The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air cast now – tragic death, Oscars slap and affair

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air cast have faced tragedy and dramas since the iconic sitcom ended.

The 90s show saw Will Smith play troublesome teen Will from Philadelphia who was sent to live in Beverly Hills with his rich aunt, uncle and cousins. As the theme tune suggests, his life was “flipped, turned upside down” and he didn’t always see eye-to-eye with his family.

The sitcom, which aired 148 episodes and six seasons on NBC from this day (September 10) in 1990 to 1996, shot Will Smith into movie superstardom. Smith starred alongside James Avery (Uncle Phil), Janet Hubert (Aunt Vivian), Alfonso Ribeiro (Carlton Banks), Karyn Parsons (Hilary Banks), Tatyana Ali (Ashley Banks), Joseph Marcell (Geoffrey).

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But where are the Fresh Prince cast now? Daily Star has taken a look at what happened to the stars after the show.

Will Smith

While Will was a laugher and a joker during his time on the show, he also had some hard-hitting scenes which saw viewers immediately connect with him. After the success of the show, he was catapulted into stardom and has been a leading actor in the showbiz industry ever since.

The Fresh Prince himself followed his television debut with a successful film career. Smith, who at the time desperately needed the sitcom role to avoid bankruptcy, couldn’t imagine the response that the show gained.

The year the sitcom ended Smith starred in the 1996 film Independence Day, he also starred in Men in Black, Bad Boys and many more blockbusters. Most recently he has starred in Disney’s 2019 Aladdin as the Genie.

The 53-year-old actor married Jada Pinkett in 1997 after meeting on the set of the show in 1990, and the pair celebrated 30 years together last year. They have two children together, 26-year-old Jaden and 23-year-old Willow.

Smith is also father to Trey Smith who was born in 1992. But turned rocky for the pair when Jada admitted having had a steamy extramarital relationship with singer August Alsina behind Will’s back.

August Alsina and Jada were introduced by Jada and Wills’ son, Jaden, while the married couple were on a break. Will and Jada hashed it out on a tense episode of her Red Table Talk podcast, but their marriage has survived.

And Will caused a storm last year when he slapped comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars, over a joke aimed at his wife Jada’s alopecia. The actor stormed on stage and slapped Chris across the face, telling him: “Get my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth!” as Chris said Will had “smacked the s**t” out of him.

Will was allowed to stay at the ceremony but was subsequently barred from Oscars events for 10 years. He later apologised for the incident.

Alfonso Ribeiro

Alfonso Ribeiro played Will’s cousin, Carlton Banks. He created “the Carlton” – an iconic dance named after his uptight character. Ribeiro tried and failed to trademark the Carlton Dance in 2018, losing out in a court battle against Fortnite maker Epic Games. The lawsuit was dropped in 2019.

In 2014, Ribeiro competed on Dancing with the Stars with partner Witney Carson proving “the Carlton” wasn’t the only dance move he could do as the pair took home the trophy – but not without at least a little dance from his Carlton repertoire.

And he’s set to host the show alongside Julianne Hough for its 32nd series. Ribeiro became the host of America’s Funniest Home Videos in 2015 and continues to host shows like Catch 21 and Dance 360. He is married and has four children.

James Avery

James Avery played the iconic character of Uncle Phil, a grumpy, yet loveable leader who had high expectations and often clashed with Will. He was an incredible successful actor, appearing in 15 films prior to the series, and when it ended he continued within the industry, appearing on the likes of That 70s Show, The Prince of Egypt and Dr DoLittle 2.

He also did voice acting on Pepper Ann, The Legend of Tarzan and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. James was married to Barbara Avery and had a stepson, Kevin Waters. Sadly, Avery tragically died aged 68 in December 2013 due to complications from heart surgery.

Janet Hubert

Janet Hubert played Aunt Vivian but departed after allegedly being fired after just three seasons. The actress seemed to have an ongoing feud with her co-star Will as she claims that he was responsible for her early departure.

However, the pair seem to have put their history behind them as Will appeared to end the feud on Red Table Talk. Following her time on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Hubert had a run on One Life to Life and made appearances in Friends, Gilmore Girls, NYPD Blue and many more.

In 2018 she made her debut on General Hospital as she continues to focus on her acting career. And she guest starred in the ninth episode of Bel-Air, the Fresh Prince spin-off which premiered earlier this year.

Daphne Maxwell-Reid

Daphne Maxwell-Reid took over the role after season three of Aunt Vivian after Hubert left the show. She appeared in 74 episodes of the Fresh Prince and was the first black woman to appear on the cover of Glamour magazine in 1969.

Maxwell-Reid was also the first African American homecoming queen at elite college Northwestern University. She is an accomplished photographer and released Doors, her photography book, in 2012.

The actress has been married to actor Tim Reid since 1982.

Karyn Parson

Karyn Parsons played the eldest most spoiled Banks child, Hilary. Parsons went on to star in Lush Life and The Job after the Fresh Prince but later both were quickly cancelled. Parsons took a break from acting for 15 years. She married Alexandrew Rockwell in 2003 and they have daughter Lana and son Nico together.

In a slight career overhaul, she recently became a published author releasing a children’s novel, How High the Moon in 2019. Her second book, Flying Free was released in December 2020. Parsons also owns production company Sweet Blackberry in LA.

Tatyana Ali

Tatyana Ali played Ashley Bank in the sitcom series and was just 11 when the show started. Though this was not Ali’s first television appearance as she was on Sesame Street as a six-year-old in 1985.

Ali went on after Fresh Prince to have a music career and star in major roles on The Young and the Restless and Love That Girl! She attended Harvard University where she received a bachelor’s degree in African-American Studies and Government in 2002.

She married Vaughn Rasberry in 2016 a Stanford University professor and they have two sons together, Edwards and Alejandro.

Joseph Marcell

English actor Joseph Marcell played Geoffrey the Banks family butler. Marcell trained at the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Central School of Speech and Drama before moving to Hollywood when he was cast in the sitcom.

He since returned to the UK and landed roles on EastEnders and The Bold, alongside guest roles on Holby City and Ratched. Marcell also landed theatre work in Sam Wanamaker Playhouse’s 2016 production of The Tempest and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre’s 2014 rendition of Kind Lear.

The actor married Joyce Marcell in 1995 and they have two children together.

Jeffrey Allen Townes

Jeffrey Allen Townes played Will best friend Jazz in the Fresh Prince series. Townes had success in music with Smith as DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince.

Despite Smith and Jeff departing ways from their music act they have reunited on and off again over the years to collaborate together. Townes became a Grammy winner in 1989 and established himself as a music producer.

He worked with major acts including Eminem. He has released solo music including M3, his 2018 album.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk