Age, Biography, and Wiki
Simon Cowell was born on October 7, 1959, in Lambeth, London, to Julie Brett, a ballet dancer and socialite, and Eric Selig Phillip Cowell Sr., an estate agent and music industry executive. He grew up in Elstree, Hertfordshire, with his younger brother Nicholas and three half-brothers and a half-sister. Cowell's early life and education laid the foundation for his future success in the entertainment industry.
| Occupation | Film Producer |
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| Date of Birth | 7 October 1959 |
| Age | 65 Years |
| Birth Place | London, England |
| Horoscope | Libra |
| Country | England |
Height, Weight & Measurements
- Height: 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm)
- Weight: Approximately 70 kg (154 lbs)
- His measurements are not widely reported, but Cowell is known for maintaining a fit physique.
| Height | 5 feet 9 inches |
| Weight | 154 lbs |
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Dating & Relationship Status
Simon Cowell has been in a long-term relationship with Lauren Silverman, with whom he has a son, Eric Cowell, born in 2014. The couple is known for their strong bond and has been together since 2013.
His mother, Julie Brett (née Josie Dalglish, 1925–2015), was a ballet dancer and socialite, and his father, Eric Selig Phillip Cowell (1918–1999), was an estate agent, property developer, and music industry executive. Cowell's mother was from a Christian background. He has a younger brother, Nicholas Cowell; three half brothers, John, Tony, and Michael Cowell; and a half sister, June Cowell.
Cowell attended Radlett Preparatory School, Licensed Victuallers' School in Ascot for one year, and the private Dover College, as did his brother, but left after taking GCE O levels. He passed English Language and Literature and then attended Windsor Technical College, where he gained another GCE in Sociology. Cowell took a few menial jobs—including, according to his brother Tony, working as a runner on Stanley Kubrick's 1980 horror film The Shining—but did not get along well with colleagues and bosses, until his father, who was an executive at EMI Music Publishing, managed to get him a job in the mail room. However, after failing to get a promotion, he left to try out other jobs before returning to EMI.
Cowell dated English presenter Terri Seymour from 2002 to 2008. Cowell was engaged to make-up artist Mezhgan Hussainy from 2010 to 2011. In 2013, Cowell allegedly began dating an American woman named Lauren Silverman. In July 2013, Silverman's husband and Cowell's friend, Andrew Silverman, filed for an at-fault divorce, citing adultery by his wife and naming Cowell as a co-respondent. News of the divorce filing became public two weeks later, when it was widely reported that Silverman and Cowell were expecting a baby together.
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Net Worth and Salary
As of 2025, Simon Cowell's net worth is estimated to be around $600 million. His annual salary can range from $50 million to $100 million, attributed to his work as a judge, producer, and through his music label Syco Entertainment.
In the early 1980s, Cowell left EMI to form E&S Music with his former boss at EMI but quit in 1983. He then formed Fanfare Records with Iain Burton, initially selling exercise videos, and music from acts such as the Italian orchestra Rondò Veneziano. He had his first hit song in 1986 with "So Macho" by Sinitta. Some of Cowell's early success came through Stock Aitken Waterman, who produced a number of hits in the 1980s. However, in 1989 the company went under, with Pete Waterman forced to put a freeze on Fanfare's assets, and taking Cowell's Porsche as compensation for outstanding production and royalties payments. Amid the company's implosion Cowell nearly became bankrupt.
Career, Business, and Investments
Early Career: Cowell began his career in the music industry, working at EMI and later forming E&S Music. However, it was his role as a judge on "Pop Idol" and subsequently "American Idol" that catapulted him to fame.
Syco Entertainment: Cowell founded Syco Entertainment, which has been instrumental in launching the careers of artists like One Direction, Camila Cabello, and Olly Murs. The label has sold over 200 million albums worldwide since its inception in 2003.
Simon Phillip Cowell (born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, businessman, and record executive. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows Pop Idol (2001–2003), The X Factor UK (2004–2010; 2014–2018), and Britain's Got Talent (2007–present), as well as the American television talent competition shows American Idol (2002–2010), The X Factor US (2011–2013), and America's Got Talent (2016–present). Cowell founded the British entertainment company Syco Entertainment in 2005, as well as its defunct predecessor, Syco Music (also known as S Records) in 2002.
After some success in the 1980s and 1990s as a record producer, talent agent and consultant in the British music industry, Cowell came to public prominence in 2001 as a judge on Pop Idol, a television show which he and its creator Simon Fuller successfully pitched to ITV Controller of Entertainment Claudia Rosencrantz. He subsequently created The X Factor in 2004 and Got Talent in 2006, which have gone on to become successful television franchises sold around the world.
In 2004 and 2010, Time named Cowell one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2006, the British public ranked him number 28 in ITV's poll of TV's 50 Greatest Stars, and in 2008, The Daily Telegraph ranked him sixth in their list of the "100 most powerful people in British culture". In 2008, he received the Special Recognition Award at the National Television Awards in London. At the 2010 British Academy Television Awards, Cowell received the BAFTA Special Award for his "outstanding contribution to the entertainment industry and for his development of new talent". In 2018, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the television category.
