153 Will Smith Facts That You Didn't Know About The Fresh Prince

Willard Carroll Smith Jr. is a famous American actor, rapper, and movie producer.

Smith, throughout his career, has been nominated for four Grammys, two Academy awards, and five Golden Globe awards. In the late 80s, he rose to notoriety as a rapper under the pseudonym 'Fresh Prince.'

Smith's mother Caroline (Bright), was a Philadelphia school board administrator, and his father, Willard Carroll Smith Sr., was a refrigeration engineer. He has three siblings: Pamela, and twins Harry and Ellen. They were all younger than him.

He was just 13 years old when his parents, Caroline and Willard, separated and got a divorce. In Philadelphia's Wynnefield neighborhood, he was brought up as a Baptist and went to a private Catholic school named Our Lady of Lourdes.

With a net worth of $350 million, Will Smith is one of the wealthiest actors in the world. His production firm is responsible for films such as 'Showtime', starring Eddie Murphy and Robert De Niro, as well as 'ATL', 'Lakeview Terrace', 'This Means War', and even his son's debut, 'The Karate Kid'.

Continue reading to learn more information about Will Smith and his career. After this, you may also want to look at other fun articles about Will Roger facts and Zac Efron facts.

Fun Facts About Will Smith

Will Smith was born in the USA on September 25, in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is an American actor as well as a musician whose charm, good looks and quick wit aided him in segueing from rap music to a successful acting career.

He has been 6.2 ft (1.9 m) tall since the age of 13.

Will Smith has had a lot of accomplishments over the decades, from an outstanding film career, an Oscar nomination, and a few Grammy awards, to a personal life that he has managed to keep private.

He had been nominated for the Academy Award of Best Actor as well as a Golden Globe Award of Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama for his portrayal of Muhammad Ali in the 2001 biopic 'Muhammad Ali'.

Will Smith shaved his head for the role in the supervillain team-up action film 'Suicide Squad' in 2016, where Smith played Deadshot.

Smith has worked as a producer on several films in the early twenty-first century, including those in which he acted, and he co-created and produced the sitcom 'All of Us' with his wife and actress Jada Pinkett Smith.

Because most of his box office hits used to debut in July, he was dubbed as 'Mr. July' by the paparazzi.

Speaking Spanish and solving a Rubik's cube in less than 55 seconds are two of Smith's skills.

Will's life, as depicted in the Fresh Prince series, does not exactly point to a young person who adores chess. But in reality, Will enjoys playing chess and is also good at it.

During his presidency, Barack Obama stated that if a film about his life were ever made, he would like Will Smith to play him. In 2009, Will Smith and Jada Smith held a concert in Norway to commemorate Obama's Nobel Peace Prize victory.

Smith's favorite book is Brazilian author Paulo Coelho's 'The Alchemist'.

Will Smith purchased a two-story truck with a trailer, which is a luxury mobile home with a jacuzzi and a gym, for his trips across the country.

Will Smith overspent between 1988 and 1989 and was found to owe $2.8 million in income taxes. Many of his assets were taken away from him, his wages were garnished, and he was on the brink of going bankrupt.

Facts About Will Smith's Acting Career

Will Smith began rapping at the age of 12, imitating veterans such as Grandmaster Flash while sprinkling his rhymes with a comedic element that became his trademark. Smith met his future partner, Jeff Townes, at a party when he was 16 years old. Their friendship led to the formation of DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince.

In 1989, the duo bagged their first ever Grammy Award for the Best Rap Performance for 'Parents Just Don't Understand', although their most popular tune was 'Summertime', which got them their next Grammy.

Before Will Smith landed a solo deal with Columbia Records and Sony, the renowned hip-hop duo released five albums with Jive Records. Later, Smith released the song 'Get Lit' in 2017, a collaboration with his former group colleague DJ Jazzy Jeff.

Will Smith was in financial trouble in 1990 after failing to pay his taxes when NBC offered him a contract and created 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air', a sitcom based on him. The Fresh Prince was successful and thus started his acting career.

When Smith starred in the renowned television series 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' in 1990, his popularity skyrocketed. The sitcom aired on NBC for six seasons and has subsequently been syndicated on several networks. Will Smith transitioned from television to the film industry once the series ended and went on to become an actor in several big-budget films.

