Willow Smith, daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, recently opened up about growing up in the spotlight and how she dealt with living in the shadow of her famous parents.
Smith released her first single “Whip My Hair” at the age of 10, which sprang a lot of popularity, especially after giving a demonstration on Ellen.
In an interview with Girl Gaze, the now 17 year old Smith highlights the struggles of having all of the Hollywood attention at such a young age.
“I’m going to be completely and utterly honest, it’s absolutely terrible” she said. "Growing up and trying to figure out your life... while people feel like they have some sort of entitlement to know what's going on, is absolutely, excruciatingly terrible - and the only way to get over it, is to go into it.”
Discussing how it feels to be constantly under the scrutiny of society as a child, she added “You can’t change your face. You can’t change your parents. You can’t change any of those things. So I feel like most kids like me end up going down a spiral of depression, and the world is sitting there looking at them through their phones; laughing and making jokes and making memes at the crippling effect that this lifestyle has on the psyche.”
As she grew older, Smith came to the realization that if she couldn’t beat it, she’d have to join it.
“When you’re born into it, there are two choices that you have; I’m either going to try to go into it completely and help from the inside, or… no one is going to know where I am… and I’m really going to take myself completely out of the eye of society. There’s really no in-between.”
Despite any struggles she faced during her adolescence, it appears Smith is very self-aware and has her eyes on the future.
“It’s so crazy because ever since I was little I’ve been the kind of person that just sees all points of view and I can see so many different ways that that this generation will either help or hinder the future.”
Earlier this year, the young actress and singer talked about collaborating with her brother Jaden in a “rock band” idea. Smith also recently released her second studio album The 1st on Oct. 31, following her 2015 debut album Ardipithecus.