June Carter Cash
Musical Monikers
Madonna
Justin Bieber
My Ghost Story
I Survived
Babe Ruth
Johnny Cash
Georgia O'Keefe
I Survived
Quick Facts
- NAME: Eminem
- OCCUPATION: Film Actor, Music Producer, Rapper
- BIRTH DATE: October 17, 1972 (Age: 40)
- PLACE OF BIRTH: St. Joseph, Missouri
- Full Name: Marshall Mathers III
- ZODIAC SIGN: Libra
Best Known For
Eminem is an American rapper, record producer, and actor, who is known as one of the most controversial and best-selling artists of the early 21st century.
Videos see all videos
-
Eminem - Interscope Records (2:37)
-
Eminem - Slim Shady (2:31)
-
Eminem - Getting Into Rap (2:42)
-
Eminem - Childhood (2:29)
Eminem - Interscope Records
In 1997 at the Rap Olympics a mysterious fan approached Eminem and asked for his demo tape. This fan turned out to be an intern at Interscope records who would later get the tape into the hands of legendary rapper Dr. Dre.
Eminem - Slim Shady
Despite becoming a fixture in the Detroit music scene, Eminem’s recording career was off to a slow start. From this challenge the hip-hop alter ego Slim Shady was born.
Eminem - Getting Into Rap
After facing a rough childhood, teenager Marshall Mathers found a voice in the world of rap and hip-hop. Here he would also find his first real friend, a fellow rapper named Proof.
Eminem - Childhood
As a child, rapper Eminem faced a troubled family life and a transient one as he and his mother, Debbie Nelson, moved from place to place across the Midwest.
Quiz
Think you know about Biography?
Answer questions and see how you rank against other players.
Play NowEminem. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 11:24, May 21, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/eminem-9542093.
Eminem. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/eminem-9542093 [Accessed 21 May 2013].
"Eminem." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 21 2013, 11:24 http://www.biography.com/people/eminem-9542093.
"Eminem," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/eminem-9542093 [accessed May 21, 2013].
"Eminem," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/eminem-9542093 (accessed May 21, 2013).
Eminem [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 21] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/eminem-9542093.
Eminem, http://www.biography.com/people/eminem-9542093 (last visited May 21, 2013).
Eminem. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/eminem-9542093. Accessed May 21, 2013.
Synopsis
American rapper, record producer, and actor Eminem was born October 17, 1972 in St. Joseph, MO. Mathers had a turbulent childhood. Eminem released The Slim Shady LP early in 1999. The album went multiplatinum, and he won two Grammy Awards and four MTV Video Music Awards. In 2000 Eminem released The Marshall Mathers LP--the fastest-selling album in the history of rap.
Early Life
Rapper. Eminem was born as Marshall Bruce Mathers III on October 17, 1972 in St. Joseph, Missouri. He never knew his father, Marshall Mathers Jr., who abandoned the family when Eminem was still an infant and rebuffed all of his son's many attempts to contact him during his childhood. As a result, Eminem was raised by his mother, Deborah Mathers. She never managed to hold down a job for more than several months at a time, so they moved frequently between Missouri and Detroit, Michigan, spending large chunks of time in public housing projects. "I would change schools two, three times a year," Eminem later recalled. "That was probably the roughest part about it all."
This itinerant lifestyle left a large impact on his personality. He had no close friends, kept almost entirely to himself and was treated like an outcast at each new school. "Beat up in the bathroom, beat up in the hallways, shoved into lockers," he remembered. Eminem has been scathingly critical of the way his mother raised him. Through his song lyrics, he has publicly accused her of being addicted to prescription drugs as well as subjecting him to emotional and physical abuse. However, Deborah Mathers has vehemently denied all such accusations, and in 1999 she filed a $10 million defamation lawsuit against her son. They settled the case for $25,000.
Eminem attended Lincoln High School in Warren, Michigan, where he failed the ninth grade three times and eventually dropped out at the age of 17. Despite being a poor student, Eminem always had a deep affinity for language, devouring comic books and even studying the dictionary. "I found that no matter how bad I was at school, like, and no matter how low my grades might have been at some times, I always was good at English ... I just felt like I wanna be able to have all of these words at my disposal, in my vocabulary at all times whenever I need to pull 'em out. You know, somewhere, they'll be stored, like, locked away." As a teenage dropout, Eminem found a way to express his passion for language, as well as to release his youthful anger, through the emerging musical genre of hip-hip. He identified with the nihilistic rage of late-1980s and early-1990s rap music, and he was especially taken with N.W.A., the popular and highly controversial gangster rap crew from Los Angeles.
Although at the time rap music was almost exclusively produced by black people, Eminem, who has pale white skin and bright blue eyes, nevertheless entered into the Detroit rap scene as a frequent competitor in rap "battles"—competitions in which two rappers take turns insulting the other through improvised rap lyrics.
profile name: Eminem profile occupation:
Your Connections
Sign in with Facebook to see how you and your friends are connected to famous icons.
Profile Connections
Included In These Groups
-
Musical Monikers
View groupWhen musicians land big fame, there typically comes a moment of reinvention in which the "rock star" identity is born. This new persona often requires a new name, a way to differentiate between the private and public versions of themselves. Musical monikers take different forms, from the simple, last-name changes aimed at boosting celebrity appeal—like Steven Tyler—to the glamorized version of a childhood nickname—like Jay-Z. Musicians' nicknames and aliases tend to take on an identity all their own over time, often becoming as full of personality as the artists they represent.
Musical Monikers 108 people in this group
-
Name Changers
View groupIn entertainment, where the line between fiction and reality is often blurry, names are a crucial part of a celebrity's image. Stage names are often chosen to make an actor or musician's name easier to pronounce or remember, or simply to make it sounds more attractive. Here are famous celebrities who have changed their names.
Name Changers 236 people in this group
-
Sober Celebs
View groupDespite their fame and fortune, celebrities aren't immune to all the problems that afflict ordinary people. The problems of drug and alcohol addiction plagues many stars, particularly those who enjoy hard-partying lifestyles. Fortunately, many talented individuals have been able to kick their addictions and lead healthy lives. Here are some celebs who have sobered up.
Sober Celebs 55 people in this group
