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