Jan Smit was born on 31th of December 1985 in Volendam, The Netherlands as the son of Gerda and Ruud Smit. He started his career very early at the age of 10 when he was asked to sing a song with Carola Smit from the musicgroup BZN from Volendam. He has 2 sisters named Monique, who is also a known artist in the Netherlands, and Jenny, who used to work as a kindergarten teacher. He left school at the age of 16 to focus on his musical career what was already big in Germany. There he won a prestigious award together with an Austrian singer named Oswald Sattler, the Grand Prix der volksmusik. They chose Germany because of the lack of an age limit. For a while it became quiet around him and at the age of 17 he changed his choice of music and started to work with the famous writers Cees Tol and Thomas Tol. A few years later he starts to write by himself, together with good friend Simon Keizer, who now made name as a singer himself. Together with Nick Schilder, Simon forms a group named Nick & Simon. At the age of 20 he get's his own reality soap on the Dutch TV where he gets the biggest award in the Netherlands, De gouden televisierring. This was in 2005. It ran for a few seasons. He comes more and more on television with "De Zomer Voorbij", "Tros muziekfeest op het plein". On "De Zomer Voorbij" he went with his friends Nick & Simon and the 3 J's on a holiday and invited other friends from the business. And had a very musical time in Spain, Greece and France. In 2007 he had problems with his voice and had an operation and was after that out for a year. In that year he got engaged to Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen, now the wive of soccerplayer Wesley Sneyder. He's also bonded with soccerclub FC Volendam, again together with Nick & Simon and the 3 J's. They are there known as the VoTown all Stars. In 2010 he starts a relationship with the few years older village member Liza Plat who is in a divorce. She has a daughter named Fem. When they marry he becomes her stepfather. Shortly after their wedding she gives birth to her second child, a girl named Emma. This is the first child for jan Smit. They got a 3th child in 2013, a boy named Senn. In 2012 he get's the lead in his first film: "Het bombardement". A movie that takes place in World War 2. In 2013 he makes a comeback in Germany with a new German Cd named "Bleiben wie du bist". And it's a very big hit.