Which music manager's life inspired the TV story behind the series?

Benny Medina's life inspired the TV story behind The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Medina was a music executive and talent manager whose childhood and teenage years supplied the series' basic premise. He grew up in difficult circumstances in East Los Angeles, later lived with a wealthy white friend's family in Beverly Hills, and attended Beverly Hills High School. That transition from a poorer neighborhood into an affluent social world became the loose inspiration for the sitcom.

In 1989, Medina and business partner Jeff Pollack developed and marketed the idea for television. The eventual show fictionalized the details: its protagonist became Will Smith, a teenager from West Philadelphia sent to live with wealthy relatives in Bel-Air, rather than a direct version of Medina's biography.

A common mix-up is crediting Will Smith as the real-life inspiration. Smith supplied the show's star and stage persona, the Fresh Prince, but Medina supplied the central life story. The sitcom was created for television by Andy and Susan Borowitz, with Quincy Jones also playing a major producing role.