LL Cool J was born James Todd Smith on January 14, 1968 in Bay Shore, Long Island to James and Ondrea Smith. Todd, as he was called, did not have a happy childhood. At four, he saw his mother and grandfather suffering from gunshot wounds caused by his own father. After his grandfather and mother finally recovered from the injuries, Todd’s mother began to date a young physical therapist. This man, for years, physically and verbally abused Todd. This caused Todd to be a bully himself.

It was during this time that Todd started wearing hats all the time (one of LL Cool J’s trademarks). As Todd grew older, at nine, he found a way to escape the effects of his abuse and his bullying attitude — rap music. At the age of 11, he was writing lyrics and making his own songs with some DJ equipment his grandfather gave him. At 15, Todd and one of his best friends came up with his present stage name, LL Cool J, which is an acronym for ‘Ladies Love Cool James.’

In 1984, when LL was 16, he met a man named Rick Rubin who gave him a big break in music. Rick really liked LL’s music and he decided to try to get him a record deal.

Together, they made the single, “I Need a Beat” and sent to a record manager named Russell Simmons. Russell loved the single, and in 1985, Rick and Russell created the infamous Def Jam record company, and LL’s album was the first to be released from that company. Even today, LL is considered one of Def Jam’s most prized possessions.

LL’s first album, ‘Radio’ was released in 1985 and this was also the year LL started his acting career. LL first starred in the movie ‘Krush Groove’. LL had a cameo appearance in the film and he was also used as an extra. In 1986, LL also had a cameo appearance in the movie ‘Wildcats’ and he made the theme song for that movie.

LL’s music career took off, and after every single one of his albums hit platinum selling status, he was (and still is) regarded as one of the greatest hip hop singers of all time.

LL married his long time sweetheart Symone Smith in August 1995. He has four children.

His first starring role was in ‘Out of Sync’ did not do very well but made the producers interested in giving LL a role in a sitcom — ‘In the House’ — which truly showed LL’s acting ability. The show stayed on the air from 1995 to 1999.

His big break in film came in 1998 when he was in the movie ‘Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later’. After this film, LL was given bigger and better film roles. In 2000 he won a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for the best-supporting actor for ‘Deep Blue Sea’. In 1998, he was planning to retire from rap and just concentrate on his film career, but he later decided to keep pursing both talents.

LL Cool J gave action films a shot with ‘Charlie’s Angels’ (2000). LL Cool J notched his first romantic comedy lead and took another step away from his musical past by billing himself under his real name. He added his voice to the animated ‘Rugrats Go Wild’ (2003). Further bolstering his action movie credits, he then joined the multicultural cast of Samuel L Jackson’s elite police squad in the summer popcorn movie ‘SWAT’ (2003).