Jaden Smith

Smith in 2011, photo by Photo Works/Bigstock.com

Birth Name: Jaden Christopher Syre Smith

Place of Birth: Malibu, California, U.S.

Date of Birth: July 8, 1998

Ethnicity: African-American (three quarters), African/Creole-Barbadian, African/Creole-Jamaican, 1/32 Sephardi Jewish

Jaden Smith is an American actor, rapper, singer, songwriter, and model. He has had leading roles in the films The Pursuit of Happyness, The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008), The Karate Kid (2010), After Earth, Skate Kitchen, and Life in a Year, and on the shows The Get Down and Neo Yokio, the latter in voice role. He was featured on the song “Never Say Never.”

He is the son of actors and musicians Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, the brother of actress and singer Willow Smith, and the half-brother of actor and disc jockey Trey Smith. His maternal grandmother’s family were of African-/Creole-Caribbean descent, while his other grandparents are African-American. His uncle is actor and writer Caleeb Pinkett.

Jaden’s paternal grandfather was Willard Carroll Smith, Sr. (the son of Wilmon Lee Smith and Ellen Frances Washington). Jaden’s grandfather Willard was born in Pennsylvania, and was African-American. George was the son of John Edward Smith and Mariah B. Holley. Ellen was the daughter of Thomas Holcomb Washington and Conolia Lottie “Estelle” Lee.

Jaden’s paternal grandmother is named Caroline Bright (the daughter of a father surnamed Bright, and of Helen). Caroline is African-American.

Jaden’s maternal grandfather was Robsol Grant Pinkett, Jr. (the son of Robsol Grant Pinkett and Shirley Nancy Crystal Holland). Jaden’s grandfather Robsol was African-American. Jaden’s great-grandfather Robsol was the son of Maslin Frysinger Pinkett and Martha Josephine Dyer. Shirley was the daughter of James P. Holland and Alice Whitehead.

Jaden’s maternal grandmother is Adrienne Banfield (the daughter of Gilbert Leslie Banfield and Marion Eliza Martin). Adrienne’s family were Black/Creole emigrants from the West Indies [Barbados and Jamaica]. Gilbert was the son of Gilbert Banfield and Ella E. R. Parris/Paris. Marion was the daughter of Ralph Nunis Martin and Daisy Maude Costa/Coster. In her autobiography, Worthy, 2023, Jaden’s mother Jada writes that her grandmother Marion’s grandfather was of Portuguese Jewish background.

Sources: http://readingeagle.com

Genealogies of Jaden Smith – http://www.geni.com
https://www.wikitree.com

Jaden’s maternal great-grandfather, Gilbert Leslie Banfield, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

Birth record of Jaden’s maternal great-grandmother, Marion Eliza Martin – https://familysearch.org

Jaden’s maternal great-grandmother, Marion Eliza Martin, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Marion Eliza Martin on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org