Background and career
James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to realize crossover commercial success, alongside fellow new-school hip-hop acts like Run-DMC. Signed by Def Jam Recordings in 1984, LL Cool J's breakthrough came with his 1984 single "I Need a Beat", followed by his debut studio album, Radio (1985). He achieved continued 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), concluded his contract with Def Jam; he later signed with the label once more to release his fourteenth album, The FORCE (2024). LL Cool J has appeared in several films, including Toys, Halloween H20, In Too Deep, Any Given Sunday, Deep Blue Sea, S.W.A.T., Mindhunters, Last Holiday, and Edison.
From 2009 to 2023, he played NCIS Special Agent Sam Hanna in the CBS crime drama television series NCIS: Los Angeles and reprised his role in NCIS: Hawaiʻi (2023–2024) and NCIS (2025), and NCIS: New York (2026–present). LL Cool J was also the host of Lip Sync Battle on Paramount Network. 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 "I Need Love", "Doin' It", "Loungin", "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 in the Musical Excellence category.
Early life and family James Todd Smith was born on January 14, 1968, in Bay Shore, New York, on Long Island, to Ondrea Griffith (born January 19, 1946) and James Louis Smith Jr., also known as James Nunya. His grandfather, who adopted Smith's mother, is of Barbadian descent. His 1997 memoir says his father abused his mother. According to the Chicago Tribune, "[As] a kid growing up middle class and Catholic in Queens, life for Smith was heart-breaking. His father shot his mother and grandfather, nearly killing them both. When 4-year-old Smith found them, blood was everywhere." In 1972, Smith and his mother moved into his grandparents' home in St. Albans, Queens, where he was raised. He suffered physical and mental abuse from his mother's ex-boyfriend Roscoe. Smith began rapping at the age of 10, influenced by the hip-hop group The Treacherous Three. In 1984, sixteen-year-old Smith was creating demo tapes in his grandparents' home. His grandfather, a jazz saxophonist, bought him $2,000 worth of equipment, including two turntables, an audio mixer and an amplifier.
During this time, Smith reconciled with his father who "made amends for a lot of things" by offering him guidance at the start of his music career. His mother was also supportive of his musical endeavors, using her tax refund to buy him a Korg drum machine. Smith has stated that by the time he received musical equipment from his relatives, he "was already a rapper. In this neighborhood, the kids grow up in rap. It's like speaking Spanish if you grow up in an all-Spanish house." This was at the same time that NYU student Rick Rubin and promoter-manager Russell Simmons founded the then-independent Def Jam label. By using the mixer he had received from his grandfather, Smith produced and mixed his own demos and sent them to various record companies throughout New York City, including Def Jam.
How LL Cool J makes money
Signed by Def Jam Recordings in 1984, LL Cool J's breakthrough came with his 1984 single "I Need a Beat", followed by his debut studio album, Radio (1985). His twelfth album, Exit 13 (2008), concluded his contract with Def Jam; he later signed with the label once more to release his fourteenth album, The FORCE (2024).
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth, in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
