
LL Cool J
James Todd Smith (better known as LL Cool J, an acronym for Ladies Love Cool James; born January 14, 1968) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip hop acts Beastie Boys and Run-DMC. Signed to Def Jam Recordings in 1984, his breakthrough came with his single "I Need a Beat" and his landmark debut album, Radio (1985). He achieved further commercial and critical success with the albums Bigger and Deffer (1987), Walking with a Panther (1989), Mama Said Knock You Out (1990), Mr. Smith (1995), and Phenomenon (1997). His twelfth album, Exit 13 (2008), was his last in his long-tenured deal with Def Jam. A two-time Grammy Award winner, LL Cool J is known for hip hop songs such as "Going Back to Cali", "I'm Bad", "The Boomin' System", "Rock the Bells", and "Mama Said Knock You Out", as well as R&B hits such as "Doin' It", "I Need Love", "Around the Way Girl" and "Hey Lover". In 2010, VH1 placed him on their "100 Greatest Artists Of All Time" list. In 2017, LL Cool J became the first rapper to receive the Kennedy Center Honors. In 2021, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with an award for Musical Excellence. While he first appeared as a rapper in the movie Krush Groove (performing "I Can't Live Without My Radio"), his first acting part was a small role in a high school football movie called Wildcats. He continued to work in movies from then until 1995 when he landed his own television sitcom, In the House (1995-2000). He has appeared in numerous films, including Last Holiday, Edison, Mindhunters, S.W.A.T., Deliver Us from Eva, Rollerball, Charlie's Angels, In Too Deep, Any Given Sunday, Deep Blue Sea, Halloween H20, B.A.P.S., Toys, and The Hard Way. In 2005, he returned to television in a guest starring role on the FOX medical drama House. He also guest starred on 30 Rock in 2007, and on Sesame Street 's 39th season where he introduced the word of the day, "Unanimous” and performed "The Addition Expedition" in episode 4172 (Sept. 30, 2008). As of 2011, he stars as Special Agent Sam Hanna on CBS's police procedural NCIS: L.A., a spin-off of NCIS. He was also the host of MTV's Lip Sync Battle.
137 acting credits
Acting · 137

NCIS
2003

House
2004

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
2014

The Daily Show
1996

American Dad!
2005

Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2009

Late Night with Seth Meyers
2014

Hawaii Five-0
2010

NCIS: Los Angeles
2009

The Kelly Clarkson Show
2019

Late Show with David Letterman
1993

Saturday Night Live
1975

Conan
2010

The Jennifer Hudson Show
2022

The Late Late Show with James Corden
2015

30 Rock
2006

The View
1997

Project Runway
2004

Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2003

LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988

Hot Ones
2015

American Idol
2002

Oz
1997

The Ellen DeGeneres Show
2003

MTV Video Music Awards
1984

WWE Friday Night SmackDown
1999

Late Night with Conan O'Brien
1993

Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
2015

So You Think You Can Dance
2005

Finding Your Roots
2012
The Tony Danza Show
2004

The Tyra Banks Show
2005

People's Choice Awards
1975

Lip Sync Battle
2015

NCIS: Hawaiʻi
2021

MTV Unplugged
1989

The $100,000 Pyramid
2016

MTV Europe Music Awards
1994

Kids' Choice Awards
1987

In the House
1995

Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest
1972

Charlie's Angels
2000

Entertainment Tonight
1981

The Chris Rock Show
1997

The Adventures of Pete & Pete
1993

Rachael Ray
2006

Desus & Mero
2019

Steve
2017

Today
1952

Yo! MTV Raps
1988

Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party
2016

WWII in HD
2009

The Frank Skinner Show
1995

Deep Blue Sea
1999

The Rosie O'Donnell Show
1996

S.W.A.T.
2003

Last Call with Carson Daly
2002

Mindhunters
2004

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
1998

Shut Up and Dribble
2018

106 & Park
2000

Payback
2022

Last Holiday
2006

Any Given Sunday
1999
Spike TV VGA Video Game Awards
2003

They Call Me Magic
2022

Grudge Match
2013

The Early Show
1999

Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World
2023

The Hard Way
1991

Edison
2005

James Brown: Say It Loud
2024

In Too Deep
1999

One World: Together at Home
2020

Rollerball
2002

MADtv
1995

Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music
2025

2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
2022
Greatest Hits
2016

How Bruce Lee Changed the World
2009

Wildcats
1986
Clive Anderson All Talk
1996

Slow Burn
2005

Toys
1992

B.A.P.S
1997

Fat Joe Talks
2024

Supreme Team
2022

The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles
2014

Superfan
2023

A GRAMMY Salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop
2023

It's Black Entertainment
2002

Deliver Us from Eva
2003

Kingdom Come
2001

SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)
2025

NCISverse: The First 1,000
2024

ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway
2007

The Deal
2008

You're Watching Video Music Box
2021

Teen Choice Awards
1999

Krush Groove
1985

Yo! The Story of ‘Yo! MTV Raps’
2012

2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
2023

Jimmy Fallon's Holiday Seasoning Spectacular
2024

Stans
2025

Sinatra 100: An All-Star Grammy Concert
2015

Hip Hop Was Born Here
2025

Hip Hop Treasures
2023

The Grammys
1959

The Right to Remain Silent
1996

Woo
1998
DJ Cinema Presents: Masterpiece Theater Blend Dvd
2009

Touch
1997

Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell
2021

Ricky Powell: The Individualist
2020

Beef
2003

Caught Up
1998

The Show
1995

Whitney Houston: We Will Always Love You
2012

Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life - An All-Star Grammy Salute
2015

Q85: A Musical Celebration for Quincy Jones
2018

Hype Williams: The Videos Vol. 1
2002

Out-of-Sync
1995

Quincy Jones, Music Man
2025

A Home for the Holidays: The 20th Anniversary
2018
Henry Louis Gates Jr.: Uncovering America
2019

Sesame Street: Singing with the Stars
2012
NCIS: New York
—

Simply Mad About the Mouse
1991

Big Fun in the Big Town
1986

Comin' Up Short
2024
Mayweather
2013

A Hip Hop Minute
2024

Future Of The Funk
1991
The Man
2007

LL Cool J Presents The Rock the Bells Festival Celebrating 50 Years of Hip Hop
—

Rapmania: The Roots of Rap
1999
MVP: Most Valuable Performer
2018