Willow was born on Oct. 31, 2000, and just like her parents, she's also built a career as a musician and actor. Throughout the years, she's appeared in numerous projects, including "I Am Legend," "Madagascar 2," and "Adventure Time." And at just 9 years old, she released her viral hit "Whip My Hair," which she's since followed up with five studio albums and countless hits.
"Me being 9 and saying 'I whip my hair back and forth' as a symbol of internal freedom and self-love was so authentic for me," she told Billboard in August 2022. "My message hasn't changed. I'm still saying in many ways, 'Live loud, live freely, and be your most creative and potent self.'"
Willow's father, however, has different feelings about her early music career. During the Aug. 3 episode of Kevin Hart's "Hart to Heart" series, Will shared regrets about pushing his then-9-year-old daughter into the spotlight, noting that "nobody" in his family "was happy" at that point, per E! News. "No one wanted to be in a platoon. Willow was the first one to begin the mutiny and it was my first realization that success and money don't mean happiness," he said. "Up until that point, I really believed that you could succeed your way — to a house and a family — and you could win your way to happiness." Will added, "I was driving the people around me in a way that I was leaving scorched earth around me."
Willow previously admitted feelings of resentment toward her father for pushing her into the spotlight so young. On a 2018 episode of "Red Table Talk," which she cohosted with her mother Jada, she said, "I definitely had to forgive you and daddy for that whole 'Whip My Hair' thing. It was mostly daddy because he was so harsh at certain times. It was a couple of years, honestly. Trying to regain trust for not feeling like I was being listened to or like no one cared how I felt."
