Simon Cowell

Simon Cowell got his start in the music industry as an assistant, working his way up the ladder and eventually signing successful U.K. acts like Five and Westlife.

Cowell served as a judge on Pop Idol from 2001 to 2003. The British music competition series spawned an international franchise, with Cowell launching American Idol in 2002. Cowell has also served as a producer and judge on The X Factor UK, Britain’s Got Talent, America’s Got Talent and several spinoff shows under his production company, Syco Entertainment. One Direction, Little Mix, Labrinth and Fifth Harmony were all signed to Cowell’s label.

Cowell was in a relationship with media personality Terri Seymour from 2002 to 2008 before his engagement to Mezhgan Hussainy from 2010 to 2011. Cowell began dating Lauren Silverman in 2013, and the couple welcomed son Eric the following year. Cowell and Silverman announced their engagement in 2022.