Raised by the power of Will (and Jada)

 

The four members of the Smith family have a lot in common: genetics, prominence, and, of course, their names.

Jada, Jaden, Willow, and Will have been taking the world by storm as a foursome in the past year. Will and Jada have had recent successes in the box office themselves, but 2010 was really all about their children.

Will got each child started on their career in show biz by taking them under his wing and giving them an acting opportunity on the big screen. In 2006’s “The Pursuit of Happyness” Jaden starred alongside his father as a father-and-son duo. A year later, “I Am Legend” was released, which featured (though briefly) Willow as Will’s character’s daughter.

Flash forward to 2010: the Smith kids showed the world they didn’t need Daddy’s help to be successful in both acting and singing.

Twelve-year-old Jaden scored the leading role in “The Karate Kid,” a remake of the very popular 1984 film. In addition, he was featured as a rapper in Justin Bieber’s song, “Never Say Never,” which was made to accompany the movie. “The Karate Kid” was number one at the box office in its opening weekend, and has grossed over $358 million dollars worldwide.

Not to be outdone, nine-year-old Willow released her first song, “Whip My Hair,” the preface to her yet-to-be-titled debut album, which reached as high as #11 on the Billboard Top 100.

Willow aspires to be like Rihanna, even styling her hair in the “Whip My Hair” music video to mimic Rihanna’s. Certainly this means fans have more wacky hairstyles and unique outfits to look forward to in Willow’s future.

But wait! There’s more! Will has a lesser known son, Willard Christopher Smith III (also known as Trey), from a previous marriage with actress Sheree Zampino. Though he is only a half brother to Willow and Jaden, Trey still follows the name trend.

Trey does not act or sing; instead, he plays football on a team at Oaks Christian School in California with a winning record. He has also appeared with his father in the music video for “Just the Two of Us,” the song that Will dedicated to Trey when he was six.

Child stars are a hot commodity these days, and Willow and Jaden Smith are well on their way to being household names. Will and Jada know what they’re doing in terms of the red carpet, and are doing a good job of training their children to follow in the footsteps of their very expensive shoes.