Will Smith

Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor and rapper who has received numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and four Grammy Awards.

Smith launched his acting career with a role as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom *The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air* (1990–1996). He initially gained fame as part of the hip hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, with whom he released five studio albums and several top 20 singles on the US Billboard Hot 100, including "Parents Just Don't Understand," "A Nightmare on My Street," "Summertime," "Ring My Bell," and "Boom! Shake the Room" between 1984 and 1994. He later released solo albums such as *Big Willie Style* (1997), *Willennium* (1999), *Born to Reign* (2002), and *Lost and Found* (2005), which featured the number-one singles "Gettin' Jiggy wit It" and "Wild Wild West." He has won four Grammy Awards for his rap performances.

Smith achieved greater recognition as a leading actor in films such as the action movie *Bad Boys* (1995), its sequels *Bad Boys II* (2003) and *Bad Boys for Life* (2020), and the sci-fi comedies *Men in Black* (1997), *Men in Black II* (2002), and *Men in Black 3* (2012). Following roles in the thrillers *Independence Day* (1996) and *Enemy of the State* (1998), he received Academy Award for Best Actor nominations for his portrayals of Muhammad Ali in *Ali* (2001) and Chris Gardner in *The Pursuit of Happyness* (2006). He has appeared in a variety of commercially successful films, including *I, Robot* (2004), *Shark Tale* (2004), *Hitch* (2005), *I Am Legend* (2007), *Hancock* (2008), *Seven Pounds* (2008), *Suicide Squad* (2016), and *Aladdin* (2019).

For his performance as Richard Williams in the biographical sports drama *King Richard* (2021), Smith won the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor.