1994: Will Smith and Jada Pinkett meet on the set of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air when Jada auditions to play Smith's girlfriend. She ultimately loses the part to Nia Long because she's too short (heightism strikes again), but a connection is made. At the time, Smith is married to actress Sheree Zampino.
The couple met on the set of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in 1990. The Smiths wed in 1997 after a few years of dating. They welcomed son Jaden shortly after in 1997 and daughter Willow in 2000. The couple famously discussed their marriage ups and downs on Jada's Red Table Talk in 2020.
Was Jada Pinkett Smith in Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?
Will and Jada first met in 1994 when a then 19-year-old Jada auditioned to play Will's girlfriend on NBC's "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." In 2017, Jada told "Extra" that she wasn't cast because they told her she was "too short to play Will's girlfriend" — she's 5-foot and he's 6-foot-2.
The King Richard star has three kids: sons Trey, 31, and Jaden, 25, plus daughter Willow, 23. All three of them have followed in his footsteps, pursuing careers in the entertainment industry. Smith welcomed his first son, Trey, in 1992 with then-wife Sheree Zampino.
Like many scripted shows, Smith was quite a few years older than the teenage character he was playing. When the first episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air premiered in September 1990, Smith was 22 years old. Banks was 23 years old when the first episode of Bel-Air aired in February 2022.
Jada also reiterated that she and Tupac never pursued a romantic relationship. "It just wasn't possible. There was no chemistry between us," she said. "It was almost like God made us that way.
How old was Jada Pinkett when she married Will Smith?
Jada Pinkett Smith thinks she was too young when she married Will Smith in 1997 at the age of 25. Actress Jada Pinkett Smith thinks she was too young when she married Will Smith in 1997 at the age of 25.
Now Pinkett Smith has revealed that the pair has been separated since 2016. While promoting her upcoming memoir, Worthy, on the Today show, she shared that, after the “entanglement” that first shook their marriage several years ago (more on that below), the duo never actually repaired their romantic relationship.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Will Smith's net worth is $350 million as of 2023. These earnings are thanks to an entertainment career spanning over three decades, from his work as a rapper to his many roles as an actor and producer behind the scenes.
"Our marriage ended because we were so young. Marriage isn't easy, especially at that age. And now we're trying to be parents, navigate through our marriage ... I couldn't reconcile all of that."
How many years was Will Smith married to his first wife?
Prior to Pinkett Smith and Smith tying the knot in December 1997, the "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" star was married to Zampino from 1992 to 1995. During their relationship, they welcomed a son named Trey.
Jada Pinkett-Smith revealed she never hooked up, or to use her infamous word, "entangled" with late rapper Tupac Shakur, but claims he popped the question while doing time at Rikers Island in New York.
On April 29, 1995, Shakur married his girlfriend Keisha Morris; the marriage was later annulled. While in prison, Shakur exchanged letters with celebrities such as Jim Carrey and Tony Danza among others. He was also visited by Al Sharpton, who helped Shakur get released from solitary confinement.
Fan reaction and letters to Will Smith and NBC persuaded them to renew the show. It ran for two more seasons and ended when Joseph Marcell (Geoffrey the Butler) said he intended to quit his role and return to the UK, prompting the rest of the cast to quit their roles and end the series.
Fresh Prince's original show decided to use Will Smith's real name because Smith already had name recognition from his music career, plus Smith and Carlton actor Alfonso Ribeiro realized they would be called by their characters' names for eternity if the show became a hit.
Avery, who played the Banks' towering and strict patriarch, was born in 1945 and thus was 45 when the first season was on the air. This falls in line with how old his character, a successful judge, was supposed to be as well.
How many biological children does Will Smith have?
The actor, 52, has three children: Trey, 30, whom he shares with his ex-wife Sheree Zampino, and Willow, 22, and Jaden, 25, whom he shares with his estranged wife Jada Pinkett Smith. Will, 55, and Jada, 52, got married in 1997 and separated in 2016, which was revealed by Jada in her memoir Worthy.
Will was born to Willard Sr., the owner of a refrigeration firm, and Caroline, a school board administrator, on Sept. 25, 1968, in West Philadelphia. He was the second child in the family; older sister Pamela was born in 1964, and the two were later joined by twin siblings Harry and Ellen in 1971.
