Kerr Smith was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 9, 1972 and grew up in Exton, a suburb of Philadelphia, with his parents and his younger sister, Allison. He got his famous name, "Kerr", from his grandmother's maiden name.
In high school, he excelled in sports and politics, winning both class and school presidential campaigns. During his sophomore year of high school, he made his first dramatic performance playing Sir Edward Ramsey in the school's production of "The King and I", not realising how important this experience would be to his future.
He graduated from high school in 1990 and enrolled in the university of Vermont. Following his financial advisor father's advise, he graduated in "something sensible", Business Administration (Business & Accounting). Kerr always has defined these days as "very social", and probably as a Kappa Sigma, Chief Justice Of the Greek Judicial Board and a member of the ski patrol of Stove, Vermont, they were.
After graduation, Smith returned to Exton to start a marketing business with his father, but soon realised that he wasn't enjoying his it. He loved making presentations but hated the selling aspect, and reasoned that it was time to give acting a try. He first worked as an extra in the movie "Twelve Monkeys" (Terry Gilliam), where he felt he'd made the right career choice.
The early stages are never easy, and although he continued working on commercials and even landed a small role on the hit TV show "Baywatch", he was still waiting for the big opportunity that all young actors hope for.
He didn't have to wait too long, for nine months later in 1996, he scored his first significant part as Ryder Hughes on "As the World Turns", a CBS daytime drama. This show was decisive in Smith's career because not only did he get recognised, but he also won his first acting award for BEST NEW ACTOR from Soap Opera Magazine. Unfortunately for all his fans, in May 1997 he left the show. Kerr auditioned for a part in "Party of Five" and for a new role on "Another World" but he was not successful.
Finally one day he crossed paths with Kevin Williamson and everything changed: after auditioning half a dozen times, Smith won the role of Jack McPhee during the second season of the popular WB show "Dawson's Creek". Performing as this introvert kid who had to deal with a lot of family problems, and being a gay teen in a small town, Kerr won everybody's affection and was confirmed as a famous television star. As the show went on, his character became more popular than ever and he even won a GLAAD award for his portrayal of Jack. His nect target was the cinema. He starred in two independent films very well known in cinema festivals- "Kiss & Tell and "Hit and Runway", both of which premiered at the LA Independent Film Festival. He was also a guest in "The Broken Hearts League", directed by Greg Berlanti, very well known by the "Dawson's Creek" fans since Greg was one of the executive producers of the show. He took the cameo as a gay character because as a favour to the director as it was his debut as a director.
But it was "Final Destination" that marked Kerr's first jump onto the big screen in a major motion picture. His role of Carter Horton gave him excellent reveiws and the opportunity to play a role completely different to Jack McPhee, his character on "Dawson's Creek". His next film was "The Forsaken" where he shared protagonism with another big TV star, Brendan Fehr, known for his role of Michael on the popular TV show "Roswell". In "The Forsaken" Kerr plays the part of Sean and Kerr describes the movie as:- "It's 'Easy Ryder 'crossed with 'The lost boys'. It's a desert buddy movie, with the vampire theme added in there and an unbelievable cast". During the fifth season of "Dawson's Creek", Kerr Smith starred in the NBC movie "Ground Zero", an adaptation of James Mills's novel "The Seventh Power". | 
