Simon Cowell was born on October 7, 1959, in London, England. Cowell started his career in the music industry working in the mailroom at EMI Music Publishing. He worked as a record producer, talent scout and consultant within the music industry before producing the hit British TV show Pop Idol and its U.S. counterpart, American Idol. Cowell's scathing comments were famous during his 10 seasons as a judge on American Idol. He started judging The X Factor in 2011.
QUICK FACTS: OCCUPATION: Music Producer, Reality Television Star
BIRTH DATE: October 07, 1959 (Age: 53) EDUCATION: Dover College
PLACE OF BIRTH: London, United Kingdom FULL NAME: Simon Phillip Cowell, ZODIAC SIGN: Libra
Early Career:
Simon Phillip Cowell was born on October 7, 1959 in London, England. His father, Eric Philip Cowell, was an estate agent developer and music industry executive. His mother, Julie Brett, was a former ballet dancer and socialite.
Cowell attended school at Dover College, but dropped out at 16. He floated in and out of jobs, sabotaging several interviews for jobs set up by his father. He finally landed a job at his father's company as a mailroom clerk at EMI Music Publishing. He managed to earn a position as an assistant to an A&R executive at EMI in 1979, where he was promoted and given the job of talent scout. Cowell left EMI during the early 1980s to form E&S Music with his boss at EMI, Ellis Rich.
The company created several hits, but Cowell left by mutual agreement a few years later. In 1985, he and a partner formed the independent label Fanfare Records, which enjoyed short-lived success. The company folded in 1989. In financial straits, Cowell was forced to move back in with his family.
Undeterred, Cowell signed on as a consultant with BMG Records later that same year. He moved back into his own place, and gradually climbed the corporate ladder at BMG. He managed to sign a string of successful acts for the company, selling more than 150 million