Who Is DJ Jazzy Jeff’s Wife? Meet Lynette C. Jackson

Most people know DJ Jazzy Jeff as Will Smith’s partner in crime and hype man, and as the silly character he played on the hit 90s sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The Philadelphia-born disc jockey began spinning tracks at block parties in his hometown as a teenager. After teaming up with Smith, they made history together as the first rap act to win a Grammy award for their single “Summertime,” and were lauded for having their rap lyrics void of sex, drugs, and negative images. He remains a staple in hip-hop as a producer and artist. But behind the Hollywood lights, he’s a happily married man. Jeff wed Lynette Jackson in 2010.

Jeff and Lynette wed on the island of Jamaica after three years together. He waited until he was in his 40s to tie the knot because he wanted to do it right. While Jeff has been relatively private about his personal life, he has no problem publicly praising Lynette. 

In a 2010 interview with VIBE Magazine, Jeff opened up about his decision to marry Lynette. “I got married because it was the right time and the right thing to do. Lynette and I had been together for three years,” he said. “This is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with so we got married in Jamaica and the wedding was a really good size. It was all of our close friends and family. We did it off the radar because we just wanted it to be about family. Your wedding day is supposed to be the most important day of your life, so we wanted to share that with the most important people in our lives.”

His longtime collaborator gave him the best marital advice. “Will [Smith] was one of the main people who were there for support. One of the things that he said to me that I thought was really insightful was, ‘So many people are there to celebrate your day, that every hour or so during the ceremony you should grab your bride, sit down somewhere, and spend 10 minutes with your wife-to-be.’ It’s like a huddle [Laughs]…the two of you break and then you give yourself to your family and friends. Every hour my wife and I found each other wherever we were at and just looked at each other and said, ‘Wow, this is really great,’” he recalled.

Times for the couple haven’t always been easy. He credits Lynette for saving his life when he came down with a suspected case of COVID-19 in 2020. “I came home from my trip. I was like, ‘I feel like I’m coming down with something’ and got into bed, and I don’t remember the next 10 days,” he said during an interview, as reported by PEOPLE. “I had a temperature that reached 103. I had the chills. I lost sense of smell. I lost sense of taste.” He said initially, it was scary because Lynette “doesn’t panic, and she called me with the panic vibes.”