Jaden Smith

Jaden Christopher Syre Smith (born July 8, 1998)

As a recording artist, Smith first guest performed on Canadian singer Justin Bieber's 2010 single, "Never Say Never". Released for The Karate Kids accompanying soundtrack, In 2022 , he was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year as a featured artist on Bieber's album Justice.

In September 2025, Smith was appointed Creative Director of Christian Louboutin, making him the brand's first male creative director.

Early life Jaden Christopher Syre Smith was born July 8, 1998, in Malibu, California, the son of actors Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith. He has an older half-brother, Trey Smith and a younger sister, Willow Smith . He attended New Village Leadership Academy before being homeschooled by his parents. Growing up, his fame and his family's celebrity status prevented him from having a normal childhood, something he has spoken on at length. He took up skateboarding.

Smith and his siblings were youth ambassadors for Project Zambi, which, in conjunction with Hasbro, helps Zambian children orphaned by AIDS.

Career Acting

Smith made his major role debut in the 2006 film The Pursuit of Happyness as Christopher, the son of Chris Gardner, Will Smith's character. For the role, he won the Breakthrough Performance Award at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards. He next appeared as Jacob in the 2008 Scott Derrickson science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still, In May 2013, Will Smith and Jaden starred together, as father and son, in After Earth. In 2014, it was announced that Smith would return for the sequel Karate Kid 2 with Jackie Chan, to be directed by Breck Eisner, produced by James Lassiter and Will Smith, and written by Zak Penn.

In April 2014, Smith was cast in the film The Good Lord Bird, based on the 2013 novel of the same name by James McBride. Smith plays Henry Shackleford, a young slave living in the antebellum Kansas Territory in 1857 who encounters abolitionist John Brown.

Smith took a break from acting following the release of his mixtape Cool Tape Vol. 2 to focus on music. He then returned to act in the Netflix original The Get Down in 2017. He also had a voice-acting role in Neo Yokio and a role in Nashville 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". Smith returned to acting in films with the February 2018 announcement of a film based on skateboarding. On June 21, 2018, Crystal Moselle's Skate Kitchen released its first official trailer with Smith as the main character. It was released on August 10, 2018, after screening at the Sundance Film Festival in the winter of 2017. In 2020, he starred with Cara Delevingne in the romantic drama Life in a Year, to positive reviews.

Music

In 2010, Smith rapped alongside Canadian singer Justin Bieber in the song "Never Say Never". It peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified 5× Platinum in the US.

On October 1, 2012, Smith released his debut mixtape, The Cool Cafe. He released the sequel to The Cool Cafe on November 8, 2014, titled CTV2.

Smith started working on his debut studio album in 2014, a process that took three years. He announced in December 2016 that it would be titled Syre. The lead single from Syre, "Fallen", was released on December 5, 2016, and three more singles were released—"Batman" and "Watch Me" and "Falcon"—on July 14 on November 16, 2017, respectively. Syre was released on November 17, 2017, and debuted at No. 24 on the US Billboard 200. "Icon" was released as a single on the same day, reaching No. 3 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.

Smith later announced on December 14, 2017, that his next project following Syre would be titled Erys. Another project, Syre: The Electric Album, was later teased via Twitter. Leading up to the release of the project, Smith released the single "Ghost" featuring Christian Rich. On July 8, 2018, Smith released the project exclusively on Instagram on his 20th birthday. The project was later released four days later to streaming platforms. Syre: The Electric Album is a guitar-centric rework of Smith's studio album Syre and is influenced by Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Less than a year later, on July 5, 2019, Smith released his second studio album, Erys, which debuted at No. 12 on the US Billboard 200. and on August 2, he performed for the first time at Lollapalooza. One of Smith's influences, Kid Cudi, stated that he would like to make an album with Smith, which Smith supported during an interview on August 21, 2018.

Jaden was managed by Will Smith's management company, Westbrook Entertainment, until March 2019 when Three Six Zero, an established management firm, acquired Westbrook. Following the acquisition, on July 24, 2020, Smith released the single "Cabin Fever", from his third album CTV3: Cool Tape Vol. 3, which he described as a completion of the trilogy of the previous Cool tapes and "also kinda completing the trilogies of Syre and Erys at the same time". The album includes a collaboration with Smith's friend and previous collaborator Justin Bieber on the song "Falling for You". On June 21, 2021, Smith released the single "Bye". On August 27, 2021, Smith released another version of the album CTV3: Day Tripper's Edition on all streaming platforms.

Fashion GQ described Smith in 2018 as "in a league of his own" in terms of fashion and a "superstar who has taken fashion to an entirely different level". Smith has called Tyler the Creator, Batman, and Poseidon his icons when it comes to fashion. Smith said that Tyler the Creator introduced him to the brand Supreme. Batman's dark, gothic scenery has influenced the clothing he has created through his brand MSFTSrep, In May 2013, Smith collaborated with a Korean designer named Choi Bum Suk to create a pop-up retail store at which customers could buy clothes featuring their collaborative logos.

In 2016, Smith modeled in a womenswear campaign for Louis Vuitton wearing a skirt. 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." Smith continued to wear womenswear throughout the rest of 2016. He was the first male model to model womenswear for Louis Vuitton. He created a denim line with fashion brand G-Star in 2018.

In September 2025, Smith was appointed Creative Director of Christian Louboutin, making him the brand's first male creative director. In the role, Smith would be tasked with shaping four collections annually across men's shoes, leather goods, and accessories.

Just Water Smith has been a partner in spring water company Just Water since he was 12 years old. The company is attempting to create a water filtration system anyone can afford for use in disadvantaged regions and nations; it also seeks to aid in the development of water infrastructure and the creation of environmentally-friendly construction methods, producing a novel drywall design.

Musical artistry and influences Smith's influences include Kid Cudi, Kanye West, Kurt Cobain and Tycho. 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." However, Smith and his father appeared together on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on May 15, 2013, where Jaden joked:

In June 2017, at the age of 19, Smith moved out of his parents' house and into a $4 million home in Hidden Hills, California.

Smith is a vegetarian. In 2019, he started a mobile restaurant providing free vegan dinners for people experiencing homelessness (but where others pay). In September 2019, his parents, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, said on Red Table Talk that they had staged an "intervention" after Jaden appeared visibly underweight and "drained." Jaden said in the same episode that he had been eating only one or two meals a day, and a physician on the program attributed his nutritional deficiencies to a sensitive stomach. He was subsequently diagnosed with lactose intolerance and celiac disease. He later returned to vegetarianism.

In 2013, Smith criticized traditional education and advised people to drop out of school. Smith subscribes to, and tweets about, numerous conspiracy theories, including the Illuminati and chemtrails hypotheses.

Smith dated Sarah Snyder from 2015 to 2017. She inspired numerous songs on Smith's debut album, Syre. Beginning in November 2018, Smith claimed that rapper Tyler, the Creator was his boyfriend. Tyler, who is bisexual, denied this claim. In the song "NOIZE" on Erys in 2019, Tyler revealed, while rapping, that their relationship claims were sarcastic.

Smith has been called a non-binary icon for his work in popular media, challenging traditional gender roles. He is often seen in gender-fluid clothing, wearing dresses, skirts, and high-heeled shoes. For his Vogue Korea editorial in 2016, he wore traditionally female attire: a black skirt, blue nail polish, and a flower in his hair. He has made public comments such as "If I Wanna Wear A Dress, Then I Will, And That Will Set The New Wave...". He said that he wore skirts primarily to help kids to be bullied less in schools.

In 2023, Smith was the subject of an online death 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.

Discography

Studio albums Syre (2017) Erys (2019) CTV3: Cool Tape Vol. 3 (2020)

Tours Headlining Vision Tour: A North American Journey (2018)

Co-headlining Willow & Erys Tour (2019)

Supporting Fall Out Boy – Mania Tour (2017) J. Cole – KOD Tour (2018) Post Malone – Beerbongs & Bentleys Tour (2019) Tyler, the Creator – IGOR Tour (2019) Justin Bieber – Justice World Tour (2022) Kid Cudi – Insano World Tour (2024)

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2006 The Pursuit of Happyness Christopher Gardner Jr. Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie ChemistryMTV Movie Award for Breakthrough PerformancePFCS Award for Best Performance by Youth in a Leading or Supporting Role – MaleNominated — Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Breakout MaleNominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion PictureNominated — Black Reel Award for Best Breakthrough PerformanceNominated — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Young Actor 2008 The Day the Earth Stood Still Jacob Benson Jr. Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Young Actor 2010 The Karate Kid Dre Parker BET Award for YoungStars AwardYoung Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actor in a Feature FilmNominated — Teen Choice Award for Choice Summer Movie Star – MaleNominated — Kids Choice Award for Favorite Movie ActorNominated — MTV Movie Award for Biggest Badass StarNominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion PictureNominated — Black Reel Award for Best ActorNominated — Black Reel Award for Best SongNominated — Empire Award for Best Newcomer 2011 Justin Bieber: Never Say Never Himself 2013 After Earth Kitai Raige Golden Raspberry Award for Worst ActorGolden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Combo (w/ Will Smith)Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Summer's Biggest Teen Bad Ass Star 2018 Skate Kitchen Devon2020Justin Bieber: SeasonsHimselfCameo Impractical Jokers: The Movie Life in a Year Daryn 2021 A Man Named Scott Himself 2024 K-Pops! Cameo

Television

Year Title Role Notes 2003–2006 All of Us Reggie Recurring role (6 episodes) 2008 The Suite Life of Zack & Cody Travis Episode: "Romancing the Phone" 2016–2017 The Get Down Marcus "Dizzee" Kipling Recurring role (11 episodes)2017 Neo Yokio Kaz Kaan Voice; main role Nashville Himself 2022 The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder College Myron Voice; episode: "When You Wish Upon a Roker"EntergalacticJordanVoice; television special 2023 The Eric Andre Show Himself Episode: "Old Yeller"

Explanatory notes