LL Cool J

Hip-hop artist, author, actor. Born James Todd Smith on January 14, 1968, in Bayshore, Long Island, New York. Growing up in New York City, Smith adopted the stage name LL Cool J, which stood for Ladies Love Cool James. The outgoing teen signed to Def Jam records in 1984, which was a fledgling rap label at the time, founded by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin. Still in school, Cool J released the hit "I Need a Beat" soon after, which sold more than 100,000 copies.

The young artist left school to record his debut album, Radio, which was a hugely successful mix of conventional song structure and pop-oriented rap. Music fans responded enthusiastically to the album's singles, "I Can't Live Without My Radio" and "Rock the Bells," and bought more than one million copies of the recording. He appeared as himself in the feature film Krush Groove (1985) around this time, which was a fictionalized version of the early days of Def Jam. The members of RUN D.M.C., Fat Boys, and New Edition also appeared in the film. His first speaking role was a small part in the 1986 high school football comedy, Wildcats.

By the late 1990s, LL Cool J had officially crossed over to a career as a legitimate actor. He appeared in the 1997 comedy B.A.P.S., starring Halle Berry and directed by Robert Townsend, and the 1998 horror flick Halloween H2O, with Jamie Lee Curtis. In 1999's Any Given Sunday, Cool J showed off his acting chops, taking on a supporting role across from such heavy-hitting stars as Al Pacino, Dennis Quaid, Cameron Diaz, and Jamie Foxx. Also around this time, LL Cool J wrote his autobiography, I Make My Own Rules, which was published in 1997.

Juggling his music and acting projects, LL Cool J released G.O.A.T. in 2000, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart. He then starred in the 2001 family drama, Kingdom Come, with Jada Pinkett Smith and Vivica A. Fox. Proving he was truly multi-talented, LL Cool J also authored a children's book, And the Winner Is, which was published in 2002. Still, he never abandoned his music. In 2003, he released 10, which featured a duet with Jennifer Lopez. He then released The DEFinition the following year.