A successful music career, an internationally recognized clothing brand, and an unwavering
dedication to human rights.
Jaden Smith may have been born into a family of fame and success, but he’s carved a path
all his own.
Keep watching for the details.
Jaden Smith is the first child that actress Jada Pinkett Smith and musician/actor Will
Smith had together.
According to People, the Smiths first met one another when Jada auditioned for a role
on Will's hit sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" in 1990.
Even though she didn't land the part, the pair would cross paths a few years later when
Will visited the set of "A Different World," a television show that Jada appeared in.
While appearing on Jada's Facebook series "Red Table Talk," Will revealed that he knew
Jada was the woman for him.
At the time though, he was still married to Sheree Zampino.
However, when Will divorced Zampino in 1995, he contacted Jada to see if she was single,
and the two began dating.
Two years later, Jada became pregnant with Jaden.
During that same "Red Table Talk" episode, Jada spoke about the pregnancy and shared,
"I knew the moment after the act that I was pregnant."
She added that Will didn't think she was with child at the time, and stated,
"He didn't believe me, but I knew.
You know those big locks on the bank?
I could feel that in my womb, in my uterus."
On July 8, 1998, the Smiths welcomed their son, Jaden.
Jaden Smith's first major acting role was in the blockbuster 2006 biographical drama
"The Pursuit of Happyness," in which he starred alongside his father, Will Smith.
However, this wasn't Jaden's first acting gig.
He played a sweet kid named Reggie on the sitcom "All Of Us" when he was five years
old for seven episodes.
Will discussed working with his son in "The Pursuit of Happyness" during an interview
with movie and book critic Kam Williams, and stated,
"Having my son, and being able to lay in a subway bathroom, with my real son, just added
to the ability to be able to transform and to become Chris Gardner for those moments."
Even though director Gabriele Muccino wanted to hire Jaden to portray Christopher Gardner,
Jr., the studio wouldn't allow it at first.
In Will Smith's self-titled memoir, he recalled that Muccino told him,
"The studio felt like it was a death sentence for the film from a marketing standpoint.
They felt that people wouldn't be able to suspend disbelief seeing Jaden and you on
camera as father and son."
Muccino proved everyone wrong, because he cast Jaden in the film, which went on to make
over $307 million at the box office worldwide.
"I’m going pro!"
"Oh, okay."
After his breakout performance, Jaden was cast in "The Day the Earth Stood Still," "The
Karate Kid," "After Earth," and "The Good Lord Bird."
Like lots of kids born to celebrity parents, Jaden Smith didn't grow up like most children.
When sitting down with Variety, the then 18-year-old reflected on his childhood and said that he'd
always felt like an outsider when growing up.
He shared,
"I always knew no one was going to understand me — since before I could talk — and that's
why I was so quiet.
I was very calm, very to myself.
I could tell I felt about life differently than other kids; I could tell by the way they
treated me."
He spoke about his upbringing again two years later while promoting his film "Skate Kitchen"
and discussed that while his life came with perks, it also came with a unique set of struggles.
He told Dazed,
"I didn't always get to hang out with normal people when I was young.
So being older and being able to hang out with the big kids and play with normal people
is fun."
While Jaden Smith was still acting, he began to dabble in music.
In 2010, Smith and pop star Justin Bieber teamed up for the pop hit "Never Say Never,"
which served as the signature tune for Smith's flick, "The Karate Kid."
Then, two years later, the 14-year-old put out his very first mixtape, "The Cool Cafe,"
and released a sequel, "Cool Tape Vol. 2," in 2014.
After his second mixtape came out, Smith decided to take a break from acting to focus on his
music career.
That same year, the budding rapper/singer also made appearances on multiple artists'
albums, including Childish Gambino's album "Kauai."
In 2017, Smith finally released his long-awaited debut album, titled "Syre."
His album featured his sister Willow Smith as well as a few other artists, including
A$AP Rocky and Raury.
Jaden said in an interview with Complex after the album dropped,
"I think the noticeable influences are Frank Ocean, James Blake, Kanye...
there are a lot of people that you can feel in there.
But for the most part, I'm really trying to create my own sound that's never been heard."
Smith has also performed at Coachella and gone on tour with music industry heavy hitters
Post Malone and Tyler the Creator.
He has been announced as one of the opening acts for Justin Bieber's 2022 Justice World
Tour.
In 2014, Jaden Smith made headlines when he supposedly wanted to be emancipated from his
famous parents.
In an interview with The Sun, Will Smith disclosed that his son wanted to strike out on his own
for his 15th birthday.
Will reportedly told the outlet,
"He says, 'Dad, I want to be emancipated.'
I know if we do this, he can be an emancipated minor, because he really wants to have his
own place, like 'Ooh.'
That's the backlash.
On the other side, if kids just want to have command of their lives, I understand."
In a 2018 episode of "Red Table Talk," Jada Pinkett Smith talked about the emancipation
with her son.
She told him,
"I remember this day specifically, it's probably one of the most heartbreaking moments of my
life.
You got to a point where you told me straight up, you were like, 'Mom, I have to leave here
to live my life.'
