Jabari Banks

Jabari Banks (born August 2, 1998) is an American actor. His notable lead roles include Bel-Air (2022) and Bad Genius (2024). Banks was nominated for the 2024 NAACP Image Awards for his role as Will Smith in Bel-Air.^[1]

Jabari Banks
Born	(1998-08-02) August 2, 1998 (age 27) West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma mater	University of the Arts (BA)
Occupations	Actor singer
Years active	2022–present

Career

Born in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father, Maurice Banks, is African-American and his mother, Jenifer Banks, is of Jamaican descent. They had five children, including Jabari. However, his parents got divorced when he was eight and he completed his primary education at Simeon Career Academy. Afterwards, he proceeded to Chicago Public School where he attended his secondary education. Banks received his Bachelor of Fine Arts and Theatre Arts from University of the Arts, Philadelphia.^[2]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
2024	Bad Genius	Bank	Remake of the 2017 Thai thriller film Bad Genius	[3]

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
2022–present	Bel-Air	Will Smith		[4]
2022	Kid of the Year	Guest	Appeared as guest, hosted by Trevor Noah

Discography

Singles

• “Something Else”^[5] (2023)
• "Weekend Drive" (2024)

Awards and nominations

Black Reel Awards

• 2024: Outstanding Lead Performance in a Drama Series: Bel-Air (Nominated)

BET Awards

• 2022: Best Actor (Nominated)

Image Awards

• 2023: Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series: Bel-Air (Nominated)

• 2024: Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series: Bel-Air (Nominated)

• 2025: Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series: Bel-Air (Nominated)