LL Cool J found love with his wife, Simone I. Smith, when they were teenagers.
The rapper and host of the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards met his longtime love in 1987 in New York City, and they dated for about eight years before tying the knot in 1995. Throughout their relationship, LL Cool J (real name: James Todd Smith) and Simone have started a family together, supported each other’s careers and lifted each other up during hard times — including Simone’s journey with bone cancer in 2004.
Keep scrolling to see everything to know about LL Cool J’s wife:
Who Is LL Cool J’s Wife?
Simone and LL Cool J both grew up in Queens, New York. Today, she is a jewelry designer who founded her own line, Simone I. Smith Jewelry, in 2011.
According to the brand’s website, Simone became inspired to start her jewelry line after she was diagnosed with stage III chondrosarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer, in her right leg in 2004.
“After surgery, she discovered that the lollipop tattoo on her leg was altered. That was the inspiration for her signature lollipop pendant, ‘A Sweet Touch of Hope,’” the website reads. “Then came hoop earrings, bangles, necklaces and her collection of men’s jewelry. Through her partnership with the American Cancer Society, she donates a portion of proceeds from each sale to the ongoing fight against the disease, in every form.”
Simone underwent a 15-hour surgery to replace the bone, as well as a rehabilitation period. She has been cancer-free since then.
LL Cool J stayed by his wife’s side throughout her cancer journey.
LL Cool J and Simone I. Smith Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for MTV
“You don’t abandon someone in that foxhole,” he said in a 2013 interview. “You gotta be there in that foxhole with them. I made some decisions professionally and decided to be by Simone’s side more during that period.”
How Did LL Cool J and Simone I. Smith Meet?
LL Cool J and Simone met through a mutual friend, the NCIS: Los Angeles actor revealed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2012.
“It was Easter and I was driving down the block in my mother’s car,” he said, adding that he stopped to say hello to a friend, who asked if he wanted to meet their cousin.
“I looked over and said, ‘Oh yeah, I’ll meet your cousin,’” LL Cool J continued.
LL Cool J revealed in his 1997 memoir, I Make My Own Rules, that he proposed to Simone during a ride in his car.
“I drove my Porsche 110 m.p.h. and wouldn’t slow down until she said yes!” he wrote.
The couple got married on August 7, 1995.
Do LL Cool J and Simone I. Smith Have Kids?
Simone and LL Cool J welcomed son Najee in September 1989, followed by daughter Italia in January 1991. Their second eldest daughter, Samaria, was born in September 1995. The couple’s youngest child, daughter Nina, was born in August 2000.
Simone and LL Cool J are also grandparents to Italia’s three children.
