Willard C. Smith II was born September 25, 1968, in Philadelphia. He was the second of four children of Caroline and Willard Smith Sr. Will grew up in West Philadelphia in a middle class family, where his father was the owner of a refrigeration company.
He earned the nickname "Prince" from one of his teachers,
because of the 
way he could charm his way out of trouble, and he added the "Fresh"-part,
because "in 1985 fresh was the new like hip slang", according
to himself.
In 1985 Will accidentally met Jeffrey A. Townes, aka Jazzy Jeff, at a party. Together they formed the unbeatable music duo Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, and soon their race against stardom had begun.
In 1989 Will met Benny Medina, who had an idea for a sitcom based basically on Will's life. He should play a street-smart West Philly kid transplanted to his rich relatives in Beverly Hills. Watching Will and Jazz's music-videos, everybody assumed that Will also could act, something Will, according to himself, couldn't. So nobody told him how to act before the first takes of the series! (He looks back on the first episodes of FP with horror.)
Anyway, the series became a huge success, and so did Will Smith.
Pictures:
| Will Smith | |
| Full name | Willard C. Smith II |
| Date of birth | September 25, 1968 |
| Place of birth | Philadelphia, PA. |
| Height | 6'2" |
| Children | Willard C. Smith III (Trey), 1992 |
| Wife | Jada Pinkett |