He then worked with BMG as an A&R consultant and set up S Records under BMG. He restarted his career in the music business by creating novelty records with acts such as the puppets Zig and Zag, Power Rangers and World Wrestling Federation. In 1995, through his persistence, he persuaded two actors, Robson Green and Jerome Flynn from the UK television drama series Soldier Soldier, to sign with him and record the song "Unchained Melody", which they had performed on the show. The recording by the duo, now named Robson & Jerome, quickly reached number 1 in the UK, staying at the top of the chart for seven weeks. It became the best-selling single of 1995 (their next release, "I Believe"/"Up on the Roof", was the third-best selling single), and their self-titled album released later in the year also became the best-selling album of 1995. They released another album and two more singles before disbanding, and sold 7 million albums and 5 million singles in total. According to Cowell, they made him his first million. Later acts he signed included Five, Westlife and Teletubbies.
Cowell formed a new company, Syco, in 2005. The company is divided into three units: Syco Music, Syco TV and Syco Film. Cowell returned to music with his latest brainchild signed to Syco, the internationally successful operatic pop group Il Divo, consisting of three opera singers and one pop singer of four different nationalities. Inspired by the success of Il Divo, Cowell created a child version, Angelis, made up of six 11 to 14 year-olds from choirs across the UK, with their debut album released in November 2006.
In 2004, with Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh, Cowell was a judge on the first series of the British television music competition The X Factor, which he created using his production company, Syco TV. The X Factor was an instant success with the viewers and enjoyed its tenth series in 2013.
Following the success of the Idol and X Factor franchises, Cowell, his company Syco, and its business partners developed a talent show format open to performers of any kind, not only singers, but also dancers, instrumentalists, magicians, comedians, novelty acts, and so on. The origins of the Got Talent format can be traced to the British talent shows Opportunity Knocks (on screen from 1956, with the winner using the now-standard method of a telephone vote) and New Faces. Immensely popular with weekly audiences of 20 million, Opportunity Knocks showcased singers, dancers and comedians in addition to non standard performers such as acrobats, animal acts and novelty acts. Cowell states, "I was a fan of variety shows Opportunity Knocks and New Faces, and to be able to update that tradition, really was a buzz".
On 16 March 2006, American Inventor debuted on ABC. Cowell co-produced the show with British entrepreneur Peter Jones, who had devised the concept. Having a similar format to the BBC's Dragons' Den, a show on which Jones was one of the investors, fledgling entrepreneurs from across the United States competed to see who could come up with the best new product concept. The 2006 winner, Janusz Liberkowski, received $1 million and the opportunity to develop his idea into a business. The show returned in 2007 for a second season.
Cowell collaborated with UK production company Shed Media to produce 2008 ITV drama series Rock Rivals, which is based on an X Factor type show. In 2011, Cowell also created his first game show, titled Red or Black? and hosted by Ant & Dec, for ITV. Series 1 was broadcast from 3 to 10 September. The show was recommissioned by ITV for a second series in 2012, which aired weekly.
Cowell has been involved in charity work for many years. He is a patron of Together for Short Lives, the leading UK charity for all children with life-threatening and life-limiting conditions. He was patron of Children's Hospices UK between 2009 and 2011 before it merged to become Together for Short Lives. He donated money to Manchester Dogs' Home in England after it was hit by a large fire. In view of his charitable works, particularly the production of the charity single "Everybody Hurts" in aid of victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, as well as his services to the music industry, there was considerable media speculation as to whether Cowell would receive a knighthood in the Queen's 2010 Birthday Honours, a proposal allegedly put forward by then Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Social Network
Simon Cowell is active on social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram, where he engages with his fans and shares updates about his projects.
Cowell was also the executive producer of Grease Is the Word for ITV. This show set out to find performers to play Danny and Sandy in the 2007 West End revival of Grease. It was hosted by Zoë Ball and judged by Britons David Ian and Sinitta and Americans David Gest and Brian Friedman. The musical theatre casting concept had already been introduced by the BBC with the ratings hit How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria?, but Cowell's show was not the hoped-for success. He himself said, "It has been slaughtered by the critics – and rightly so. It is far too similar to our other formats."
In 2013, Cowell, in partnership with YouTube, launched a video-sharing competition called The You Generation. In 2013, he was executive producer for ITV cookery series Food Glorious Food, which was hosted by Carol Vorderman. He did the same for the ITV game show Keep it in the Family, presented by Bradley Walsh in 2016.
Education
Cowell attended Radlett Preparatory School and the independent Dover College. He later attended Windsor Technical College, where he studied English Language and Literature, and Sociology. Despite his educational background, Cowell's career path was more influenced by his early experiences in the music industry and his entrepreneurial ventures.
In 2014, Got Talent was named the world's most successful reality TV format by Guinness World Records, with spin-offs in over 68 countries. Cowell stated, "I am very proud that Got Talent is a home grown British show. We owe its success to a group of very talented producers all over the world who have made this happen. And of course amazing talent."
Cowell was once the fastest "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" on BBC's motoring show Top Gear, driving a Suzuki Liana around the show's test track in a time of 1:47.1. When Top Gear retired the Liana along with its rankings after the eighth series, Cowell was the eighth fastest overall and the third fastest non-professional driver. On 11 November 2007 Cowell yet again appeared on Top Gear, achieving a time of 1:45.9 thus putting him ahead of chef Gordon Ramsay and back at the top of the table. His time of 1:45.9 was then tied with English rock singer Brian Johnson of AC/DC and Grand Designs host Kevin McCloud for the second fastest time, just 0.1 seconds behind Jamiroquai singer Jay Kay. In March 2015, Cowell defended Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson after he was suspended by the BBC for punching a colleague, with Cowell stating on Good Morning Britain: "He's apologised. But I think what is quite obvious is that the public are behind him, but you know, that's Jeremy."
