I Read Will Smith’s Autobiography; Here Are My Thoughts on It

I’ve always been an on-and-off reader, so I recently turned to autobiographies in hopes that real-life stories would keep me engaged past my nitpicky thoughts (grammar, mostly; thanks, GameGrin). That’s how I stumbled across an autobiography I didn’t know existed: Will Smith’s.

Now, I’ve never been one to follow celebrities much, but I obviously knew who he was, as he created some of my favourite childhood movies, ones that I still reference to this day! I mean, who could own a pug and not make a callback to Men in Black? Still, I nose-dived into Will as soon as I got it, and, well... I was instantaneously hooked.

Prior to reading his autobiography, I never knew anything personal about Will Smith, so I arrived at the book with a clean slate, expectation-wise. I don't know if what we read is directly from him (or from Mark Manson), but the voice is very charismatic — surprisingly so. I might even say painfully so, as it's the type of narration I always look for in fiction: one that will reel you in and make you lose track of the time.

Will Smith takes us through the many stages of his life with a down-to-earth, relatable, and comedic tone, making the lessons he imparts at the end of each story that much more meaningful. As a (sometimes avid) watcher of Ludwig Ahgren, I'm keenly aware of the parasocial phenomenon, and whilst I'm not prone to that, I'm not embarrassed to admit I experienced it while reading. Will speaks in such a way that makes it feel like you're just hearing a friend or family member tell you their life story because it's so personal.

You see, Will Smith had a pretty rough childhood. His father (whom he refers to as Daddio) was abusive, and he's very open about how that affected him, especially in the way that he approaches and resolves conflict. The autobiography tells an impressive story about reaching superstardom, what it took to get there, and what he learned along the way... but most importantly, how his childhood shaped it all.

Throughout the entire book, the fingerprints left from his trauma are evident, and he makes sure to point them out so you don't miss them. He becomes addicted to work because he falls prey to the love and approval of praise, and that slowly unravels throughout the story into a lot of self-reflection and trauma processing.

As he gains more fame and becomes one of the biggest movie stars, it begins to affect his relationships, specifically his two marriages. Will is candid about this — he makes us live through some of the things he regrets saying and doing, and then we get to see what he does with those lessons.

Another fantastic aspect about the book is that Will experienced various areas of stardom: he was a rapper (interestingly, a pretty PG one, too), he was a TV star, and then he became a celebrity. With each stage, we get to peek behind the curtain and see how that life looks, and I don't mean parties and spending a lot — we know all about that already.

Instead, he touches on how it feels to become part of a world that is very rushed, with people telling him to come over to their house now to discuss, and how that feels so disconnected from the norm. One of my personal favourites was hearing about his experiences being a rapper to achieve mainstream success, how he watched it grow into the career it is today.

Finding out how things go from writers to actors to back to writers is fascinating to me. It's all the stuff we never get to hear about, the mundane realities that come with being an actor or a performer and the boring details no one ever thinks about when dreaming of becoming one.

This is, by far, the book I have most highlighted quotes from because there are so many lessons to take from it. It's not just a celebrity recounting how they got famous — it's a collection of many sides of a man: as a father, as a husband, as an African American, a rapper…

However, despite how much I loved the book, I was left wanting when I looked at how Will Smith has handled himself publicly since the incident with Chris Rock at the Academy Awards. Particularly, I was disappointed about his unapologetic attitude during his appearance on Fire in the Booth with DJ Charlie Sloth on the 22nd of June this year (2025) because it doesn't reflect the lessons spread across the autobiography.

His behaviour feels contradictory to the introspection he went through, specifically because there’s such an emphasis on the therapy regarding his people-pleasing tendencies and his childhood trauma. It’s not just that he slapped Chris Rock for making a joke — it’s that he doesn’t seem truly remorseful.

This led me to wonder if there was any truth to all the text I had been reading for so many hours. It doesn’t take away from the truth behind the lessons, but it does make them (and the stories attached) feel hollow. If they are, then I might as well have read fiction. 

Still, Will is a fascinating look at Will Smith's life. It's an easy, entertaining read with a lot of heart and even more insights. But if you found yourself thinking, "So, yes, the book is great... but is it worth reading if it's not grounded in reality?", then skip it.