Jaden Christopher Syre Smith was born July 8, 1998, inMalibu, California,[1][11] the son of actorsJada Pinkett Smith andWill Smith. He has an older half-brother, Trey Smith (b. 1992)[12] and a younger sister,Willow Smith (b. 2000).[13] He attendedNew Village Leadership Academy before being homeschooled by his parents.[14] Growing up, his fame and his family's celebrity status prevented him from having a normal childhood, something he has spoken on at length.[15] He took up skateboarding.[16]
Smith and his siblings were youth ambassadors for Project Zambi, which, in conjunction withHasbro, helps Zambian children orphaned byAIDS.[17][18]
In 2010, withJackie Chan, Smith starred inThe Karate Kid, a remake of the1984 film.[20] In May 2013, Will Smith and Jaden starred together, as father and son, inAfter Earth. In 2014, it was announced that Smith would return for the sequelKarate Kid 2 with Jackie Chan, to be directed byBreck Eisner, produced byJames Lassiter and Will Smith, and written byZak Penn.[21]
In April 2014, Smith was cast in the filmThe Good Lord Bird, based on the 2013novel of the same name byJames McBride. Smith plays Henry Shackleford, a young slave living in Kansas Territory in 1857 who encounters abolitionistJohn Brown.[22]
Smith took a break from acting following the release of his mixtapeCool Tape Vol. 2 to focus on music. He then returned to act in Netflix originalThe Get Down in 2017.[23][24] He also had a voice-acting role inNeo Yokio[25] and a role inNashville as himself. Commenting on his break from acting, he said, "The kinds of roles I was being offered weren't exactly what I was looking for, nothing felt really necessary that I needed to be in until this came along".[26] Smith has returned to acting in films with the announcement of a film based on skateboarding.[27] On June 21, 2018, Crystal Moselle'sSkate Kitchen released its first official trailer with Smith as the main character.[28] It was released on August 10, 2018, after screening at Sundance in Winter 2017.[29] In 2020, he starred withCara Delevingne in the romantic dramaLife in a Year, to positive reviews.[30]
On October 1, 2012, Smith released his debut mixtape,The Cool Cafe.[33] He released the sequel toThe Cool Cafe on November 8, 2014, titledCTV2.[34]
Smith started working on his debut studio album in 2014, a process that took three years.[35] He announced in December 2016 that it would be titledSyre.[36][37] The lead single fromSyre, "Fallen", was released on December 5, 2016,[38] three more singles were released, "Batman" and "Watch Me" on July 14, 2017, and "Falcon" on November 16.[39][40][41]Syre was released on November 17, 2017, and debuted at #24 on the USBillboard 200.[42][43][44] "Icon" was released as a single on the same day[45] and reached No. 3 on theBubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.[46][47]
Smith later announced that his next project followingSyre would be titledErys on December 14, 2017.[48] Another project,Syre: The Electric Album, was later teased via Twitter. Leading up to the release of the project, Smith released the single "Ghost" featuringChristian Rich.[49] On July 8, 2018, Smith released the project exclusively onInstagram on his 20th birthday.[50] The project was later released four days later to streaming platforms.[51]Syre: The Electric Album is a guitar-centric rework of Smith's studio albumSyre and is influenced by Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.[52] Less than a year later, on July 5, 2019, Smith released his second studio album,Erys, and debuted at number 12 on the USBillboard 200.[44]
On July 30, 2018, Smith was announced as an opener duringJ. Cole'sKOD Tour alongsideYoung Thug andEarthGang[53] and on August 2, performed for the first time atLollapalooza.[54] One of Smith's influences,Kid Cudi, stated that he would like to make an album with Smith, which Smith supported, saying that he would like to in the future during an interview on August 21, 2018.[55][56]
Jaden was managed by Will Smith's management company, Westbrook Entertainment, until March 2019 when Three Six Zero, an established management firm, acquired Westbrook.[57] Following the acquisition, on July 24, 2020, Smith released the single "Cabin Fever", from his third albumCTV3: Cool Tape Vol. 3, which he described is a completion of the trilogy of the previousCool tapes and "also kinda completing the trilogies ofSyre andErys at the same time".[58] The album includes a collaboration with Smith's friend and previous collaborator Justin Bieber, on the song "Falling for You".[59] On June 21, 2021, Smith released the single "Bye". On August 27, 2021, Smith released another version of the albumCTV3: Day Tripper's Edition on all streaming platforms.
