LL Cool J Biography (1968-)

Name an abbreviation of "Ladies Love Cool James"; original name, James Todd Smith; born January 14, 1968, in St. Alban's, Queens, New York, NY (some sources say Bayshore, NY); son of Jimmy Nunya; married Simone Johnson (some sources spell name Symone), August, 1995; children: Najee, Italia, Samaria Leah Wisdom, Nina Symone Beautiful. Addresses: Agent: William Morris Agency, 151 El Camino Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90212-2775.; Publicist: PMK/HBH, 8500 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 700, Beverly Hills, CA 90211.; Contact: c/o Def Jam, 825 Eighth Ave., New York, NY 10019; Bad Boy Entertainment, 3311 Kensington Ave.,Philadelphia, PA 19134-1401.

Nationality: American
Gender: Male
Occupation: Actor, rapper
Birth Details: January 14, 1968; New York, New York, United States

Famous Works

CREDITS
Film Appearances
Himself, Krush Groove, Warner Bros., 1985
Rapper, Wildcats (also known as First and Goal), Warner Bros., 1986
Detective Billy (New York Police Department), The Hard Way, Universal, 1991
Captain Patrick Zevo, Toys, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1992
Jason St. Julian, Out-of-Sync, LIVE Entertainment, 1995
Himself, B*A*P*S (also known as B.A.P.S.), New Line Cinema,1997
Himself, Touch, United Artists, 1997
Darryl, Woo, New Line Cinema, 1998
Roger, Caught Up, Live Film & Mediaworks, 1998
Ronny Jones (campus security), Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (alsoknown as Halloween H20 and Halloween: H20 (20 Years Later)), Dimension, 1998
Dwayne Gittens/God, In Too Deep, 1999
Julian "J-Man" Washington (number 33), Any Given Sunday, Warner Bros., 1999
Sherman "Preacher" Dudley, Deep Blue Sea, Warner Bros., 1999
Mr. Jones, Charlie's Angels (also known as 3 Engel fuer Charlie), Columbia, 2000
Ray Bud Slocumb, Kingdom Come, Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2001
Gabe, Mindhunters, Dimension, 2002
Marcus Ridley, Rollerball, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 2002
Deliver Us from Eva, USA Films, 2002
Television Appearances
Series
Marion Hill, In the House, NBC, 1995-1996 then UPN, 1996-1999
Miniseries
Himself, Say It Loud: A Celebration of Black Music in America, VH1, 2001
Movies
Charles Red Taylor, The Right to Remain Silent, Showtime, 1996
Specials
Himself, History of Rap (documentary), MTV, 1991
Himself, MTV Unplugged, MTV, 1991
Himself (archive footage), It's Black Entertainment, Showtime, 2000
Appeared in an HBO special, 1993.
Awards Presentations

Himself, MTV Video Music Awards 1991, MTV, 1991
Presenter, 1993 MTV Movie Awards, MTV, 1993
Host (with others), 28th Annual American Music Awards, 2001
Episodic
The Arsenio Hall Show, syndicated, 1993
Himself, Mad TV, Fox, c. 1995
Host, Mad TV, Fox, c. 1997
Himself, The Howard Stern Show, E! Entertainment Television, 1997
#98W504 Jiggy Walker, "Strange Bedfellows," Oz, HBO, 1998
Himself, Clive Anderson, BBC, 1999
Himself, The Real World/Road Rules Extreme Challenge, MTV, 2001
Himself, WWF Smackdown!, UPN, 2002
Appeared as Marion, Ned and Stacey, Fox; also appeared in Friday Night Videos, NBC; MTV News, MTV; Soul Train, syndicated;and Yo! MTV Raps, MTV.
Music Videos
Appeared in music videos, including "Mama Said Knock You Out." Appeared in the music videos of others, including "Curious," by LSG, "Get Ur Freak On,"Missy Elliot, "It's So Hard," by Big Punisher, and "Thong Song," by Sisqo.
Radio Appearances
Episodic
Himself, The Howard Stern Show, 1997
RECORDINGS
Albums
Radio, Def Jam, 1985
Bigger and Deffer, Def Jam, 1987
Walking with a Panther, Def Jam, 1989
Mama Said Knock You Out, Def Jam, 1990
14 Shots to the Dome, Def Jam, 1993
Mr. Smith, Def Jam, 1995
All Change, Def Jam, 1996
Phenomenon, Def Jam, 1997
GOAT featuring James T. Smith (Greatest Hits of All Time), 2000
Singles
"I Need a Beat," Def Jam, 1984
"I'm Bad," 1987
"I Need Love," 1987
"Going back to Cali," c. 1989
"Around the Way Girl," 1990
"Hey Lover," 1996
Other singles include "Boomin' System," "Doin' It," "4, 3, 2, 1," "I Can't Live without My Radio," "I'm That Type of Guy," "Jingling Baby," "Mama SaidKnock You Out," "Phenomenon," "Pink Cookies in a Plastic Bag Being Crushed by Buildings," "Rock the Bells!" and "Stand by Your Man."
WRITINGS
Film Music
Songs
"I Can't Live without My Radio," Krush Groove, Warner Bros., 1985
"Going back to Cali," Less Than Zero, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1987
"I'm Bad," Driving Me Crazy, First Run, 1988
"Boomin' System," Class Act, Warner Bros., 1992
"Mama Said Knock You Out," Bebe's Kids (animated), Paramount, 1992
"Mama Said Knock You Out," Encino Man, Buena Vista, 1992
"Mama Said Knock You Out," Gladiator, Columbia, 1992
Nonfiction
(With Karen Hunter) I Make My Own Rules, St. Martin's Press (New York City), 1997

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Books

Contemporary Black Biography, Volume 16, Gale, 1997
Contemporary Musicians, Volume 5, Gale, 1991
Newsmakers 1998, Issue 2, Gale, 1998

Periodicals

Billboard, May 1, 1993, p. 18
Essence, February, 1996, p. 73
Jet, October 9, 1995, p. 40; September 22, 1997, p. 37; October 16, 2000, p. 60; December 11, 2000, p. 30

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