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Happy birthday, Willow Smith! 12 reasons why she’s cooler than most of us

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Willow Smith sighting on December 5, 2011 in New York City.Alo Ceballos/FilmMagic

It seems like Willow Smith should be about 25! But Will and Jada's daughter will only be turning 12 years old on October 31. In honor of her birthday, here's a look at a dozen ways that, in her short life, Willow's proven herself to be way cooler than most of us.

1. "Whip My Hair" was huge! Even if you didn't like the tween singer's first song — and that's a big if — you probably couldn't get it out of your head after it was released in October 2010. The song eventually landed at No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Not a bad debut for someone just turning 10, right?

2. The youngest member of the Smith family signed with Jay-Z's record label, Roc Nation, and was so unimpressed with the uber-cool hip-hop mogul during their first meeting that she fell asleep. "When I met with him [Jay-Z] in Japan I was so tired, because I was hanging out the night before, and had been dancing and having fun and I didn't know we had to meet Jay-Z that next morning," she revealed to BBC's Radio 1. "I went to sleep at, like, 4 a.m., and I fell asleep in the meeting!" Luckily, Willow was wearing sunglasses and her parents and Jay, who were discussing business details, were none the wiser.

3. She currently has 2,843,689 followers on Twitter, which is more than Queen Rania of Jordan, Yoko Ono, or even Kardashian matriarch Kris Jenner.

4. Willow is not only pals with 18-year-old pop star Justin Bieber (a good friend of her brother Jaden's), but she also has battled him in a war of pranks, and performed with him at concerts. The two even had a dance off doing the The Dougie!

5. She's performed for the first family at the White House during the 2011 Easter bash. However, that was nothing compared to the time she took the stage at that year's Grammys, when she wasn't sitting on the lap of fellow artist Lady Gaga.

6. Speaking of Gaga, the Mother Monster once revealed that Willow inspires her! "I actually know Will and I love Willow," Gaga told Jay Leno on his talk show in 2011. "And I actually told her that she inspired me to whip my hair back and forth on stage."

7. In the studio, Willow convinced the spotlight-loving Nicki Minaj to take the "featuring" part in Willow's song. Though "Fireball" wasn't a hit, at least she got to work with Minaj.

8. Even at her young age, the singer's all about giving back, particularly by supporting charities that help kids. Mom Jada credited Willow with motivating her to begin working with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to end human trafficking and sex slavery. "[Willow] did her own research and realized that there were young girls her age in this country being trafficked for sex," Pinkett Smith recalled to USA Today in June. "She was like, 'Mommy — you don't know what's happening! … I've got to give my voice to this. These young girls out there need me.'"

9. The girl is a trendsetter! Whether she's rocking animal prints to a movie premiere, long braids in the "Whip My Hair" video, or $690 sneakers, Willow is always on point. She even tracks the street looks she loves on a Tumblr that's all about fashion.

10. Even Willow's dog has mad style. Earlier this month, she was seen taking her pink-haired pooch for a stroll in L.A.

11. When she does anything, people pay attention. Willow, who's officially released just a handful of songs, made news this month simply by posting a homemade video of herself singing Adele's "Skyfall" for the upcoming James Bond film.

12. So far, Willow's acting credits are limited to just a few films, half of which is voice-over work, but she's set to star in an update of the 1982 movie "Annie," produced by her famous father and featuring music written by Jay-Z. Sounds like her star is going to continue to rise!

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