Willow Smith biography

Synopsis

Famous Family

Child actress and singer. Willow Camille Reign Smith was born into a blockbuster Hollywood family on October 31, 2000. Her father, Will Smith, is an actor who has starred in such box office hits as Independence Day, The Pursuit of Happyness, and I Am Legend. Her mother, Jada Pinkett Smith, is also a successful actress who has appeared in The Nutty Professor, The Women, and The Matrix trilogy. Willow's two older brothers, Trey and Jaden Smith, are in the entertainment business as well. Trey appeared in Will Smith's "Just the Two of Us" music video and Jaden starred in The Karate Kid and The Pursuit of Happyness.

The Smith children grew up in a household firmly committed to close-knit involvement in the family "business." From a young age, Willow watched her parents on set, traveled with them to work on location, and saw firsthand just what goes into a Hollywood production.

The Family Business

Willow Smith made her acting debut in the blockbuster film I Am Legend at the tender age of seven. Even though dad Will Smith was the star of the film, she was made to audition like anyone else. Her budding sense of professionalism and drive shone through on the set of I Am Legend. When subzero temperatures at the filming of several outdoor scenes put Smith to the test, her father said, "Willow was out there and she has her stuff on and she's cold and she's getting a little irritable. And she looks at me and says, 'Daddy, I don't care how low it goes. I'm going to finish.'"

Smith's second foray into the film business came in 2008 when she played the supporting role of Countee in the family-friendly Kitt Kittredge: An American Girl. The G-rated movie was produced in part by Julia Roberts and based on the Kitt Kittredge stories by Valerie Tripp. Set in the United States during the Great Depression, the story follows a young girl (played by Abigail Breslin) who sets out to be an investigative reporter and ends up becoming a local hero. Smith, along with the rest of the cast, won a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film.

In 2008-09, Smith also tried her hand at voice acting in a pair of animated films, playing Baby Gloria in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Abby in Merry Madagascar.

As it turns out, Smith's flair for acting isn't the only thing young star inherited from her parents. Following in their philanthropic footsteps, in 2009 Willow and her brother Jaden became Youth Ambassadors of Hasbro's Project Zambi.