120 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Trivia Questions & Answers

Ready to make one little quiz night feel delightfully upside down?

These Fresh Prince of Bel-Air trivia questions cover all six seasons of the original sitcom, with spoilers through the 1996 finale.

From West Philadelphia to Bel-Air

Start where Will’s taxi ride ends, with the premise, cast, and household that launched the comedy.

1. From which Philadelphia neighborhood does Will come?
   Answer: West Philadelphia.
2. Why does Will’s mother send him to Bel-Air?
   Answer: A fight on a basketball court makes her fear for his safety.
3. Which actor plays the fictionalized Will Smith?
   Answer: Will Smith.
4. What are Will’s wealthy California relatives called?
   Answer: The Banks family.
5. Who plays Will’s stern but loving uncle, Philip Banks?
   Answer: James Avery.
6. Who originally plays Vivian Banks?
   Answer: Janet Hubert.
7. Which actor takes over the role of Vivian beginning in season four?
   Answer: Daphne Maxwell Reid.
8. Who plays Carlton Banks?
   Answer: Alfonso Ribeiro.
9. Who plays Hilary Banks?
   Answer: Karyn Parsons.
10. Who plays Ashley Banks?
    Answer: Tatyana Ali.
11. Who plays the Banks family butler, Geoffrey?
    Answer: Joseph Marcell.
12. What city contains the Bel-Air neighborhood?
    Answer: Los Angeles.
13. What is Will’s relationship to Vivian Banks?
    Answer: She is his maternal aunt.
14. On which network did the sitcom originally air?
    Answer: NBC.
15. How many seasons did the original sitcom run?
    Answer: Six seasons.

Meet the Banks Family

This round keeps it in the family, from Uncle Phil’s courtroom career to Ashley’s growing pains.

16. What is Uncle Phil’s profession at the start of the series?
    Answer: He is an attorney.
17. What judicial office does Philip later win?
    Answer: Judge.
18. What is Vivian’s academic profession early in the series?
    Answer: She is a university professor.
19. Which Banks child is the oldest?
    Answer: Hilary.
20. Which Banks child is closest to Will’s age?
    Answer: Carlton.
21. Which Banks child is the youngest when the series begins?
    Answer: Ashley.
22. What is the name of the baby born to Philip and Vivian?
    Answer: Nicholas “Nicky” Banks.
23. Who plays young Nicky Banks beginning in season five?
    Answer: Ross Bagley.
24. What dance is Carlton famous for performing?
    Answer: The Carlton dance.
25. Which Tom Jones song usually accompanies Carlton’s signature dance?
    Answer: “It’s Not Unusual.”
26. Which family member dreams of a career in show business?
    Answer: Hilary.
27. What on-air job does Hilary eventually land?
    Answer: Television weather presenter.
28. What nickname does Will commonly use for Philip?
    Answer: Uncle Phil.
29. What does Geoffrey often call Philip and Vivian?
    Answer: Mr. Banks and Mrs. Banks.
30. Which Banks child begins pursuing music as a teenager?
    Answer: Ashley.

Jazz, School, and the Bel-Air Circle

Friends, classmates, rivals, and neighbors all get a turn by the pool.

31. What is Will’s best friend’s name?
    Answer: Jazz.
32. Who plays Jazz?
    Answer: DJ Jazzy Jeff.
33. What usually happens when Uncle Phil loses patience with Jazz?
    Answer: Jazz is thrown out of the house.
34. What visual gag often accompanies Jazz being thrown out?
    Answer: The same exterior shot and outfit are reused.
35. Which private school do Will and Carlton attend?
    Answer: Bel-Air Academy.
36. What is the school mascot at Bel-Air Academy?
    Answer: The peacock.
37. Who is Will’s recurring school rival and occasional friend?
    Answer: Kellogg “Cornflake” Lieberbaum.
38. What nickname does Will give his cousin Carlton?
    Answer: C.
39. Which friend does Hilary often treat dismissively despite his devotion to her?
    Answer: Jazz.
40. Who is Tyriq Johnson?
    Answer: One of Will’s friends from Bel-Air Academy.
41. Which sport do Will and Carlton both play at school?
    Answer: Basketball.
42. What college do Will and Carlton attend?
    Answer: The University of Los Angeles.
43. What student organization does Carlton eagerly try to join?
    Answer: A fraternity.
44. What is the name of Will’s friend from Philadelphia who visits and stirs up old habits?
    Answer: Ice Tray.
45. Which recurring character is known for the catchphrase “Bam!”?
    Answer: Tyriq.

