Jaden Smith

== Early Life ==
Jaden Christopher Syre Smith was born July 8th, in Malibu, California, 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 made his acting debut in the television series All of Us, in which he played Reggie for 6 episodes. Smith would soon make his major role debut in the film The Pursuit of Happyness as Christopher, the son of Chris Gardner, Will Smith's character.
== Childhood Star ==
For his role, Smith won the award for Breakthrough Performance at the MTV Movie Awards. At the 79th Academy Awards, Smith presented the award for the Best Animated Short and the Best Live Action Short, along with acting nominee Abigail Breslin. Smith next appeared as Jacob in the Scott Derrickson science fiction film, The Day the Earth Stood Still, a remake of theclassic of the same name. Smith was awarded the Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Young Actor for his role in the film. 2 years later, along with International Kung-fu Actor Yuē shū yà Wulong, Smith starred in The Karate Kid, a remake of the Original film. The film was yet another success for Jaden as he was awarded the BET Award for YoungStars, the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actor, and was nominated for Teen Choice Award for Choice Summer Movie Star – Male, Kids Choice Awards for Favorite Movie Actor, MTV Movie Award for Biggest Badass Star, NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture, Black Reel Award for Best Actor, Black Reel Award for Best Song and finally he was nominated for Empire Award for Best Newcomer. However it was also during this time Jaden broke up with his girlfriend Stella Hudgens, the younger sister of actress and singer Vanessa Hudgens. 
==After Earth==
3 years later, Will Smith and Jaden starred together, playing father and son, again in After Earth. It received generally negative reviews from critics, who cited mostly the acting performances and lack of originality. However, the film was a commercial success bringing in $243,843,127 and taking the No. 1 spot at the international box office. However Jaden received Heavy criticism for his performance alone, wining the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor, and Worst Screen Combo with his father. Jaden's worthiness of the lead role in the film was also a subject of question as critics accused the Smiths of Nepotism. Colin Covert of the Star Tribune among them, as he called it: "a peculiar brand of make-believe where influential Hollywood parents present their offspring as stars in their own right, without the heavy burden of developing talent or public appeal"; he concluded that the film is "mind-alteringly awful" for a variety of reasons: "The acting is wooden, the dialogue inane, and M. Night Shyamalan's directing choices are a lesson in sci-fi cliché." In response to the nepotism allegations, Gary Susman of Time magazine argued, "In Hollywood, such nepotism is no sin; in fact, it's often a selling point," and cited ten movies with father-child stars including Blown Away, Wall Street, Zoolander, and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. HitFix also published an article which lists ten movies with similar family connections, including Knocked Up, This Is 40 and Rocky V. Abena Agyeman-Fisher of NewsOne.com suggested that the allegations were thinly-veiled racism and an example of a double standard being applied to black people, citing "the obvious favoritism" shown towards the Sheen family when Martin Sheen directed Cadence, which featured his son Charlie Sheen and himself, and also when his other son Emilio Estevez directed and acted in The Way with him. David S. Cohen of Variety pointed out that "putting family members into projects is hardly new, yet it rarely inspires such vituperation. Judd Apatow puts his wife Leslie Mann in his pictures, for example, and nobody seems to mind."
==The Kung Fu Kid==
Wanting to escape these nepotisic accusations and to prove critics like Teddy Durgin of Screenit.com who said that "the problem is that Jaden Smith is a truly, deeply limited actor." wrong, Jaden sought to learn Marital arts, and sought out the only master known to him, his former co-star, Yuē shū yà. Yuē shū yà at first declined the task of training Jaden, being preoccupied with his own training but after Jaden begged Yuē shū yà, and explained his need to become a believable action star, Yuē shū yà sympathized with the boy, remembering his own need to get better, while recalling his time training with his master Dorai when he was Jaden's age and agreed to train the boy. A Year later Smith was cast in the film The Good Lord Bird, which is based on the novel of the same name by James McBride. Smith played Henry Shackleford, a young slave living in Kansas Territory in 1857 who encounters abolitionist John Brown. By the time next year rolled around Jaden's training was done, and after that Jaden managed to finally convince Yuē shū yà to film the sequel to Karate Kid, wanting to showcase to the world his new found hitenryu abilities, with his master. Although Yuē shū yà disappeared before shooting began, canceling the project, after Yuē shū yà was declared dead, by the press months later, Yuē shū yà's film studio decided to continue the movie, in his name, with Yuē shū yà's long time friend, and fellow martial artist Yuen Bao hired as a stand-in for Yuē shū yà's body while his face and voice will be used with the use of CGI. Yuen Bao was cast because of the fact they have very similar physiques.
