Will Smith Shares Background of 'Fresh Prince' Nickname: 'Thank You for That, Mrs. Brown'

Will Smith's former teacher received a special shout-out during a street renaming ceremony to honor the actor in Philadelphia.

The Academy Award winner was celebrated on Wednesday with the renaming of 2000 block of North 59th Street, now called Will Smith Way.

The street sits next to Smith's alma mater, Overbrook High School, and Smith pointed out educator Mrs. Brenda Brown, who inspired his "Fresh Prince" moniker.

Smith used the nickname as one-half of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, and it would later appear in the title of his breakout sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

"Where's Mrs. Brown?" Smith asked the ceremony crowd in the Instagram reel below. "Mrs. Brown, Brenda Brown, was my first teacher in 10th grade when I walked through these doors. Mrs. Brown's about 5 feet tall, and she used to walk up in my chest, and she would be like [gives beckoning gesture]."

"Mrs. Brown was the teacher who started calling me Prince Charming. The name 'the Fresh Prince' was coined in that building," Smith continued, pointing to Overbrook. "She called me 'Prince,' and I added the 'Fresh' because it was hip-hop slang. So the Fresh Prince. So thank you for that, Mrs. Brown."

During the event, Smith wore an Overbrook varsity jacket and teased that he's planning a July 4 concert in his hometown and will try to tap other iconic Philly artists for the performance.

The ceremony came just two days before Smith releases his fifth album, Based on a True Story, his first LP in twenty years. The project will feature Big Sean, Teyana Taylor, Russ, Smith's youngest son Jaden, and more.