Classic Episodes and Big Feelings

The show could land a punchline and a serious moment in the very same scene.

46. What valuable lesson does Will learn after taking speed to stay awake?
    Answer: Stimulant misuse can have dangerous consequences.
47. Who accidentally takes the pills Will hid in his locker?
    Answer: Carlton.
48. In “Papa’s Got a Brand New Excuse,” who returns to Will’s life?
    Answer: His father, Lou.
49. What does Lou do after promising Will a trip?
    Answer: He abandons him again.
50. Who comforts Will after Lou leaves?
    Answer: Uncle Phil.
51. What question does Will tearfully ask about his father?
    Answer: “How come he don’t want me, man?”
52. In “Bullets Over Bel-Air,” who is shot during an ATM robbery?
    Answer: Will.
53. How does Carlton react to Will’s shooting?
    Answer: He buys a gun for protection.
54. What does Will demand that Carlton do with the gun?
    Answer: Hand it over.
55. Which Banks family member suffers a heart attack during a family ski trip?
    Answer: Uncle Phil.
56. What happens to the Banks family’s home in the season five earthquake episode?
    Answer: It is damaged during the earthquake.
57. Which cousin becomes trapped with Will during the earthquake?
    Answer: Hilary.
58. What social movement shaped Philip and Vivian’s younger years?
    Answer: The civil rights movement.
59. What does Carlton learn after being rejected by a Black fraternity?
    Answer: Success does not shield him from judgments about identity.
60. Which episode centers on racial profiling during a traffic stop?
    Answer: “Mistaken Identity.”

Love, Dates, and Wedding Bells

Will’s charm stays busy, while the rest of the family has romances of its own.

61. Who is Will’s long-term girlfriend who later becomes his fiancée?
    Answer: Lisa Wilkes.
62. Who plays Lisa Wilkes?
    Answer: Nia Long.
63. Where do Will and Lisa first meet?
    Answer: At a college party.
64. What fear does Will confront while dating Lisa?
    Answer: His fear of commitment.
65. Do Will and Lisa ultimately marry?
    Answer: No, their wedding is called off.
66. What unexpected romance follows the canceled wedding?
    Answer: Will’s mother and Lisa’s father become engaged.
67. What is Will’s mother’s name?
    Answer: Viola “Vy” Smith.
68. Which of Will’s aunts is known for her warmth and big personality?
    Answer: Aunt Helen.
69. Who is Hilary’s news-anchor fiancé?
    Answer: Trevor Collins-Newsworthy.
70. How does Trevor die?
    Answer: A bungee-jump proposal goes tragically wrong.
71. Where is Trevor when he attempts to propose to Hilary?
    Answer: Live on television during a bungee jump.
72. Which woman does Carlton marry in a mistaken wedding ceremony?
    Answer: Cindy.
73. What discovery ends Carlton’s brief marriage to Cindy?
    Answer: She is already married.
74. Which famous model plays Will’s girlfriend Jackie?
    Answer: Tyra Banks.
75. How does Jackie know Will before Bel-Air?
    Answer: They grew up together in Philadelphia.

Jobs, Schemes, and Bel-Air Adventures

Cue the questionable plans, temporary careers, and consequences that arrive right on schedule.

