| Willow Smith | |
|---|---|
Willow Smith at the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Concert. (Photo: Harry Wad). |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Willow Camille Reign Smith |
| Also known as | Willow |
| Born | October 31, 2000 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | R&B, pop, dance-pop |
| Occupations | Actress, singer, dancer |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Labels | StarRoc/Roc Nation |
| Associated acts | Will Smith Jaden Smith Jada Pinkett-Smith |
| Website | willowsmith.com |
Willow Camille Reign Smith (born October 31, 2000), often known simply as Willow, is an American child actress and singer. She is the daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, and the younger sister of Jaden Smith. Smith made her acting debut in 2007 in the film I Am Legend and later appeared in Kit Kittredge: An American Girl alongside Abigail Breslin. She received a Young Artist Award for her performance.
Apart from her acting she launched a music career in the fall of 2010 with the release of her singles "Whip My Hair", "21st Century Girl", and signing to her current mentor Jay-Z's record label Roc Nation. "Whip My Hair" peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The video was nominated for Video of the Year at the BET Awards of 2011.[1]
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Smith is the daughter of musician-actor Will Smith and actress Jada Pinkett Smith. She has an older half-brother, Trey Smith, and an older brother, Jaden Smith; both are also child actors. Smith is African-American, and also has West Indian, Creole, and Portuguese-Jewish ancestry on her mother's side. Smith and her brothers are youth ambassadors for Project Zambia, which provides assistance for Zambian children orphaned by AIDS in conjunction with Hasbro.[2][3]
Smith made her acting debut in I Am Legend alongside her father.[4] Her next film, Kit Kittredge: An American Girl,[5] was released on July 2, 2008.
On January 20, 2011, Will Smith announced he is planning to produce a remake of the famous comic strip Little Orphan Annie starring Smith in the title role. Jay-Z is also in talks to provide the music for the film and possibly create brand new songs.[6]
In June 2010, Smith's mother Jada Pinkett Smith announced in an interview on Lopez Tonight that Smith would be releasing an album. Smith then released her first single, "Whip My Hair", which went platinum in the US and peaked at number 11. In the UK the single peaked a number 2. Smith soon after announced her next single, "21st Century Girl". After she performed the song on The Oprah Winfrey Show, she released it the next day on February 3, 2011. The video was released March 9, 2011.[7] The single had poor chart performance both in the US and UK. On Oct 6th 2011, "Fireball", a collaboration between Smith and rapper Nicki Minaj, was released. However "Fireball" was a commercial failure, failing to chart in any type of music market, and her first song to miss the Billboard Hot 100. Smith's producer announced that they are almost finished working on her debut album, Willow: You Think You Know Me, and it should be done soon. He also said it has a similar style to "Whip My Hair". He confirmed that the next single would be "Rock Star".
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [8] |
US R&B [9] |
AUS [10] |
AUT [11] |
CAN [12] |
DEN [13] |
GER [14] |
IRE [15] |
NZ [16] |
UK [17] |
||||
| "Whip My Hair" | 2010 | 11 | 5 | 18 | 69 | 18 | 9 | 44 | 11 | 36 | 2 | Willow: You Think You Know Me | |
| "21st Century Girl" | 2011 | 99 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 36 [21] |
— | 91 | ||
| "Fireball" (featuring Nicki Minaj) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
| Title | Year | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| "Whip My Hair" | 2010 | Ray Kay |
| "21st Century Girl" | 2011 | Rich Lee |
| "Fireball" | Hype Williams |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | I Am Legend | Marley Neville[22][23] | |
| 2008 | Kit Kittredge: An American Girl | Countee Garby | |
| Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa | Baby Gloria | Voice | |
| 2009 | Merry Madagascar | Abby | Voice / TV Movie |
| 2009–2010 | True Jackson, VP | Young True[24] | Nickelodeon TV Series |
| 2012 | Annie | Annie[25] | |
| Amulet | Emily[26] |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in a Feature Film (Young Actress Age Ten or Younger) | Willow Smith for I Am Legend | Nominated |
| 2009 | Best Performance in a Feature Film (Young Ensemble Cast) | Willow Smith for Kit Kittredge: An American Girl | Won | |
| 2011 | NAACP Image Award[27] | Outstanding New Artist | Willow Smith | Won |
| Outstanding Music Video | "Whip My Hair" | Nominated | ||
| BET Awards | YoungStar Award | Whip My Hair | Won (Tied with Jaden Smith) |
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