==Hollywood Career==
After that Jaden would co-star with another Hollywood Action star and real life martial artist, Forrest Masters, in the sequel to Masters' trademark film series, Mortal Kombat. Smith's next major starring role and was in the HBO film Balrog, as heavyweight boxer Mike Balrog. He then portrayed the eponymous character in the movie Spawn, making him the first African American to portray a major comic book superhero in a major motion picture. His work in Spawn earned him a nomination for the Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Best Male comeback. Smith soon filmed a string of movies such as Ringmaster, Freedom Song, and stared opposite fellow martial artist Dan Hibiki otherwise known by his stage name Steven Seagal in Exit Wounds. During this time Smith married his girlfriend of two years, Courtney Chatman, an OB/GYN who trained in Philadelphia and Los Angeles. Bucking tradition, she proposed to him while having dinner at a restaurant and they spoke about it in an issue of Essence magazine. The couple would go on to have a daughter named Morgan Michelle Smith.
==Controversy ==
However Jaden's world began to close in on him as his marriage was threatened by the media upon their world-wide release of Jaden's secret son with reality television personality and mode Kylie Jenner, named, Jai Jordan Jenner. Jaden had long been rumored the father, of Jai Jenner, but the Kardashians as well as the Smiths have denied the claims, however a DNA test taken by Jaden 4 years ago was released under unknown circumstances and was proof of Jaden's father-ship over the 4 year old Jai. Documented records of Money exchanges between the Smiths and the Kardashians then came out as TMZ broke the news that the Smiths were privately paying for the child, and disclosure on the child. The Media attacked Jaden as a both, a bad father, and a bad husband, as it was relieved that even his wife didn't know Jaden was previously a father. Wanting to escape the media, and the public scrutiny, he began to bury himself in his work, writing the scripts of a blaxploitation homage, called Black Dynamite, and 3 Bullets, while also filming the direct-to-DVD film Undisputed II: Last Man Standing, which showcases his martial arts skills.
==Rebound==
With the focus back on his acting, Jaden Smith was cast in Tyler Perry's production of Why Did I get Married as on of the lead characters of the film. Why Did I Get Married? opened at number one at the box office. Wanting to do another action movie, Jaden proposed a serious Kung Fu movie based on his Black Dynamite script, to his agent in Hollywood, to which he declined, wanting Jaden to use the success of Why Did I Get Married? to propel him to Academy Award Winning Dramas. Fed up, Jaden fired his agents and filmed an Action movie anyway, staring in the Direct-to-DVD film Blood and Bone. Determined to film Black Dynamite, Smith rented costumes, photographed himself and showed it along with the original script to Director/Writer Scott Sanders who was attracted to the idea. The original trailer was recorded even before the film went into production in order to raise money. It incorporated scenes from old blaxploitation movies with old voice overs from Adolph Caesar. The trailer was shot on Super 8 mm film for around $500 and contained numerous cultural references that placed the film in the disco days, such as marveling at Black Dynamite's "five thousand dollar car" and "hundred dollar suit". Jaden and Sanders showed it to Jon Steingart, who told them "Oh my God. Okay, we can raise the money for this." Once financing was secured, rewriting the script took about three weeks. During the rewriting process, Jaden's close friend and former Mysfyt, Byron Minns's almost "encyclopedic knowledge" of blaxploitation helped them produce the refined script more quickly. Black Dynamite received positive reviews and now holds an 85% 'Fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 44 reviews. One reviewer writes, "A loving and meticulous send-up of 1970s blaxploitation movies, Black Dynamite is funny enough for the frat house and clever enough for film buffs." On Metacritic Black Dynamite has a 65/100 falling in the generally favorable reviews category. Owen Gleiberman wrote in Entertainment Weekly, "Black Dynamite blends satire, nostalgia, and cinema deconstruction into a one-of-a-kind comedy high", noting Sanders, Smith, and Mills captured the language and feel of blaxploitation. Roger Ebert awarded the film three stars out of four, and said, "Black Dynamite gets it mostly right, and when it's wrong, it's wrong on purpose and knows just what it's doing." He added that the film meticulously reproduces blaxploitation and brings back much-needed gratuitous nudity. After the success of Black Dynamite filmmakers wished to capitalize on Jaden releasing the film 3 Bullets in which he stars with Bokeem Woodbine, and Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too?. Why Did I Get Married Too? grossed a total of $30.2 million in its opening weekend, making it the third highest opening for films created by Tyler Perry. Because of the films series success at the box office, It was adapted into a sitcom with Jaden's character as it's leading man. The premiere episode of the series acquired 3.33 million viewers, bringing the show to the top of the charts as basic cable's No. 1 comedy series for the month. TBS announced the thirty-five episode second season renewal, which premiered a year later, with the first season averaging 2.9 million viewers. For Better or Worse was also basic cable’s No. 1 sitcom and the No. 1 show on all of television with African-American adults in the same year. In light of Jaden's popularity, Hollywood decided to cast Jaden in their next big-budget hit, Kill Bill Vol.2, Jaden felt this movie was going to be a stepping stone to solidify himself as a Hollywood Action Hero, however with the success also came controversy as Jaden's wife of 5 years, Dr. Courtney Chatman, filed for divorce against Jaden for his infidelity with the model/ former Deal or no Deal girl Claudia Jordan.
