<Li> Nickname by Geoffrey: "Mrs. Banks" or "Madam" </Li> <Li> Maiden Name: Smith </Li> <P> Prof. Vivian Banks (née Smith), PhD, born on October 21, 1951, was portrayed by Janet Hubert - Whitten during the first three seasons and by Daphne Maxwell Reid for the last three . She is the mother of Nicky, Ashley, Carlton and Hillary Banks; the aunt of Will Smith and the wife of Phillip Banks . She has been a retired Doctor then earned her PhD at UCLA since 1971, and in one early episode takes a temporary job as a teacher for a unit in Black History at Bel - Air Academy, the upscale preparatory high school attended by Will and Carlton, and later by Ashley . She has one older sister, Vy (Will's mother), and two younger sisters, Helen and Janice . </P> <P> Vivian's personality and role in the show changes over the run of the series . During the Janet Hubert - Whitten years, she is a no - nonsense, vocally talented, forthright, and career - minded woman who plays a part in the show equal to her husband Philip . It is revealed in the season one episode "Love at First Fight", that Vivian dropped out of high school as a teenager and worked menial jobs, before attending night school in order to get her high school diploma and enter college to work toward her PhD . </P>

Who played the mother on fresh prince of bel air