Mini Biography
Will Smith was the second of four children of Caroline (school board employee) and Willard C Smith Sr. (owner of a refrigeration company). Smith is of both African American and Native American heritage. He grew up in middle class area in West Philadelphia called Wynnefield. Will attended the Overbrook High School located in the Overbrook section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He got the nickname "Prince" because of the way he could charm his way out of trouble. Bright student Will also signed up with the high-status Julia Reynolds Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School in Philadelphia.
Pursuing music, he met Jeffrey A. Townes at a party and they soon began performing together as "DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince". When the duo took off in popularity, Smith made and spent a lot of money on a house, cars and jewelry; leading to his near bankruptcy in his early twenties.
Luckily, in 1989, he met Benny Medina, who had an idea for a sitcom based on his life in Beverly Hills. Smith loved the idea as did NBC which put on the "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (1990). The plot was simple - Will basically played himself; a street-smart West Philly kid transplanted to Beverly Hills. The series lasted 6 years. During that time, he ventured into movies where the critics took note of him in Six Degrees of Separation (1993). With the success that came with the action picture Bad Boys (1995), Will's movie career was set. He had a huge Blockbuster hit with Independence Day (1996), where he plays the alien-battling Marine Corps Captain Steven Hiller.
Filmography
Bad Boys 3 (announced)
Detective Mike Lowrey (rumored)
Hancock 2 (announced)
John Hancock
I Robot 2 (announced)
Del Spooner (unconfirmed)
2013 Winter's Tale (filming)
2013 After Earth (post-production)
Cypher Raige
2012 Men in Black 3
Agent J
2008 Seven Pounds
Ben
2008 Hancock
John Hancock
2007 I Am Legend
Robert Neville
2006 The Pursuit of Happyness
Chris Gardner
2005/I Hitch
Alex 'Hitch' Hitchens
2004 Shark Tale
Oscar (voice)
2004 I, Robot
Del Spooner
2003-2004 All of Us (TV series)
Johnny
2003 Bad Boys II
Detective Mike Lowrey
2002 Men in Black II
Agent Jay
2001 Ali
Cassius Clay / Cassius X / Muhammad Ali
2000 The Legend of Bagger Vance
Bagger Vance
2000 Men in Black Alien Attack (short)
Agent J
1999 Wild Wild West
Capt. James West
1998 Enemy of the State
Robert Clayton Dean
1997 Men in Black
J / James Edwards
1997 Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (TV series)
Pinocchio
1996 Independence Day
Captain Steven Hiller
1990-1996 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (TV series)
William 'Will' Smith
1995 Bad Boys
Mike Lowery
1993 Six Degrees of Separation
Paul
1993 Made in America
Tea Cake Walters
1991 Blossom (TV series)
Fresh Prince
1991 Where the Day Takes You
Manny
1990 ABC Afterschool Specials (TV series)
Hawker