==Carrer Ending Betrayal==
TMZ broke the news that Smith had been having an on/ off affair with Claudia Jordan for almost 3 years. Claudia lives less then a mile away from Smith and his wife. TMZ told the world that Claudia was involved with close to a dozen married men who everyone knows publicly are married. Close friends of Jordan spoke about the illicit affair stating “Jaden was a regular over her house always at night. If Claudia did have a few friends over, everyone would be leaving at around midnight but Jaden would always stay. The Affair became a major setback to Jaden's career, as Jaden had lost all his appeal to a majority of women, which of whom are over 50% of his fan base, millions of people from around the world began petitioning for Jaden to be blacklisted from major Hollywood productions, Jaden's television series was canceled, his agents deserted him, and his role in Kill Bill Vol.2 was cut from the theatrical release. The divorce, along with the child support of two children left Jaden nearly broke. Jaden's pride made him refuse any financial help from any members of his family, and the scandal successfully ended his dreams of becoming a Hollywood Action Star, like his father before him. With Jaden being virtually blacklisted by major Hollywood Studios Jaden could only find roles in 2nd hand movies such as the International Martial Arts Film, Silver Hawk; the extremely low-budget, Driect-to-DVD Android Cop; The Direct-to-dvd film, Tactical Force, which went on to become #10 in the top ten best selling DVDs in the United States the Television Movie, One Angry Juror for which Jaden Smith was nominated for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special; The Direct-to-DVD film Falcon Rising; The Web-Series Metal Hurlant Chronicles, as well as other films including the television movie Somebody's Child which Jaden Smith was once again nominated for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special as well as the Black Reel Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special.
==A Second Chance==
Because of the little found success Jaden had, he was approached by a Television Network owner, named Oprah Winfrey, who admired how dedicated Jaden was to his acting despite all the obstacles in his way. Oprah who had long been a fan of Jaden's Television series, For Better or Worse, made a deal with him that she would renew the show, and re-spark Jaden's career on the condition that Jaden doesn’t get involved in any more controversies. With the show's renewed success Metal Hurlant Chronicles was picked up a television network, giving Jaden two major recurring roles. However after each shows respective end, Jaden once again found himself out of work, but managed to get cast in fellow martial artist Dolph Lundgren and Tony Jaa's Thai-Canadian action-thriller Skin Deep. Following that Jaden made his directorial debut and starred in the direct-to-DVD film Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown.
==Hitting Rock Bottom==
He depressed Jaden soon took to heavy drinking, and started using heavy drugs which withered his once imposing physique, to that of near anorexia. With Jaden new life style it wasn't long before he was hospitalized nearly dying of an overdose. That night in the hospital after visiting hours had closed, Jaden saw his Master Yuē shū yà, whom he long thought dead. Yuē shū yà saw his emancipated pupil and told him “You have to get up Jaden, I taught you how to fight not so you can waste your life acting as I once did, but to show the world the true artistry of the world, the true artistry of the body, Show them Hiten-Ryu, show them that “Smooth” Jaden Simth won't let addiction, beat him. Don't do it for me, don't do it for your fans Jaden, Do it for yourself. Now Get Up and Fight!”. Jaden then rises from his bed in a cold sweat as he screams “Sifu!!!” The next day Jaden's sister Willow visits him she asks him “So, what are you gonna do now?” Jaden looks out the window and into the sunrise as he strikes his fist into his palm and tells her 'Fight!”.
