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Taran Noah Smith was born on April 8, 1984. After achieving success as a young actor, he left Hollywood to pursue other interests. Although he is still well-known because of his role as Mark Taylor on the hit television series, Home Improvement, he chooses to live his life out of the spotlight and away from the stress of Hollywood.

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A Good Start

While he is most well-known for his character, Mark Taylor, on Home Improvement. He did appear in a few other roles. In 1998, he offered his voice-over talents to Little Bigfoot 2: The Journey Home. He also had a role in the movie Ebbie in 1995. Smith graduated from high school much earlier than expected and had signed up to take classes at USC, but eventually decided to not go to college. After starring in Home Improvement for almost nine years, the young actor new that Hollywood was not where he wanted to be. He had no desire to continue acting and decided to withdraw completely from the lifestyle.

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Home Improvement

From 1991 to 1999, the Home Improvement set, along with Tim Allen and the rest of the cast became Smith's second home. Over the course of those years, Smith continued to grow as an actor and was nominated for many different awards. He was repeatedly nominated for Young Artist Awards, especially in categories for children under the age of 10. In 1992, he won the Young Artist Award for Exceptional Performance by a Young Actor Under Ten for his role in the series. In 1994, he shared a Young Artist Award with his co-stars Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Zachary Ty Bryan for Outstanding Youth Ensemble in a Television Series.

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A Controversial Home Life

Smith parents, David Smith and Candy Bennici, at one point, were accused of misusing the young actor's trust fund. The trust fund was worth over $1.5 million at the time and Smith had been lead to believe that they were attempting to gain access to it for their own benefit. Smith was given control of the trust when he was 18 years old. He later realized that his parents were not attempting to gain access to his money and proceeded to repair the relationship. Smith admits that his young age and naivety when it comes to how his money was being handled led to the miscommunication. Looking back on the event, he understands that they were only trying to protect his interest and were doing what they thought was best at the time.

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Business Endeavors

The actor married Heidi Van Pelt on April 1, 2007 and divorced her six years later on February 2, 2007. The two opened a restaurant in Los Angeles in 2005. The menu was primarily vegan and offered a list of non-dairy cheese. They started their own manufacturing company called Playfood Manufacturing LLC. During their divorce, Smith was able to cut Van Pelt from the company and continues to manage it on his own. Many speculate that the 16-year age difference between Smith and Van Pelt played a large role in the ending of their marriage.

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Helping Others

Smith has many personal interests that include playing paintball and drums. Over the years, he has also developed a passion for helping others. In 2006, he was arrested during a protest to protect the South Central Farm. The farm was one of the largest urban farms and was in danger of being developed by outside corporations. He was also part of a disaster relief project in 2014, where he visited the Philippines with the group known as Communitere. Currently, he spends time teaching people how to navigate submarines as part of the Community Submersibles Project. He has achieved the classification of Technical Manager.