Smith's first distinguished roles were in the 'Six Degrees of Separation' and 'Bad Boys', both of which he co-starred in with Martin Lawrence. In 2003, Smith came back to the big screen with the film 'Bad Boys II', which was a sequel to the previous movie with the same name.

The film 'Bad Boys' gained mixed reviews and critical success, grossing $141.4 million worldwide.

Will Smith broke the record by releasing eight movies in a row that grossed $100 million in the United States, from 2002's film 'Men In Black II' through to 2008's 'Hancock'. Since then, no other performer has had a string of films with this kind of financial success.

As if one milestone were not enough, Will Smith appeared in Sony Pictures' highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, 'Bad Boys For Life'. Smith went on to star in the blockbuster movie 'Hancock', which earned $227,946,274 in the US and Canada and $624,386,746 worldwide.

'Suicide Squad', a film in which Smith was an actor, was released in theaters in the United States on August 5, 2016, with a strong opening weekend that set new box office records. The film grossed over $745 million worldwide, making it the tenth highest-grossing picture of 2016.

In the Netflix action picture 'Bright', he featured as a cop in a Los Angeles populated by humans and mythical monsters. In 2019, Smith was cast as the Genie in Disney's 'Aladdin', a family comedy.

'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' aired in 1990 when he was 22, and only thirty years later, Will Smith is one of the biggest movie stars in the world.

Will Smith was offered the role of the Chosen One in 'The Matrix', but he declined since he thought the film's project was a failure.

'Aw, hell no!' is Will Smith's running catchphrase, which appears in all of his films.

Facts About Will Smith's Family

Will Smith married actress Sheree Zampino in 1992. That year, they welcomed their first child, a son called Willard Christopher III (nicknamed 'Trey'), into the world.

He received a $900,000 lump sum divorce settlement from ex-wife Sheree Zampino in 1995, as well as $24,000 per month in alimony and child support, for a total of $288,000 per year.

Will Smith married Jada Pinkett, an actress he met when she auditioned for the role of his girlfriend on 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air', in 1997.

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith produce films through their joint production company Overbrook Entertainment and Westbrook Inc.

Smith has three children, one of them is Trey Smith (with his ex-wife called Sheree Zampino), then Jaden Smith, and Willow Smith (with wife Jada Pinkett Smith).

Despite their young ages, it appears that Jaden and Willow will follow in the footsteps of their famous parents in terms of careers, as Jaden received a lot of appreciation for his role of Chris Jr. in 'The Pursuit of Happyness'.

Will Smith worked with Jaden Smith on 'The Pursuit of Happyness' as a co-actor, and Willow Smith has worked with him on 'I Am Legend'. Jaden Smith, along with starring in the remake of 'The Karate Kid', also starred in 'Big Earth' alongside his father Smith that went on to be a flop.

Jaden can also rap, as evidenced by his appearance in Justin Bieber's song 'Never Say Never'.

Trey Smith starred in a music video with his father for 'Just the Two of Us' from 1998. He has also appeared on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' and the 'David Blaine TV Special', as well as in two episodes of the sitcom 'All of Us'.

Pam Smith and twins Ellen and Harry Smith are Smith's three siblings.

Will Smith lives with his family in Los Angeles in a mansion that is tucked away from prying eyes but close enough to not affect his work.

Will Smith established the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation with his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, to support inner-city community development, youth educational projects, and underprivileged children and their families.

Facts About Will Smith's Accomplishments

Before the age of 20, Smith amassed a fortune of one million dollars. Will Smith earned more money than any other Hollywood actor in 2008.

Smith's career began in the 80s when he and his friend Jeffrey Townes formed the rap group 'DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince.' 'Rock the House', their debut album, reached number one on the Billboard 200 in 1987, making Smith a millionaire before he became 18 years old.

Will Smith has since smashed performance records, starred in some of the world's most successful films, and is now one of the highest-paid actors on the planet.

He is the only movie star to have eight continuous films earning over $100 million domestically, eleven progressive films grossing over $150 million globally, and eight back-to-back films, with him opening at the top of the domestic box office.

Smith was also the first-ever hip-hop star to have been nominated for Academy Awards.

For 'Ali' and 'The Pursuit of Happyness', he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.

In 2005, Smith was accepted into the 'Guinness Book of World Records' for visiting three screenings in under 24 hours.

Smith was recognized at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard on December 10, 2007.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked Will Smith facts, then why not take a look at our Adam Sandler facts or Adam Levine facts?