Fashion
GQ described Smith as "in a league of his own" in terms of fashion and a "superstar who has taken fashion to an entirely different level".[60][61] Smith has calledTyler the Creator,Batman and Poseidon his icons when it comes to fashion.[62] Smith said that Tyler the Creator introduced him to the brand Supreme.[63] Batman's dark, gothic scenery has influenced the clothing he has created through his brand MSFTSrep[62] and his personal clothing style, wearing Batman protective armor to Kanye West's and Kim Kardashian's wedding and his prom.[64][65] MSFTSrep's range includes hoodies, T-shirt, trousers and vests. In May 2013 Smith collaborated with a Korean designer, Choi Bum Suk, to create apop-up store where customers can buy clothes with their collaborated logos.[66]
In 2016, Smith modelled in a womenswear campaign forLouis Vuitton wearing a skirt.[67] Explaining his choice to wear a skirt, he said he was attempting to combat bullying, saying "In five years, when a kid goes to school wearing a skirt, he won't get beat up and kids won't get mad at him."[68] Smith continued to wear womenswear throughout the rest of 2016.[69] He was the first male model to model womenswear for Louis Vuitton.[70] He created a denim line with fashion brand G-Star in 2018.[71][72]
In September 2025, Smith was appointed as Creative Director ofChristian Louboutin, making him the first male creative director for the brand. In this role Smith will be tasked with shaping four collections annually across men’s shoes, leather goods and accessories.[73][74]
Just Water
Smith has been a partner in spring water company Just Water[75] since he was 12 years old.[76] The company is attempting to create a water filtration system anyone can afford, which can be used in poorer areas and nations;[77] they also seek to help with water infrastructure, and creating more environmentally-friendly construction methods by producing their own drywall.[77] Just Water launched officially in the UK on August 27, 2018.[78]
Musical artistry and influences
Smith's influences includeKid Cudi,Kanye West,Kurt Cobain andTycho.[79] He also considers his father, Will Smith, an inspiration, saying: "He started in music and transitioned to movies. I started with movies, and then I transitioned into making music—I look at him and use it as a blueprint of how good of a person he is, but not necessarily the success that he reached."[79]
Personal life
Jaden Smith's father, Will, revealed that his son sought anemancipation ruling as a present for his 15th birthday. Will told the media that Jaden's primary motivation was the establishment of his own residence and also explained that his children were not subject to strict parenting: "We generally don't believe in punishment. From the time Jaden was five or six, we would sit him down, and all he has to do is be able to explain why what he did was the right thing for his life."[80] However, Smith and his father appeared together onThe Ellen DeGeneres Show on May 15, 2013, where Jaden joked:
The thing that people don't get is everything at his house is free. So I can get anything and everything at his house, so I'm going to be there for 20, 30 more years. He [Will Smith] says that as soon as I have a movie that's bigger than one of his movies I can get my own house.[81]
In June 2017, at the age of 19, Smith moved out of his parents' house into a $4 million home inHidden Hills.[82]
Smith is avegetarian.[83] He started a mobile restaurant providing free vegan dinners for the homeless (but where others pay).[84] His vegan lifestyle caused his parents to intervene, following a rapid decline in his health. He was later diagnosed withlactose intolerance andceliac disease. He later returned to vegetarianism.[85][86]
In 2013, Smith criticized traditional education and advised people to drop out of school.[14] Discussing teenagers who attend public school, he said, "Kids who go to normal school are so teenagery, so angsty."[87] Smith subscribes to, and sends tweets about, numerousconspiracy theories[88] including theIlluminati,[89][90] andchemtrails.[91]
Smith dated Sarah Snyder from 2015 to 2017.[92] She inspired numerous songs on Smith's debut album,Syre.[93] Beginning in November 2018, Smith has claimed that rapperTyler, the Creator was his boyfriend.[94][95] Tyler, who is bisexual, denied this claim.[96] In the song "NOIZE" onErys in 2019, Tyler revealed, while rapping, that their relationship claims were sarcastic.[97]
Smith has been called anon-binary icon for his work in popular media challenging traditionalgender roles.[98][99] He is often seen in gender-fluid clothing,[100] wearingdresses,skirts andhigh-heels.[101] For hisVogue Korea editorial in 2016, he wore traditionally female attire: a black skirt, blue nail polish, and a flower in his hair.[102] He has made public comments such as "If I Wanna Wear A Dress, Then I Will, And That Will Set The New Wave...".[103] He said that he wore skirts primarily to help kids to be bullied less in schools.[104]
In 2023, Smith was the subject of an onlinedeath hoax after Facebook posts and YouTube videos claimed that he had died. Posts on various social media platforms claimed that Will Smith publicly announced the death of his son.[105]
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Media related toJaden Smith at Wikimedia Commons
