Jaden Smith

Jaden Christopher Syre Smith was born in Malibu, California, and is the son of actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. He has an older half-brother, Trey Smith, and a younger sister, Willow Smith. Smith was homeschooled and also attended the New Village Leadership Academy, a private school established by his parents.

Smith and his siblings served as youth ambassadors for Project Zambi, a program established with Hasbro to support Zambian children orphaned by AIDS. He also took up skateboarding, an interest that later influenced his clothing projects and acting work.

Smith made his first screen appearance in the television series All of Us, which was created by Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Betsy Borns. His film debut came in The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), in which he played Christopher Gardner Jr. opposite his father, Will Smith. The performance earned him the MTV Movie Award for Breakthrough Performance.

He appeared with Keanu Reeves in The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008), winning a Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor. In The Karate Kid (2010), Smith played Dre Parker and worked alongside Jackie Chan, who portrayed his character's mentor. Smith reunited with Will Smith in the science-fiction film After Earth (2013), playing Kitai Raige.

After taking a break from acting to concentrate on music, Smith returned in the Netflix series The Get Down. He also provided the voice of Kaz Kaan in Neo Yokio and appeared in Skate Kitchen (2018), Life in a Year (2020), Entergalactic, and The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder. His later screen appearances included The Eric Andre Show and a cameo in K-Pops!.

Smith began releasing music through the mixtapes The Cool Cafe in 2012 and CTV2 in 2014. He first gained broad attention as a recording artist through his collaboration with Justin Bieber on “Never Say Never,” which served as the theme song for The Karate Kid. The song reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and received five-times-platinum certification in the United States.

After a three-year development period, Smith released his debut studio album, Syre, in 2017. The album reached number 24 on the Billboard 200 and was followed by Syre: The Electric Album, a guitar-focused reworking released on his 20th birthday. He released The Sunset Tapes: A Cool Tape Story in 2018 and his second studio album, Erys, in 2019. Erys reached number 12 on the Billboard 200.

His third studio album, CTV3: Cool Tape Vol. 3, arrived in 2020 and completed the trilogy associated with his earlier Cool Tape projects. Smith also released 2024: A Case Study of the Long Term Effects of Young Love, led by the single “D.U.M.B.” He received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year as a featured artist on Justin Bieber's album Justice.

Smith founded the lifestyle brand MSFTS, pronounced “misfits,” and developed its clothing line, MSFTSrep, with actors Moisés and Mateo Arias. The brand grew from their shared interest in skateboarding and presented its clothing at BET's Rip the Runway in 2013. Smith also collaborated with Korean designer Choi Bum Suk on a pop-up store featuring their combined logos.

In 2016, Smith modeled womenswear for Louis Vuitton and became the first male model to appear in one of the brand's womenswear campaigns. He has used skirts, dresses, and other traditionally feminine garments as part of a style that challenges conventional gender roles. In 2018, he created a denim line with G-Star. Christian Louboutin appointed him its first male creative director in 2025.

Smith became a partner in the spring water company Just Water when he was 12. The company has worked on affordable water filtration, water infrastructure in disadvantaged regions, and environmentally friendly construction methods.

Just Water officially launched in the United Kingdom in 2018. The project forms part of Smith's broader involvement in environmental initiatives alongside his entertainment and fashion work.