Will Smith’s Incredible Story Of Being A Young Teen With Dreams From West Philadelphia To Becoming A Millionaire At 20

Sep 26, 2018

We all remember the “Fresh Prince” theme song about being born and raised in West Philadelphia, but it turns out that this theme song is based on the truth.

On September 25, 1968, Will Smith was actually born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Now, the Hollywood legend is turning 50 years old.

Over the course of a lifetime, Will Smith has been a rapper, entertainer and actor. He began his career as a rapper. When he was only 16 years old, he met Jeff Townes at a party. That fateful moment ultimately launched his rapping career.

At first, he appeared with Jeff as the duo of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. They were known for rapping about a variety of topics that were more clean-cut than typical rap songs. Soon, the pair was on a talk show known as “Switchback.”

Will Smith said that he met Jeff after Jeff threw a party in his neighborhood. From then on, the pair started to hang out and rap together. They performed in shows throughout Philadelphia. Their first single was the 1987 song, “Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble.”

The debut album called “Rock the House” became a top-selling album and generated Will millions of dollars by the time he was just 18.

His career did not end there. In 1988, they released another album with the song, “Parents Just Don't Understand.” In 1989, the Grammy Awards started a new category for the best rap song. Will Smith made history by having the first rap song to win a Grammy Award.

This was just the first of many different awards that he would win in his impressive career.

Now that he was bringing in plenty of money, Will Smith started to live in style. He used his newfound wealth to buy designer clothes, motorcycles, and fancy cars. Unfortunately, he quickly ran into money problems.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) took away some of his shiny toys because of unpaid taxes. Will Smith might have had a huge net worth the year before, but he was suddenly broke.

Thankfully, Will got another big break. After some encouragement from a girlfriend, Will Smith went on to a late night talk show called “The Arsenio Hall Show.” While he was on the show, he met a music producer called Benny Medina.

Benny told Will about an idea for a television show that would one day be called the “Fresh Prince of Bel Air.” He also introduced Will to the show's future producer, Quincy Jones.

Jones loved Will's rap name and decided that the show should be named after him. Will Smith was given just 10 minutes to get ready for an audition.

To his surprise, he quickly won over the audience. The producers immediately sign a contract with Will for the new show.

In 1990, the “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” officially went on the air. Will Smith was just 21 years old at the time.

Soon, the role made him famous in the entertainment industry and catalyzed a new career in acting. Interestingly, it also foreshadowed what his future family would one day be like.

In 1995, Will Smith met his future wife, Jada. She was auditioning to be Will's girlfriend on the show, but she was not chosen for the role. Jada ended up becoming his actual girlfriend in real life. In 1997, the sweethearts tied the knot. They have been together ever since.

It seems like all of Will's life has been a domino effect that led to each career opportunity.

His youth in Philadelphia inspired his rapping style. Later, his rapping persona led to his television show.

After acting in his hit show, Will Smith started performing on the silver screen. Now, he is the only actor to ever have eight consecutive films top $100 million in domestic sales.

Like many actors, Will Smith became interested in what happened behind the cameras as well. He soon developed an interest in film production. He started by producing the theme song for the 1997 hit film, “Men In Black.” In 2007, he was named the most powerful actor in Hollywood.

Now, the rapper and blockbuster star is turning 50 years old. His fans will probably not be surprised to hear that he is celebrating this milestone in style. Will is going to bungee jump out of an airplane over the Grand Canyon to celebrate his birthday. With any luck, he will film the grand event so that all of his fans can see the hit actor perform this amazing stunt.

Will Smith went from rags to riches over just a few years. His work ethic, talent and a bit of luck made him into a legendary entertainer. Start celebrating his birthday in style by telling all of your friends about Will's birthday milestone. Also, let us know which of his films or shows were your favorites.