LOBALZO WRIGHT, Julie

The Smith Brand: Keeping it in the Family

Married since 1997, Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith have recently become famous stage parents. Their two children, Jaden (13) and Willow (11) have achieved stardom beyond just their off-spring status through high-profile film roles (Jaden in The Next Karate Kid) and music careers (Willow’s “Whip My Hair” single in 2010). Both parents have been heavily involved in their children’s careers, including acting as producers on projects (Smith produced The Next Karate Kid) and using their celebrity status to promote their children (Pinkett-Smith announced Willow’s impending album release during a talk show appearance).

While Hollywood is littered with famous off-springs (the Beckhams, the Jolie-Pitts, Suri Cruise), Smith and Pinkett-Smith have seamlessly created a family brand that incorporates their children’s unique careers with their own. Jaden and Willow’s success can be located in Will Smith’s own family friendly, but also, at times, incredibly juvenile image. Although voted “Hollywood’s Most Valuable Actor” by Forbes magazine in 2009, Will Smith has not achieved the same success in the 2000s as he did in the 1990s when portraying young, juvenile characters (Independence Day, Men in Black, Wild Wild West). While his inability to grow into a more mature image has (arguably) impacted negatively on his own stardom, it has positively influenced his children’s stardom, allowing Smith to pass on his childlike image to his children.

In this paper, I will examine the Smith family as a celebrity brand, considering how much of Smith’s own image has been passed down to his children and how this impacts on his own career.

Dr. Julie Lobalzo Wright, King’s College London