will smith

The history of pop icons attempting to make it in Hollywood is a long and often sad one. Cher was a big success, with Jon Bon Jovi looking good for the future, while the likes of David Bowie and Mick Jagger have made many a sorry attempt to cut it. The world of rap has a far better record of producing film stars. Tupac caused a major stir before his untimely death, LL Cool J’s star is rising, as is Queen Latifah’s. And then there’s the biggest of them all – Will Smith, formerly known as The Fresh Prince, surely the most successful crossover star of the modern era.

Born Willard Christopher Smith Jr on September 25th, 1968, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Smith grew up amidst the middle-classes, his father owning a refrigeration company. The second of four children (the younger Harry and Ellen are twins), Will was a bright child, constantly playing upon his natural charm, a habit which, at Overbrook High School, earned him the nickname Prince.

Influenced both by Eddie Murphy and new hip-hop heroes like Grandmaster Flash, Will began rapping at the age of 12, quickly developing his own slick, semi-comic style. Then, at age 16, he met the man with whom he would score his first worldwide success. At a party in Philadelphia, he cracked a joke that fell flat with everyone. Everyone, that is, except DJ Jazzy Jeff – real name Jeff Townes – who had himself been working at music since the age of 10. The pair became firm friends and began to collaborate, Jeff as DJ, Will as rapper (having expanded his nickname to Fresh Prince). So vigorous was their pursuit of musical excellence that Will even turned down a scholarship to Boston’s super-prestigious MIT in order to follow his dream.