Jaden Smith

Background

Jaden Christopher Syre Smith was born on July 8, 1998, in Malibu, California to actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith has two siblings including his older half-brother, Trey Smith, and younger sister, Willow Smith. Growing up in a family full of celebrities, it was obvious that Smith found it impossible to live a normal life. It was something that he spoke about often in interviews. As an escape from the stresses of celebrity life, Smith picked up hobbies such as skateboarding.

Being the son of Will Smith, it was almost definite that Smith would also become a cultural figure like his father. He made his acting debut in the movie “Pursuit of Happyness” where he played alongside his father. Based on his debut performance, the world knew that Smith was destined for stardom. He next appeared in the 2008 science fiction film “The Day the Earth Stood Still.” His most iconic role, however, was acting along with Jackie Chan in the remake of “The Karate Kid” (2010). Smith once again acted alongside his father in “After Earth” (2013).

After landing multiple roles, Smith took a break from acting, stating that the roles offered to him weren’t really what he was looking for. This was until he landed a role in “Skate Kitchen”(2008) — a movie that was based on one of his hobbies; skateboarding. As previously stated, Smith also had a knack for rapping and making music. Like his film debut, his 2010 hit song ‘Never Say Never’ with Justin Bieber shook the entertainment industry. From then on, people were not just waiting for his next movie but also his next song. Smith would then release his debut 18-track mixtape “The Cool Cafe” (2012). Two years later, he released “CTV2,” which acted as the sequel to his first mixtape.

Smith has never been afraid to push the boundaries of hip-hop. This was apparent in his debut studio album “Syre” (2017), which featured productions that were distinct from any other hip-hop album at the time. As a complement to the album, Smith also released “Syre: The Electric Album,” which was a stripped-down rework of “Syre.” In that particular project, Smith was heavily inspired by psychedelic rock musicians such as Jimi Hendrix as well as the album “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” by The Beatles. He continued to display versatility in his third album named “CTV3: Cool Tape Vol. 3” (2020).

Being a big profile celebrity comes with many costs such as public scrutiny of one’s personal life. This, of course, applies to Smith and his family. At the age of 15, his family gifted him with an emancipation ruling, which meant he became a legal adult free of care even when he was a minor.

In 2017, Smith moved into his own $4 million home in Hidden Hills, California. He has dated several big names including Sarah Snyder, Odessa Adlon, Sofia Richie, and Kylie Jenner. Snyder inspired a lot of the songs on “Syre.” Smith also never shies away from wearing gender-fluid clothing. An example of this is when he posed for his “Vogue” Korea editorial, wearing female attire such as a skirt, nail polish, and a flower in his hair. He commented that this was to push the trend as well as help encourage kids to be confident.