[...] Being in this lifestyle, in this world is a bubble, and [Jaden] wanted out.
I understood that because I didn't have the bubble.
I knew what having my freedom outside the bubble, what I gained from that.
I knew the sooner I let him go, the faster he was going to come back."
"You have to go out into the real world to really experience that."
Smith didn't emancipate himself, but he did move out and purchase his own house a month
before his 18th birthday, according to People.
When it comes to music and fashion, Jaden Smith has various influences.
In a Billboard interview with his sister Willow Smith about their inspirations, Jaden discussed
his father's music.
He stated,
"I love his songs, I go back and re-listen to those songs and the newer songs he's made
in the studio too."
One of Jaden's favorite songs by his father is the 1997 smash hit "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It."
The artist also feels his dad inspires him not only when it comes to his music but in
life in general, and shared,
"My dad is awesome.
I wouldn't be where I am right now if it wasn't for all of the things he's taught me.
He's taught me a lot about driving and just about life."
While chatting with Nylon Magazine in 2016, Smith talked about his upbringing and said,
"The greatest lesson I've learned from my parents is to be myself, at all costs, no
matter what anybody thinks."
"Seen you at the park the other day.
You were killing it."
After quitting acting, Jaden Smith returned to the silver screen for a 2018 film about
female skateboarders.
"Skate Kitchen" follows a lonely Long Island suburban teenager named Camille, played by
rapper/actor Rachelle Vinberg, who befriends an all-girl New York City skate crew.
The movie marked Smith's first feature film since 2013.
In the teen drama, Smith plays Devon, a chill teen seeking to become a photographer and
the main character's love interest.
Vinberg recalled that writer/director Crystal Moselle had approached her to see if she knew
any other actors who could skateboard during filming, and Smith came to mind.
She told USA Today,
"I was like, 'Oh, yeah, Jaden Smith does.
He told me he's bad, but I don't think he actually is.'"
According to the publication, Smith stated he wasn't interested in any roles until this
project came along and said,
"The kinds of roles I was being offered weren't exactly what I was looking for.
Nothing felt really necessary that I needed to be in until this came along."
When the film premiered at the Sundance Festival in January 2018, it received a 90% positive
review from Rotten Tomatoes.
Over the years, Jaden Smith has used his platform to raise awareness of various social justice
issues in addition to climate change.
In a 2020 appearance on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," Smith performed a song called "Boys
and Girls," which is about today's youth changing the world in which we live through love and
determination.
During his set, he performed in front of a screen that featured imagery from various
Black Lives Matter and civil rights protests.
Smith also pushed his clean water initiative forward by creating 501CTHREE, a non-profit
committed to creating solutions to bring change to climate change.
He spoke with Interview Magazine about the water crisis in October 2020 and shared a
bit about his organization, saying,
"There are so many people across the world who die from lack of access to safe water
every day, and they're mostly young kids.
We wanted to find a solution that was more sustainable than delivering bottled water
to those communities, so we developed this filtration system that purifies ten gallons
of water every minute."
At the height of the pandemic, 501CTHREE worked with The Newark Water Coalition to establish
water filtration boxes in New Jersey neighborhoods that were experiencing unsafe water.
"To do our small part in making the world a better place."
In 2018, Jaden Smith became a vegetarian after he consumed too much meat and got sick, according
to NYLON.
Then, in 2019, Smith was going back and forth between following vegetarian and vegan diets.
However, it seems that his strict diet was doing more harm than good, and his parents
had to step in.
While appearing in an episode of the "Red Table Talk" in December 2021, he talked about
how he felt better since his parents had spoken to him about his diet and pushed for him to
ensure he was getting the proper nutrients.
He explained,
"I was able to work with the doctors and really get my vitamins and get my supplements and
protein shakes.
That's half of my diet.
It's like a password that I have to find to my body."
He also shared that since the 2019 intervention, he was doing much better and was ten pounds
heavier.
"I feel like I'm keeping on my weight.
I'm able to put on my muscle."
While Hollywood may not be casting Jaden Smith lately, the star has kept busy by co-founding
a clothing line called MSFTS with his sister Willow Smith and friends TÉO and Moisés
Arias.
The brand seems to be doing better than ever.
The Los Angeles-based company recently gained worldwide recognition when they were asked
to present three looks at Italy's biannual menswear tradeshow, Pitti Uomo.
According to Paper Magazine, Smith issued a statement about the collection and said,
"The collection preview is a symbol of organized rebellion within the youth.
There are three looks we are currently showing, and they were all designed to evolve consciousness
and the way you see clothes."
In an interview with i-D, Smith shared that the label has moved all of its production
to Italy since the tradeshow so they can be competitors in the luxury fashion arena.
When asked what type of brand MSFTS is, the innovator shared,
"The brand is for people who feel left out, and feel that they don't belong.
That's what it's all about."
On the future of the brand, he noted,
"I feel like during the pandemic I really had a lot of time to work on it more.
2022 is gonna mark ten years of MSFTS, so now I'm just doing what I've always wanted
to do but have never been able to."
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