The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air: Every Main Character, Ranked By Intelligence

Like many beloved sitcoms, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air has its fair share of tropes and character types. There are nerds, jocks, airheads, and more, and even all within the series’ central Banks family at that.

As Fresh Prince chronicles the experiences of an upper class family, who are immersed in dual worlds of high culture and academia, as well as socialites and status, it becomes increasingly clear that some characters are more suited to one of these worlds over the other. Each character is intelligent in their own unique way, but very few of them can claim to be intelligent in both worlds.

10 Hilary Banks

Even though she goes on to host her own talk show, it’s hard to believe there’s much of anything when it comes to substance going on inside Hilary Banks’ head. Throughout the entire series, Hilary plays into the unfortunate sitcom stereotype of a dumb rich girl.

Incredibly spoiled and with no real skills outside of being a socialite, Hilary manages to get by on her good looks and wealth alone.

9 Jazz

Hilary more than meets her match in the airhead department when it comes to Will’s best friend, Jazz. Jazz’s entire character is essentially defined by being “the dumb one” in the friendship, and in particular, his stupidity leads to many punchlines at both his and the Bankses’ expense.

Jazz frequently misunderstands situations or makes patently obvious observations that anyone else would have taken for granted. But he’s a lovable idiot, which makes his presence as a comedic foil all the more enjoyable.

8 Nicky Banks

He may be the youngest member of the Banks family, and the youngest member of the cast on the whole, but Nicky Banks is definitely wise beyond his years.

Nicky has one of the more sarcastic and wry senses of humor in the entire series, and he’s not afraid to call the teenagers and adults out on their foolishness and their mistakes. The only reason he’s not higher on this list is how little he’s in the series to begin with.

7 Vivian Banks #2

When Aunt Vivian was recast after the series’ third season, her appearance and actress weren’t the only things that changed. The second Vivian Banks wound up having a completely different personality than the first Vivian, and as a result, a much different intelligence level, too.

Aunt Vivian #2 makes no mention of being a professor, instead concerning her entire daily life with being a socialite and obsessing over status and appearances – much like her daughter, Hilary.

6 Ashley Banks

Ashley might not be the brightest Banks sibling, but she’s certainly far above many other members of the Banks family when it comes to intelligence. She does well in school, and likewise skilled when it comes to keeping secrets about where she is actually going to school.

She’s good at coming up with plots and sneaky plans, which she learns from her cousin, Will, and she’s arguably the most emotionally mature of the Banks kids at that.

5 Will Smith

Will might not necessarily seem like a genius at first glance, at least when it comes to being booksmart. But when it comes to street smarts and social intelligence, Will knows how to work a room and find his way in and out of almost any situation.

Over the years, he also becomes more academically committed, too, more than proving he’s worth his place at Bel-Air Academy. Except for almost failing his high school music course, Will doesn’t make many missteps in the academics department, even scoring higher than Carlton on the PSAT.

4 Carlton Banks

Carlton’s lower PSAT score aside, it’s pretty difficult to find an area in which Carlton isn’t the smartest Banks child. He’s got tremendous business savvy at a very young age, and incredibly lofty career aspirations from an even younger one, declaring that he’d like to be president when he’s just a little kid.

He works his entire young adult life to try and get into Princeton, eventually succeeding after spending a couple of academic years at ULA, and following in his father’s footsteps.

3 Geoffrey Butler

Anyone who tries to pull a fast one on Geoffrey better sleep with their eyes open. It would be a mistake to think poorly of Geoffrey just because of his social status. If anything, Geoffrey, more than anyone else, has the intellectual capital of all the family’s secrets.

He also has an incredible wealth of knowledge of literature and history, as well as various other trivia, and an impressive background from his academic years in England.

2 Philip Banks

As the patriarch of the Banks family, Uncle Phil has one of the most impressive career trajectories in the series. He moves from lawyer to judge to potential political candidate all over the course of six seasons. He was also accepted into multiple Ivy League schools before choosing to attend Princeton.

He boasts a wealth of lived experience, as a result of experiencing key moments in the Civil Rights movement firsthand. He’s a man of culture, with a refined taste for opera and the finer things in life, but he doesn’t limit himself to only knowing higher culture, as he’s knowledgeable about popular culture as well.

1 Vivian Banks #1

As already discussed, the first version of Aunt Vivian as portrayed by Janet Hubert is a true force to be reckoned with. An accomplished university professor, Aunt Vivian can see through anyone’s lies before they so much as open their mouth.

She boasts a Ph.D. from UCLA, and can also lay claim to being a multi-hyphenate, with impressive singing and dancing skills. She holds her own against anyone who dares to go against her, not that many do, and she is frequently depicted as the series’ voice of reason, for very good reason.

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