Simon Cowell

Biography: An English A&R; executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain?s Got Talent and American Idol. He is also the owner of the television production and music publishing house Syco.

As a judge, Cowell is known for his blunt and often controversial criticisms, insults and wisecracks about contestants and their abilities. He is also known for combining activities in the television and music industries, having promoted singles and records for various artists, including television personalities. He was most recently featured on the seventh series of The X Factor and the fifth series of Britain?s Got Talent. In September 2011, he will feature as a judge on the first season of the American version of The X Factor.

In 2010, the British magazine New Statesman listed Cowell at number 41 in a list of "The World?s 50 Most Influential Figures 2010".

Cowell was born in Lambeth, London and brought up in Elstree, Hertfordshire. His father, Eric Philip Cowell (1918?1999), was an estate agent developer and music industry executive; his mother, Julie Brett (née Josie Dalglish), is a former ballet dancer and socialite. He has one brother and three half-brothers.

Cowell attended Radlett Preparatory School and the independent Dover College as did his brother, but left after taking GCE O levels. He passed in English Language and Literature and then attended Windsor Technical College where he gained another GCE in Sociology. At the age of 17, he dated model Paula Hamilton. Cowell took a few menial jobs?including, according to Tony, working as a runner on Stanley Kubrick?s The Shining?but did not get along well with colleagues and bosses, until his father who was executive at the recording giant EMI Music Publishing, managed to get him a job in the mail room.

Cowell?s father?s connections originally got him rehired as the assistant to an A&R; man. From there onwards, Simon worked his way up and eventually got promoted to a music publishing position but left during the early 1980s to form E&S; Music with his boss at EMI, Ellis Rich (later Chairman of the Performing Right Society). The company had several hit records at one point with five singles in the UK top 40. The offices were in a converted gentleman?s washroom in the NCP car park on Brewer Street in London?s Soho district. Cowell left by mutual agreement a few years later. He worked for Iain Burton, manager of choreographer Arlene Phillips, co-founder of dance group Hot Gossip and of nascent independent record label Fanfare Records. Cowell worked with Burton for eight years at Fanfare where he achieved his first real success in the music industry, becoming a partner and building Fanfare into a highly successful ?indie? pop label. Fanfare had numerous top ten hits with various pop artists and particularly Sinitta, selling more than 500,000 copies of her debut single "So Macho", and more than 500,000 copies of her album Rondo Veneziano.

In 1989, Fanfare?s parent, Public Company, found itself in difficulties, forcing Fanfare into the hands of BMG, and an in-debt Cowell was forced to move back in with his parents. Later that year, he became an A&R; consultant for BMG.

Subsequently, Cowell signed up a number of acts to S-Records that became successful, including Curiosity Killed the Cat, Sonia, Five, Westlife, Robson & Jerome, and Ultimate Kaos. He also released several novelty recordings featuring the likes of wrestlers of the World Wrestling Entertainment, Teletubbies, Zig and Zag and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, that were huge successes. Cowell set up another label, Syco Music, in 2002 which later became part of Columbia Records and Sony BMG Music Entertainment. Artists such as Leona Lewis, Il Divo and contestants from The X Factor and America?s Got Talent are released on Syco.

In 2006, Cowell signed to two more record-breaking deals. In the USA, he agreed to remain as a judge on American Idol, earning £20 million (US$33 million) per season for another five years. He also has a deal with FOX which allows his production company to broadcast Got Talent and American Inventor on other networks, but he may not appear on them. In the UK, he signed a "golden handcuffs" deal with ITV, worth approximately £6.5 million a year for three years, which gave ITV rights to his talent show The X Factor, a British singing talent show, and Grease Is the Word, a musical talent show to find the stars of a Grease production in London?s West End. In late 2005, he signed a new contract to remain working for Sony BMG.

In 2010, Cowell finalised a deal which secures the long-term business future of Syco with Sony Music Entertainment. The deal will also saw him launching a US version of X Factor on 21 September 2011.

In late 2002, Cowell started dating longtime friend Terri Seymour. In November 2008, TV Guide reported that Cowell and Seymour had since broken up.

Cowell is the godfather of pop singer Sinitta?s adopted children.

Cowell became engaged to make up artist Mezhgan Hussainy in February 2010. They met on the set of American Idol. However, the engagement was off by September 2011.

Upon his appearance on Top Gear, it was revealed that Cowell pays more than £21.7m per year in income tax, suggesting that his taxable income is over £54.25m per year with income tax at the time approximately 40%. Cowell was estimated to have a fortune of £200 million in the Sunday Times Rich List of 2011, making him the sixth richest person in the British music industry.

He has admitted to using Botox.

Cowell has a $22 million, 11,550 sq ft (1,073 m2) home in Beverly Hills