• May 11, 1998
• Vol. 49
• No. 18

Will Smith: Actor/rapper

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From PEOPLE Magazine

After conquering music, TV and movies, how much more jiggy wit it can he get? Will Smith, 29, manages to breeze through all media with the kind of insouciance he displayed in last summer's Men in Black, when he adjusted his Ray-Bans and uttered the famous line, "I make this look good." But his dimpled smile and 6'2" frame are only the icing on the cake. "It's Will's upbeat nature that makes for his enormously broad appeal," says MIB casting director David Rubin. "It's his ebullience that makes him so irresistible." Director Barry Sonnenfeld, currently working with Smith on the film update of the '60s TV series The Wild Wild West, agrees. "His self-confidence is so winning that you want to hang out with him, you want him to teach you how to be like him," he says. Of course, it helps that the West Philadelphian, who broke onto the scene in 1987 as part of the rap duo DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, "probably wakes up in the morning and looks just gorgeous," Sonnenfeld adds.

Well, maybe his hair requires a little help. Tatyana M. Ali, who costarred with Smith on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, says, "Will always got his hair cut every Friday morning before the show and was really particular about getting it shaped the right way." Some parts, however, have always been shaped just fine. Ali recalls the day Smith arrived on the set in a pair of leather pants required for a scene. "I turned to someone and said, 'Gosh, Will has a really cute butt.' "

And other assets as well. "My favorite part of his face is his lips," says Vtvica A. Fox, who played Smith's girlfriend in 1996's Independence Day, for which the two shared a 1997 MTV Movie Award for best kiss. "They're full and luscious, and when he smiles, they're warm and inviting."

Those lips are now reserved for Jada (Scream 2) Pinketfi, whom Smith wed last New Year's Eve and who is expecting their first child in July (Smith has a son, Trey, 5, from a previous marriage). But she is willing to share the rest of Smith with others. "When I know I'm going to see him, I truly look forward to it," says Ali. "I'm going to laugh, have fun and feel wonderful. Beautiful people are people who make other people feel good, and Will is one of those people."