Will Smith wins first Oscar for tenacious father in 'King Richard'

Will Smith won his first Academy Award on Sunday, capturing the best actor honor for his portrayal of Richard Williams, the determined father who raised tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams, in "King Richard."

Smith, 53, one of Hollywood's most bankable stars, had been nominated twice before, for 2001's "Ali" and 2006 movie "The Pursuit of Happyness."
 

This time, he depicted Richard Williams and his unconventional strategy for elevating his daughters from a municipal park in a hardscrabble Los Angeles neighborhood to Centre Court at Wimbledon.
 

Smith shot to fame in the 1990s in the television sitcom "The Fresh