* Will Smith was one of the guests in Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes wedding in Italy;
* Speaks Spanish fluently;
* Smith refused to do the role of Neo “Matrix” (1999), for which he subsequently regretted very much. The role was given to Keanu Reeves;
* From the school bench, Will Smith took great interest in rap and this hobby gradually turned into a profession when Will Smith, together with friend — rapper Jeff Townes, organized a rap duet and started performing under the pseudonyms DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince;
* According to a survey conducted by “Peоple” magazine in 1998, Will Smith was recognized as one of the fifty most beautiful men in the world;
* Will Smith was the second child out of four children in Smith’s family;
* In childhood, Will Smith earned himself the nickname “Prince” due to his ability to get out of any troubles through good language and charm;
* His first major commercial success came with the action movie “Bad Boys”, in which Will Smith and Martin Lawrence appeared as tough policemen;
* In 1992, Sheree Zampino gave birth to his son Willard Smith III;
* In 2000, on the night of Halloween, Will smith became a father for the third time: his wife Jada Pinkett Smith presented him with a daughter. The baby girl was named Willow Camille Reign Smith;
* Will Smith met Jada Pinkett when she tried out for the role of his partner in the series Fresh Prince from Bel-air. Delicate and slender Jada did not at all suit the broad-shouldered Will Smith at a height of 188 cm and was therefore withdrawn from the cast. During the Christmas of 1997, the two got married in Baltimore and soon, Jada gave birth to his son Jaden Christopher Syre;
* In 2008, Will Smith topped the Forbes list of highly paid actors in Hollywood, earning over $80 million per annum. Smith became the first actor in the history of Hollywood, where each one of his eight films has successively grossed over $100 million.
Filmography:
* 1992 — Where the Day Takes You
* 1993 — Six Degrees of Separation
* 1993 — Made In America
* 1995 — Bad Boys
* 1996 — Independence Day
* 1997 — Men in Black
* 1998 — Enemy of the State
* 1999 — Wild Wild West
* 2000 — Legend of Bagger Vance, The
* 2001 — Ali
* 2002 — Men in Black — 2
* 2003 — Bad Boys II
* 2004 — I, Robot
* 2004 — Shark Tale (voice)
* 2005 — Hitch
* 2006 — The pursuit of Happiness
* 2007 — I am Legend
* 2008 — Enemy of the State II
* 2008 — Hancock
Discography:
* Rock The House (1987)
* He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper (1988)
* And In This Corner… (1989)
* Homebase (1991)
* Code Red (1993)
* Big Willie Style (1997)
* Men in Black: The Album (1997)
* DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince — Greatest Hits (1998)
* Willennium (1999)
* Born To Reign (2002)
* Men in Black II (MIIB): Music from the Motion Picture (2002)
* Greatest Hits (2002)
* Lost and Found (2005)
|
American actor and rapper Will Smith
is celebrating his 40th birthday today. Smith became famous as a rapper "Fresh Prince" in the late 80s. Later he became a successful actor and starred the leading roles in such box-office hits as "Bad Boys" "Men in Black", "I, Robot" and most recently "I am legend" and "Hancock". He is the only actor in history to have starred in eight consecutive films that grossed over $100 million each in USA box-office.
Fortune Magazine consistently listed Smith in its "40 Richest Americans Under 40" list. Alas, today he's no longer eligible for this list.
