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Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972 in St. Joseph, MO), known professionally as Eminem (stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip-hop in Middle America and is regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time. His success is considered to have broken racial barriers to the acceptance of white rappers in popular music. While much of his transgressive work during the late 1990s and early 2000s made him a controversial figure, he came to be a representation of popular angst of the American underclass and has been cited as influencing many musical artists. His most successful songs on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 include "The Real Slim Shady", "Without Me", "Lose Yourself", "Not Afraid", "Love the Way You Lie", "The Monster", "Godzilla", and "Houdini".

After the release of his debut album Infinite (1996) and the extended play Slim Shady EP (1997), Eminem signed with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and subsequently achieved mainstream popularity in 1999 with The Slim Shady LP. His next two releases, The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) and The Eminem Show (2002), were worldwide successes and nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, the latter becoming the best-selling album worldwide of 2002. After the release of his next album, Encore (2004), Eminem went on hiatus, largely due to a prescription drug addiction. He returned to the music industry with the releases of Relapse (2009) and Recovery (2010), the latter becoming the best-selling album worldwide of 2010. He then released the U.S. number-one albums The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (2013), Revival (2017), Kamikaze (2018), Music to Be Murdered By (2020), and The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) (2024).

Eminem was also a member of the hip-hop groups New Jacks, Soul Intent, Outsidaz, and D12, and has collaborated with fellow Detroit-based ra

American rapper (born 1972)

"Marshall Mathers" redirects here. For other uses, see Marshall Mathers (disambiguation).

Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popularizing hip-hop in Middle America and breaking racial barriers to the acceptance of white rappers in popular music. While much of his transgressive work during the late 1990s and early 2000s made him a controversial figure, he came to be a representation of popular angst of the American underclass.

After the release of his debut album Infinite (1996) and the extended playSlim Shady EP (1997), Eminem signed with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and subsequently achieved mainstream popularity in 1999 with The Slim Shady LP. His next two releases, The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) and The Eminem Show (2002), were worldwide successes, with the latter becoming the best-selling album worldwide of 2002 and the best-selling hip-hop album in history. Following the release of Encore (2004), Eminem went on hiatus, largely due to a prescription drug addiction. He returned to the music industry with the releases of Relapse (2009) and Recovery (2010), the latter becoming the best-selling album worldwide of 2010. All of his subsequent releases – The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (2013), Revival (2017), Kamikaze (2018), Music to Be Murdered By (2020), and The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) (2024) – debuted at number-one in the U.S.

Eminem was also a member of the hip-hop groups New Jacks, Soul Intent, Outsidaz, and D12, and has collaborated with fellow Detroit-based rapper Royce da 5'9" as the duo Bad Meets Evil. He starred in the 2002 musical drama film8 Mile, playing a dramatized version of himself. "Lose Yourself", a song from it

1972-present

Who Is Eminem?

Rapper and music producer Eminem is one of the best-selling musicians of the 21 century and a 15-time Grammy Award winner. His turbulent childhood saw him bounce between Missouri and Detroit, where he dropped out of high school at age 17. Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III, worked odd jobs until finally making it as a rapper upon the release of The Slim ShadyLP in early 1999. His next album, The Marshall Mathers LP, was noted as the fastest-selling album in rap history. Eminem has done some acting work, most notably in the 2002 semi-autobiographical movie 8 Mile, for which he wrote and recorded the Academy Award–winning song “Lose Yourself.”

Quick Facts

REAL NAME: Marshall Bruce Mathers III
BORN: October 17, 1972
BIRTHPLACE: St. Joseph, Missouri
SPOUSE: Kim Scott (1999-2001 and 2006)
CHILDREN: Alaina, Hailie, and Stevie
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Libra

Early Life: Eminem’s Real Name, Mom, and Dad

Eminem’s real name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III. He was born on October 17, 1972, in St. Joseph, Missouri. His famous stage name is taken from his first and last initials.

Eminem never knew his father, Marshall Mathers Jr., who abandoned the family when Eminem was still an infant and rebuffed all of his son’s many attempts to contact him during his childhood.

As a result, Eminem was raised by his mother, Deborah “Debbie” Nelson. His mom never managed to hold down a job for more than several months at a time, so they moved frequently between Missouri and Detroit, spending large chunks of time in public housing projects. “I would change schools two, three times a year,” Eminem later recalled. “That was probably the roughest part about it all.”

This itinerant lifestyle left a large impact on his personality. He had no close friends, kept almost entirely to himself, and was treated like an outcast at each new school. “Beat up in the bathroom, beat up in the hallways, shoved into lockers,” he remembere