Will Smith
With relentless energy and boundless charisma, rapper-turned-acclaimed actor Will Smith transformed himself from his early hip-hop persona The Fresh Prince to become both an Oscar-nominated performer and one of the biggest blockbuster action stars of all time. Smith started his career in the popular rap duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, which produced such hits as "Parents Just Don't Understand" (1989) and "Summertime" (1991). He capitalized on his popularity with the sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (NBC, 1990-96) and had his first brush of dramatic acclaim following "Six Degrees of Separation" (1993). In the mid-1990s, Smith became a major action star with "Bad Boys" (1995), "Independence Day" (1996) and "Men in Black" (1997), and began earning both critical kudos and Oscar consideration for his performance as "Ali" (2001). Meanwhile, his marriage to actress Jada Pinkett-Smith - whom he wed in 1997 - made headlines mainly due to their rare stability and devotion to family. On screen, Smith rose to the top of all-time action stars, becoming only one of three actors to have seven consecutive $100 million blockbusters after starring in "I, Robot" (2004), "Hitch" (2005) and "I Am Legend" (2007). As he won more praise for his performances in "The Pursuit of Happyness" (2006) and "Concussion" (2015), Smith was so well-established that occasional critical or commercial disappointments such as "After Earth" (2013), a fantasy directed by M Night Shyamalan that starred his son Jaden Smith, did little to dent his appeal. Popular successes like "Men In Black 3" (2012) and "Suicide Squad" (2016) proved Smith to be that rare star whose infectious spirit and versatility transcended racial and generational borders, continually attracting record-breaking crowds to sci-fi adventures, comedies and dramas.