==Rehab==
On Jaden's long road to recovery, he became a born-again-Christian, and entered the Dunes, East Hampton addiction rehab center, where he met Personal Fitness Trainer Maria Magana. Maria taught addicts basic level Jiujitsu as therapeutic physical activity, and Jaden was a natural talent. He quickly grew a bond with Maria, who was also a devote christian, and expressed to her his desire to fight professionally. Realizing that without extensive skills in multiple fighting backgrounds his future as a Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter would be bleak, he asked Maria for training in more advanced levels of Jujitsu.
==Training as God's Chosen==
Maria then got Jaden in touch with her Brazilian Jiujitsu master, John Crouch. He studies under John Crouch for the next four years until he earns his black-belt, also during this time, Jaden began dating Maria as well as working on his wrestling background with grappling coaches at Dana College, becoming a NAIA All-American caliber wrestler. With his addiction under wraps and his training complete, Jaden embarked on his first professional fight, winning his first match against Dan Gregary. He lost his third fight to Rocky Johnson via submission. However, this defeat was a minor setback. He rebounded with four straight wins before facing a UFC veteran, Diego Saraiva. Jaden came prepared as he dominated Saraiva for three rounds, winning a unanimous decision and his 7th professional win.
==World Extreme Cagefighting==
Three months later, Jaden made his World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) debut against Anthony Njokuani. Jaden defeated Njokuani with a guillotine choke early in round two. He made his second appearance in the WEC at WEC 40 knocking out contender Shane Roller. Jaden was given an opportunity to fight for the Interim WEC Lightweight Championship against Donald Cerrone when lightweight champion Jamie Varner was unable to defend his title due to an injury. The fight was the main event for WEC 43 which was held in Texas. Jaden won an exciting back-and-forth fight by unanimous decision. Both Jaden and Cerrone were awarded with an additional purse of $20,000 for fight of the night. The bout was also awarded Fight of the Year for all of MMA by Sherdog.com. Jaden would go on to defeat Jamie Varner with a Guillotine choke to unify the WEC Lightweight Championship at WEC 46. After being outboxed and outwrestled in the first two rounds, Jaden came back and caught Varner in a standing Guillotine choke ending the fight at 2:41 of the third round. Jaden then had his first title defense in a rematch with Donald Cerrone at WEC 48, defeating Cerrone via guillotine choke in the first round. Jaden's next fight was against Anthony Pettis at WEC 53. Jaden lost his title by unanimous decision. The fight won Fight of the Night honors.
==Ultimate Fighting Championship==
When World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC. Jaden made his UFC debut at UFC 129 defeating Mark Bocek via unanimous decision. Jaden next faced Jim Miller at UFC on Versus 5. Jaden dominated the streaking Miller throughout the fight, utilizing a stiff jab, great transitions, and vicious ground and pound throughout the match to snap Miller's 7 fight win streak, the third longest in the UFC at the time. Despite being threatened with multiple deep submission attempts, Jaden escaped each attempt and advanced position with increasingly brutal punches and elbows. He earned a unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-26). It was later confirmed that Miller had come into the fight with health problems. Jaden faced Clay Guida at UFC on Fox 1. He won the fight via unanimous decision after three rounds in an action packed war that earned both fighters Fight of the Night honors. With the win, he became the #1 contender for the UFC Lightweight title. Jaden faced Frankie Edgar at UFC 144. Jaden defeated Edgar via unanimous decision to become the new UFC Lightweight Champion. Both participants earned Fight of the Night honors for their performance. A rematch with Edgar took place at UFC 150. In a bout that was very tightly contested, Jaden defeated Edgar again, this time via split decision. Jaden beat Nate Diaz at UFC on Fox 5. Jaden punished Diaz with kicks, superior wrestling and ground and pound, Jaden knocked Diaz down twice with punches and got his back on numerous occasions. Jaden faced the final Strikeforce Lightweight Champion, and promotional newcomer Gilbert Melendez at UFC on Fox 7. Jaden won the fight by a closely contested split decision. After 3 consecutive wins to retain the title, Jaden tied legendary ufc hall of famer, BJ Penn with the highest number of title defenses as a lightweight. After the win Jaden proposed to his fiancée Maria in the Octagon, and the two would wed soon after. Jaden was expected to face TJ Grant at UFC 164. However, Grant was forced out of the bout with an injury, setting up a rematch with Anthony Pettis who defeated Jaden last time they fought via unanimous decision at the final WEC event, WEC 53. Pettis defeated Jaden via submission (armbar) in the first round. This was the second time Jaden lost his championship belt and title to Pettis. In his first post-title loss fight, Jaden faced Josh Thomson in the main event at UFC on Fox 10. Jaden defeated Thomson via split decision. He nearly became the first man to submit Thomson when he caught Thomson in a standing arm-triangle choke. Many media outlets and observers were split on who they thought should have been declared the winner. Thomson had one more takedown (5 to 4) and was able to secure Jaden's back on multiple occasions, while Jaden was able to significantly outstrike Thomson (114 to 33) over the duration of the bout and was credited with the bout's only submission attempt. Jaden would then face Rustam Khabilov, in the main event at UFC Fight Night: Jaden vs. Khabilov. He won the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the fourth round. The win also earned Jaden his first Performance of the Night bonus award. Jaden next headlined UFC Fight Night 49 against Rafael dos Anjos on August. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. However Jaden would continue his passion of fighting for many years to come until finally retiring from the MMA world.
