Eminem American Rapper Born 1972 in St. Joseph

Early life

Eminem, whose birth name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III, was born on October 17, 1972, in St. Joseph, Missouri. His mother, Debbie Nelson, raised him, and the two moved between several towns in Missouri and Michigan before settling in Detroit when he was twelve. He grew up in a working-class neighborhood there.

He took an early interest in storytelling and first thought of becoming a comic book artist, until a gift from his uncle introduced him to rap. By his mid-teens he was writing rhymes and performing with school friends under the names Manix and M&M, the second of which turned into his stage name. He and his friend Proof attended open microphone nights at the Hip-Hop Shop on West 7 Mile Road, a venue central to Detroit's rap scene. Eminem left Lincoln High School at seventeen after repeating the ninth grade, and he held a series of low-paid jobs, including work in a pizza restaurant and a family restaurant kitchen, while pursuing music.

Career

His first group, New Jacks, formed in 1988 when he performed as MC Double M. Over the following years he joined the Detroit collective Soul Intent and, in 1996, helped found D12 with Proof and four other rappers. He was also linked to the Outsidaz, a rap collective from Newark. His first album, Infinite, came out in 1996 on an independent label and sold poorly. He then developed Slim Shady, a violent and darkly comic alter ego, and released the Slim Shady EP in 1997.

The EP circulated beyond Detroit after a placing at the 1997 Rap Olympics in Los Angeles. A copy reached Interscope Records and then the producer Dr. Dre, and on March 9, 1998, Eminem signed to Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and to Interscope. His major-label debut, The Slim Shady LP, was released in February 1999. The Marshall Mathers LP followed in May 2000 and sold 1.76 million copies in its first week, a record in the United States for a hip-hop album at the time. The Eminem Show arrived in May 2002 and was the best-selling album worldwide that year.

In late 1999 he started Shady Records with his manager Paul Rosenberg, and in 2004 he launched the satellite radio channel Shade 45. With Royce da 5'9" he formed the duo Bad Meets Evil, which released the EP Hell: The Sequel in 2011. Encore appeared in 2004, and after a break he returned with Relapse in 2009 and Recovery in 2010. Recovery was the best-selling album worldwide in 2010. The Marshall Mathers LP 2 followed in 2013, and Revival in 2017.

On screen, he starred in 8 Mile (2002), a drama loosely based on his own early years in Detroit. His later film appearances include Funny People (2009), The Interview (2014), Straight Outta Compton (2015) and Happy Gilmore 2 (2025). His recent music includes Kamikaze (2018), Music to Be Murdered By (2020), Curtain Call 2 (2022) and The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace) (2024), as well as the 2024 single "Houdini". Revival, Kamikaze, Music to Be Murdered By and The Death of Slim Shady each debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200.

Recognition

"Lose Yourself," from the 8 Mile soundtrack, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, presented in 2003. It made him the first hip-hop artist to receive that award. The song also spent twelve weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, the longest run for a solo rap single.

At the 57th Grammy Awards in 2015 he received Best Rap Album for The Marshall Mathers LP 2 and a second award for "The Monster," his collaboration with Rihanna. In 2022 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in the first year he was eligible. His other honors include a Primetime Emmy Award, and Billboard named him Artist of the 2000s.

Personal life

Eminem met Kimberly Anne Scott in the late 1980s, when she stayed with his family, and their on-and-off relationship led to the birth of their daughter, Hailie Jade Mathers. The couple married in 1999 and divorced in 2001. They married again in 2006, and that marriage also ended in divorce the same year.