Is The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air Based On Will Smith's Life?

"The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" — the original sitcom, not the dark, gritty, and dramatic "Bel-Air" reboot that was canceled after four seasons — is a pseudo-biographical take on someone's real life... just not Will Smith's, as some viewers believe. In reality, the show was based on the life experiences of producer and record executive Benny Medina. 

Any kid who grew up on "The Fresh Prince" will know the theme song, which, much like all the best sitcom theme songs, perfectly sums up the show's premise in a succinct and informative manner in the space of a minute (two, if we're talking the full version). That theme clearly draws a major parallel between the Will Smith of the show and the real-life version, announcing that the story began all the way back in West Philadelphia — the same area where Smith was born and raised (and presumably spent most of his days chillin' out, maxin', and relaxin' all cool).

With that, and the fact that the character shared his real-life counterpart's name, the show seemed to set itself up as an exaggerated version of Smith's life story. But it wasn't. An April 1991 issue of Ebony magazine featured an article entitled "The Real Life Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air," which explains how the beloved sitcom was based on Medina's experiences of growing up in lower-class Los Angeles neighborhoods before he was taken in by the family of his white teenage friend, who lived in Beverly Hills. This was the loose basis of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," though the show clearly borrowed from elements of Smith's life to create its unique story.

In the "Ebony" article, Benny Medina recounts his life story, which began under tragic circumstances when he lost his mother at a young age and his father abandoned him. The future mogul spent his early years in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles but was transferred to multiple foster homes after his mother died, where he claimed his foster families were "more interested in the checks than me." During this time, he dreamed of becoming a Hollywood hotshot, but it would take some time for him to make it there.

Medina eventually moved with his sibling into his auntie's house. But this wasn't the "auntie and uncle in Bel-Air" as described in the "Fresh Prince" theme song. This was a three-bed house where Medina says and his siblings would regularly receive beatings. After Medina turned to the streets and found himself hanging around with some guys who were, to use "Fresh Prince" parlance, "up to no good," things had to change. Thankfully, that change came in the form of a young friend named Allen Elliott, whom Medina met through his mentor, Rozzell Sykes. The artist and founder of the St. Elmo Village urban renewal project introduced Medina to Elliott after noticing both boys were in need of a friend. The two quickly became pals, and eventually, Medina moved into the garage behind the Elliott house.

But this was nothing like the foster homes in which Medina had spent much of his adolescence. The Elliots lived in Beverly Hills, and suddenly, the young L.A. local was enrolled in the prestigious Beverly Hills High School, where he eventually became class president. He also made some crucial connections, becoming friendly with the sons of Motown boss Berry Gordy. This was the beginning of Medina's transformation into a fully-fledged music mogul, and — unbeknownst to him at the time — the genesis of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."

In 1990, Benny Medina decided his life story would make for a great TV show, and along with his business partner Jeff Pollack, started to shop the idea around Hollywood. Rather than retell his story entirely, however, Medina changed multiple aspects, most notably by making the Banks family Black rather than white in order to, as he told Ebony magazine, "explore Black-on-Black prejudice" and "Black class differences."

It was Medina's idea to cast Will Smith on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." Up until that point, Smith had enjoyed a successful career as a rapper. Soon, legendary music producer Quincy Jones and NBC chief Brandon Tartikoff became interested in the project, and Smith was brought in for a live audition. Smith impressed, and the show was greenlit.

Why, then, if "The Fresh Prince" was based on Medina's experiences, did the show feature so much of Smith's life? Well, as far as the name goes, the actor explained during a BBC interview that the idea to use his real name came from actor Alfonso Ribeiro, who played Carlton on the series. "When we first started the show, we were trying to come up with names for the characters," recalled Smith. "[...] Alfonso pulled me aside, he said, 'Man, let me tell you something.' He said, 'Whatever your character's name is, people are gonna call you that for the rest of your life.' He said, 'Make your character's name Will Smith.' He was so right."

Smith also revealed in 2018 (via People) that during his first meeting with Quincy Jones, he told the record producer, "They call me the Fresh Prince," to which Jones replied, "All right, good, that's what we'll call the show."