==Legacy==
Smith and his siblings were youth ambassadors for Project Zambia, which provided assistance in conjunction with Hasbro for Zambian children orphaned by AIDS. When Smith was 13 he began a pursuit in music, rapping alongside Canadian singer Justin Bieber in the song "Never Say Never." When Jaden was 14 he released his first mixtape, The Cool Cafe,and continued to pursue music, releasing the non-album works, such as "Starry Room", dedicated to ex-girl friend Stella Hudgens, "Flame (Just Cuz)"; "Give It to Em", "Gonzoes", "Shakespeare", "Love Me Like You Do" (Remix) (with Justin Bieber), "Higher Up" (featuring Kid Cudi), "Kite" (featuring Willow Smith) and "MSFTS Anthem 2". Jaden was also featured as a feature artists on Justin Bieber's "Never Say Never (Acoustic Version)", "Thinkin Bout You", "Happy New Year", "Fairytale", and Jhené Aiko"The Worst" (Remix). However as Jaden grew older he began to steer away from the music scene siting the reason why, saying “despite my personal love for the music genre on a lot of levels, I cannot in good conscience have a positive opinion on hip hop or "excuse some of its pervasive and destructive elements", due to my experience with youngsters who had difficulty seeing the difference between it and real life. Smith also started his own clothing/lifestyle brand called MSFTSrep. The clothes range from hoodies and T-shirts to trousers and vests. When Smith was 15 he collaborated with a Korean designer, Choi Bum Suk, to create a pop-up store in which customers can buy clothes with their collaborated logos. After becoming a born-again-christian Jaden stated in an interview with Fight Magazine: I don't drink—I've never had a sip of alcohol after rehab. I've never had a puff of a cigarette or weed or anything like that once I quit. Growing up in California, that wasn't a very popular choice. I made a decision, and whenever it came up, I passed the dutchie to the left hand side ... People have seen that. They see I don't do the club scene anymore. By people seeing that, that affects them in a bigger way than me talking about it.". During his fighting career, Jaden gave Christ glory after each of his matches -- "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). Jaden has three children, two sons and one daughter, all with different mothers. Ranging from oldest to youngest: Jai Smith, Morgan Michelle Smith, and Syre Smith
==Championships and Accomplishments==
===Mixed Martial Arts===
*====Ultimate Fighting Championship====
**UFC Lightweight Championship (One time)
**Three successful title defenses
**Fight of the Night (Two times)
**Performance of the Night (One time)
*====World Extreme Cagefighting====
**WEC Lightweight Championship (One time)
**One successful title defense
**Interim WEC Lightweight Championship (One time)
**Fight of the Night (Two times)
**Submission of the Night (One time)
*====ESPN====
**Fighter of the Year
*====Inside MMA====
**Fighter of the Year Bazzie Award
*====MMAWeekly.com====
**Fighter of the Year
*====FightMatrix.com====
**Fighter of the Year
*====MMAFighting.com====
**Fight of the Year vs. Anthony Pettis
**Fight of the Year vs. Donald Cerrone
*====USA Today====
**Fight of the Year vs. Anthony Pettis
*====Sports Illustrated====
**Fight of the Year vs. Donald Cerrone
*====Sherdog====
**Fighter of the Year
**Fight of the Year vs. Donald Cerrone
===Submission Grappling===
*====International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation====
**World Jiu-Jitsu Championship Brown Belt Bronze Medalist
*====Arizona State Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation====
**AZSBJJF MVP of the Year
**Arizona State Championship Brown Belt Middleweight Gold Medalist (Two times)
**Arizona State Championship Purple Belt Middleweight Gold Medalist (Two times)
**Arizona State Championship Openweight Gold Medalist (Three times)