Willow Smith

Smith in 2013, photo by Prphotos

Birth Name: Willow Camille Reign Smith

Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Date of Birth: October 31, 2000

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

Willow Smith is an American singer, actress, and dancer. She has had roles in the films I Am Legend, Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, and hosted the talk show Red Table Talk. Her songs include “Whip My Hair,” “21st Century Girl,” “Wait a Minute!,” “Transparent Soul,” and, as part of The Anxiety, “Meet Me at Our Spot.” She was the youngest artist signed to record label Roc Nation. She is also known as WILLOW.

Willow is the daughter of actors/musicians Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, the sister of actor and musician Jaden Smith, and the half-sister of actor and disc jockey Trey Smith. Her maternal grandmother’s family were of African-/Creole-Caribbean descent, while her other grandparents were/are African-American. Her uncle is actor and writer Caleeb Pinkett.

Willow’s paternal grandfather was Willard Carroll Smith, Sr. (the son of Wilmon Lee Smith and Ellen Frances Washington). Willow’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.

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

Willow’s maternal grandfather was Robsol Grant Pinkett, Jr. (the son of Robsol Grant Pinkett and Shirley Nancy Crystal Holland). Willow’s grandfather Robsol was African-American. Willow’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.

Willow’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, Willow’s mother Jada writes that her grandmother Marion’s grandfather was of Portuguese Jewish background.

Sources: http://readingeagle.com

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

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

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

Willow’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