LL Cool J
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
134
Gender
Male
Birthday
1968-01-14 (57 years old)
Place of Birth
Bay Shore, Long Island, New York, USA
LL Cool J
Biography
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.
Known For
NCIS
House
The Daily Show
American Dad!
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Hawaii Five-0
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Conan
NCIS: Los Angeles
Saturday Night Live
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
30 Rock
The Late Late Show with James Corden
Project Runway
The Jennifer Hudson Show
Hot Ones
The View
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
American Idol
Oz
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
The Tyra Banks Show
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
MTV Video Music Awards
MTV Video Music Awards
The Tony Danza Show
Lip Sync Battle
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
Finding Your Roots
WWE SmackDown
NCIS: Hawaiʻi
The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles
Charlie's Angels
So You Think You Can Dance
Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest
Kids' Choice Awards
2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
MTV Europe Music Awards
The Frank Skinner Show
The $100,000 Pyramid
Desus & Mero
Last Holiday
S.W.A.T.
Entertainment Tonight
MTV Unplugged
Mindhunters
In the House
Deep Blue Sea
The Chris Rock Show
Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life - An All-Star Grammy Salute
The Show
Stans
Wildcats
Rachael Ray
The Adventures of Pete & Pete
Kingdom Come
Toys
The Man
Beef
Slow Burn
The Deal
Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party
Today
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
Any Given Sunday
Woo
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
Rollerball
Touch
Q85: A Musical Celebration for Quincy Jones
Deliver Us from Eva
Last Call with Carson Daly
Grudge Match
WWII in HD
How Bruce Lee Changed the World
Edison
106 & Park
Payback
The Right to Remain Silent
B.A.P.S
In Too Deep
SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)
Quincy Jones | Music Man
The Early Show
ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway
2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Shut Up and Dribble
Yo! MTV Raps
Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music
Clive Anderson All Talk
Krush Groove
The Hard Way
One World: Together at Home
Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell
DJ Cinema Presents: Masterpiece Theater Blend Dvd
Caught Up
Comin' Up Short
Out-of-Sync
A Home for the Holidays: The 20th Anniversary
MADtv
MADtv
NCISverse: The First 1,000
Spike TV VGA Video Game Awards
Jimmy Fallon's Holiday Seasoning Spectacular
Greatest Hits
Hype Williams: The Videos Vol. 1
Big Fun in the Big Town
They Call Me Magic
Hip Hop Was Born Here
You're Watching Video Music Box
Supreme Team
Superfan
Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World
Ricky Powell: The Individualist
Fat Joe Talks
A Hip Hop Minute
James Brown: Say It Loud
Henry Louis Gates Jr.: Uncovering America
LL Cool J Presents The Rock the Bells Festival Celebrating 50 Years of Hip Hop
The Grammys
Teen Choice Awards
Teen Choice Awards
Hip Hop Treasures
Whitney Houston: We Will Always Love You
Mayweather
Sinatra 100: An All-Star Grammy Concert
Yo! The Story of ‘Yo! MTV Raps’
It's Black Entertainment
A GRAMMY Salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop
MVP: Most Valuable Performer
Simply Mad About the Mouse
Rapmania: The Roots of Rap
Future Of The Funk
