58
Years
64
Movies
72
TV Shows
8.6
Rating
James Todd Smith, better known as LL Cool J (acronym for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip hop acts Beastie Boys and Run-DMC.
58
Years Old
64
Movies
72
TV Shows
8.6
Avg Rating
James Todd Smith, better known as LL Cool J (acronym for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip hop acts Beastie Boys and Run-DMC.
2009
James Todd Smith, better known as LL Cool J (acronym for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip hop acts Beastie Boys and Run-DMC.
Signed to Def Jam Recordings in 1984, his breakthrough came with his single "I Need a Beat" and his landmark debut album, Radio (1985). He achieved further commercial and critical success with the albums Bigger and Deffer (1987), Walking with a Panther (1989), Mama Said Knock You Out (1990), Mr. Smith (1995), and Phenomenon (1997). His twelfth album, Exit 13 (2008), was his last in his long-tenured deal with Def Jam.
A two-time Grammy Award winner, LL Cool J is known for hip hop songs such as "Going Back to Cali", "I'm Bad", "The Boomin' System", "Rock the Bells", and "Mama Said Knock You Out", as well as R&B hits such as "Doin' It", "I Need Love", "Around the Way Girl" and "Hey Lover". In 2010, VH1 placed him on their "100 Greatest Artists Of All Time" list. In 2017, LL Cool J became the first rapper to receive the Kennedy Center Honors. In 2021, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with an award for Musical Excellence.
While he first appeared as a rapper in the movie Krush Groove (performing "I Can't Live Without My Radio"), his first acting part was a small role in a high school football movie called Wildcats. He continued to work in movies from then until 1995 when he landed his own television sitcom, In the House (1995-2000).
He has appeared in numerous films, including Last Holiday, Edison, Mindhunters, S.W.A.T., Deliver Us from Eva, Rollerball, Charlie's Angels, In Too Deep, Any Given Sunday, Deep Blue Sea, Halloween H20, B.A.P.S., Toys, and The Hard Way.
In 2005, he returned to television in a guest starring role on the FOX medical drama House. He also guest starred on 30 Rock in 2007, and on Sesame Street 's 39th season where he introduced the word of the day, "Unanimous” and performed "The Addition Expedition" in episode 4172 (Sept. 30, 2008).
As of 2011, he stars as Special Agent Sam Hanna on CBS's police procedural NCIS: L.A., a spin-off of NCIS. He was also the host of MTV's Lip Sync Battle.
Gender
Male
Birthday
January 14, 1968
Birthplace
Bay Shore, Long Island, New York, USA
Also Known As
The Man
2007
Charlie's Angels
2000
Last Holiday
2006
ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway
2007
Deep Blue Sea
1999
S.W.A.T.
2003
Mindhunters
2004
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
1998
Any Given Sunday
1999
Hype Williams: The Videos Vol. 1
2002
One World: Together at Home
2020
In Too Deep
1999
Edison
2005
Slow Burn
2005
Toys
1992
Grudge Match
2013
Rollerball
2002
Beef
2003
Henry Louis Gates Jr.: Uncovering America
2019
Comin' Up Short
2024
+ 44 more movies
NCIS
2003
House
2004
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2009
The Daily Show
1996
American Dad!
2005
Late Night with Seth Meyers
2014
Hawaii Five-0
2010
The Kelly Clarkson Show
2019
Conan
2010
NCIS: Los Angeles
2009
30 Rock
2006
Saturday Night Live
1975
The Late Late Show with James Corden
2015
The View
1997
Project Runway
2004
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
1993
Oz
1997
The Jennifer Hudson Show
2022
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2003
Hot Ones
2015
+ 52 more TV shows