76. What is the name of the Banks family’s dignified English butler?
    Answer: Geoffrey Butler.
77. What fast-food restaurant hires Will and Carlton?
    Answer: The Peacock Stop.
78. What job does Will take at a record store?
    Answer: Sales clerk.
79. What happens when Will manages Ashley’s singing career?
    Answer: His pushiness strains their relationship.
80. What is the title of Ashley’s first single?
    Answer: “Make Up Your Mind.”
81. Which household employee briefly quits after winning the lottery?
    Answer: Geoffrey.
82. What does Geoffrey discover about his supposed lottery win?
    Answer: The ticket was part of a cruel prank.
83. What secret does Geoffrey learn about his past in England?
    Answer: He once cheated in a marathon.
84. What does Carlton do on the televised game show “Double Trouble”?
    Answer: He competes alongside Will.
85. What Las Vegas activity gets Will and Carlton into trouble?
    Answer: Gambling.
86. What does Will pawn during a trip to Nevada?
    Answer: His airline ticket home.
87. What kind of program does Hilary eventually host?
    Answer: A television talk show.
88. What does Will do when he becomes a student talent manager?
    Answer: He tries to manage Ashley’s music career.
89. Who created The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?
    Answer: Andy Borowitz and Susan Borowitz.
90. Which music producer served as an executive producer?
    Answer: Quincy Jones.

Guest Stars and Behind-the-Scenes Facts

These questions step just outside the mansion for performers, production, and famous cameos.

91. Who performs the theme song?
    Answer: DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince.
92. Who wrote the theme-song lyrics?
    Answer: Will Smith.
93. Which city’s story is narrated in the opening theme?
    Answer: Philadelphia.
94. What vehicle carries Will from the airport in the opening credits?
    Answer: A taxi.
95. What unusual decoration is visible inside the opening-credit taxi?
    Answer: Fuzzy dice.
96. What year did the sitcom premiere?
    Answer: 1990.
97. What year did the original run end?
    Answer: 1996.
98. How many episodes were produced?
    Answer: 148 episodes.
99. Which actor from the cast was already Will Smith’s real-life music partner?
    Answer: DJ Jazzy Jeff.
100. Which cast member later released the hit song “Daydreamin’”?
     Answer: Tatyana Ali.
101. Which performer directed the pilot episode?
     Answer: Debbie Allen.
102. Which actor voices Shredder in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon and plays Uncle Phil?
     Answer: James Avery.
103. Which actor plays Will’s father, Lou Smith?
     Answer: Ben Vereen.
104. Which comedian plays Lisa’s father, Fred Wilkes?
     Answer: John Amos.
105. Which talk-show host appears as himself in “The Philadelphia Story”?
     Answer: Dick Clark.

Final-Season Farewells and Deep Cuts

Spoilers ahead for the final season and the Banks family’s last days in the mansion.

106. Why does the Banks family put its mansion on the market in the finale?
     Answer: Philip and Vivian plan to move east.
107. Where do Philip and Vivian plan to relocate?
     Answer: New York.
108. Which famous sitcom couple tours the mansion as possible buyers?
     Answer: George and Louise Jefferson.
109. Where is Hilary moving at the end of the series?
     Answer: New York, for her television career.
110. What does Ashley plan to do in the finale?
     Answer: Move to New York with Hilary and pursue school and performing.
111. Which family member has not secured a clear next step when the mansion empties?
     Answer: Will.
112. Which actors reprise George and Louise Jefferson in the finale?
     Answer: Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford.
113. What does Will promise to do after everyone leaves?
     Answer: Finish college and find his own path.
114. What happens to Geoffrey at the end of the series?
     Answer: He returns to England.
115. What is the title of the two-part series finale?
     Answer: “I, Done.”
116. Which executive producer appears as a taxi driver in the finale?
     Answer: Quincy Jones.
117. Which Diff’rent Strokes characters also tour the mansion?
     Answer: Arnold and Mr. Drummond.
118. Who is the final main character shown leaving the empty house?
     Answer: Will.
119. What does Will do before walking out for the last time?
     Answer: He looks around the empty home and turns off the lights.
120. What fictional television series is this quiz explicitly excluding?
     Answer: The dramatic reimagining Bel-Air.

Keep the game going with 90s trivia, TV show trivia, Friends trivia, and Seinfeld trivia.

Sources and Further Reading

• Television Academy Interviews: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
• Television Academy biography of James Avery
• Warner Bros. studio tour feature on the Fresh Prince reunion
• Peacock guide distinguishing Bel-Air from the original sitcom