Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972 in Saint Joseph, Missouri), better known by his stage name Eminem, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Eminem quickly gained popularity in 1999 with his major-label debut album, The Slim Shady LP, which won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. The following album, The Marshall Mathers LP, became the fastest-selling solo album in United States history. It brought Eminem increased popularity, including his own record label, Shady Records, and brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition. The Marshall Mathers LP and his third album, The Eminem Show, also won Grammy Awards, making Eminem the first artist to win Best Rap Album for three consecutive LPs. He then won the award again in 2010 for his album Relapse and in 2011 for his album Recovery, giving him a total of 13 Grammys in his career. In 2003, he won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Lose Yourself" from the film, 8 Mile, in which he also played the lead. "Lose Yourself" would go on to become the longest running No. 1 hip hop single. Eminem then went on hiatus after touring in 2005. He released his first album since 2004's Encore, titled Relapse, on May 15, 2009. Eminem is the best-selling artist of the decade on the US Nielsen SoundScan, and has sold more than 80 million albums worldwide to date, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world. In 2010, Eminem released his seventh studio album Recovery. It became Eminem's sixth consecutive number-one album in the US and achieved international commercial success, charting at number one in several other countries. It stayed at number-one on the US Billboard 200 chart for five consecutive weeks and a total of seven weeks. Recovery was also reported by Billboard to be the best-selling album of 2010, making Eminem the first artist in Nielsen SoundScan history to have two year-end best-selling albums. Eminem was ranked 79th on the VH1 100 Greatest Artists of All-Time. He was also ranked 82nd on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. He was also named the Best Rapper Alive by Vibe magazine in 2008. Including his work with D12, Eminem has achieved nine No. 1 albums on the Billboard Top 200, 7 solo (6 studio albums, 1 compilation) and 2 with D12. Eminem has had 13 number one singles worldwide. In December 2009, Eminem was named the Artist of the Decade by Billboard magazine. His albums The Eminem Show, The Marshall Mathers LP, and Encore (in order) ranked as the 3rd, 7th, and 40th best-selling albums of the 2000–2009 decade by Billboard magazine. Also according to Billboard, Eminem has two of his albums among the top five highest selling albums of the 2000s. In the UK, Eminem has sold over 12.5 million records. Eminem has also sold more than 33 million track downloads and 39.6 million albums in the United States alone. In 2010, MTV ranked Eminem as the 7th biggest icon in pop music history. During 2010, Eminem's music generated 94 million streams, more than any other music artist. "Love The Way You Lie", the second single in duet with Rihhana from 2010's Recovery was the best-selling single of 2010 in the United Kingdom even though it did not reach number 1 there, the first time this has happened in the UK since 1969. But, he hes some drug issues. Eminem has spoken openly about his addiction to prescription drugs, including Vicodin, Ambien, Valium and Methadone. Mathers has been the subject of much scrutiny, both as a rapper as well as in his personal life. He was married twice to Kimberley Anne Scott, whom he met in high school. They began their on-and-off relationship in 1989, getting married by 1999. In 2000, Scott attempted suicide and sued Eminem for defamation after he depicted her violent death in his song "Kim". The couple first divorced in 2001 but remarried in January 2006. Their second divorce was finalized in December of the same year, with the couple agreeing to share custody of their daughter, Hailie Jade Mathers (born December 25, 1995). Hailie Mathers has often been referenced or featured on various Eminem songs, such as "'97 Bonnie & Clyde", "Hailie's Song", "My Dad's Gone Crazy", "Like Toy Soldiers", "Mockingbird", "Forgot About Dre", "Cleanin' Out My Closet", "When I'm Gone", "Deja Vu", "Beautiful", "Sing For The Moment", "Airplanes Part II", and "Going Through Changes". In early 2010, Eminem responded publicly to tabloid reports of his pending reunion with Kim with a firm denial. Eminem adopted two other daughters: Alaina "Lainey" Mathers, the child of Kimberley Scott's sister, who has been referenced by name in some Eminem songs including "Mockingbird", "Airplanes Part II" and "Going Through Changes"; and Whitney, Scott's child from a previous relationship. Whitney is mentioned in the song "Going through Changes." He is also the legal guardian of his younger half-brother, Nathan.
