On The Cover:Will Smith

Willard Christopher “Will” Smith, Jr. was born September 25, 1968. He is an American actor, film producer and pop rapper. He has enjoyed success in music, television and film. Born and raised in West Philadelphia, Smith grew up amidst the middle-classes, his mother serving on the school board and his father the owner 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 Philly’s legendary Overbrook High School, earned him the nickname Prince. His upbringing would see him experience many different social circles. The Smiths were a Baptist family, yet ‘Will’ would attend a Catholic school. His neighbourhood was half populated by Orthodox Jews, and close by was a strongly Muslim area. School was 90% white, but 90% of Smith’s playmates were black. He learned how to be liked by everyone. He was raised Baptist. His parents separated when he was 13, and did not actually divorce until Smith was around 30. In 2005, Smith was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for attending a record breaking three premieres in a 24-hour time span. President Barack Obama has stated that if a film were to ever be made about his life, he would have Smith play his part, because “he has the ears”. Obama stated that the two have discussed a possibility of a film based on the 2008 election, but this may not happen until the end of the Obama presidency. He is currently filming Men in Black III for a 2012 release playing Agent J one of his more popular earlier roles, making this his first major starring role in four years. Smith married Sheree Zampino in 1992. They had a son, Willard Christopher Smith III, also known as “Trey”, but divorced in 1995. Trey appeared in his father’s music video for the 1998 single “Just the Two of Us”. Smith married actress Jada Pinkett in 1997. Together they have had two children: Jaden Christopher Syre (born 1998), his co-star in The Pursuit of Happyness, and Willow Camille Reign (born 2000), who appeared as his daughter in I Am Legend. Along with his brother, Harry Smith He owns Treyball Development Inc. a Beverly Hills-based company named after his first son. Smith and his family reside on Star Island in Miami Beach, Florida and in Los Angeles, Stockholm, Sweden and Philadelphia. Smith was consistently listed in Fortune Magazine’s “Richest 40” list of the forty wealthiest Americans under the age of 40. He donated $4,600 to the presidential campaign of Democrat Barack Obama. December 11, 2009, Smith and his wife hosted the Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo, Norway, when Obama had won the prize. Ends