Eminem

Marshall Mathers (born 17.10.1972) With over 70 million worldwide album sales, Academy Awards and Grammy Awards under his belt, Marshall Mathers AKA Eminem is one of the best-selling musicians of the early 2000s and a best-selling rap artist of all time. Discovered by legendary producer Dr Dre. (formerly of N.W.A.), Eminem was later signed to Dre's Aftermath Entertainment record label.

Net Worth: Marshall Mathers' net worth is $160 million according to Celebrity Net Worth (2014)

Childhood: Marshall Mathers' father deserted him and his mother shortly after his birth in St. Joseph, Missouri. They moved between St. Joseph and Warren, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. Aged 14, he performed at amateur rap contests and later joined the group Soul Intent, billed as M&M.

Musical Career: Marshall Mathers' first official tape release was Fu**in' Backstabber / Soul Intent, followed by an independent album named Infinite, which was influenced by Nas and AZ. This was followed by The Slim Shady EP (Slim Shady was another of Marshall Mathers' aliases), which brought about much attention and mixed reviews in the underground hip-hop scene, due to his distinctive rapping style. The Slim Shady LP was his first release, once signed to Aftermath Entertainment / Interscope Records. The album went on to be one of the most popular albums of 1999 and was awarded triple platinum status. This time, it was his controversial lyricism that brought the media attention. Dr Dre, who has appeared on all of Eminem's mainstream albums, appeared on the track 'Guilty Conscience', which ends with a man being encouraged to kill his own wife and her lover. The follow up to The Slim Shady LP, was even more successful, in terms of sales. Released in May 2000, it quickly sold two million copies and was Mathers' fastest selling album to date. Again, his lyrics brought attention to the album, by making offensive remarks about various celebrities, including Christina Aguilera, Blink 182's Fred Durst, as well as making a promotional video (for 'My Name Is') that mocked Marilyn Manson. Eminem also sampled Dido's song 'Thank You' for the UK number one single 'Stan'. The third major album for Mathers was The Eminem Show. Released in 2002, it was yet another hit, selling over one million copies in its first week. This time around, electronic producer Moby, as well as the rock band Limp Bizkit and boy bands in general were the victims of Mathers' lyrical vitriol. His much-publicised relationship with his wife and daughter are also explored on this album, as are the charges he faced over an assault on a man he saw kissing his wife. A song destined for the bonus track accompanying his fourth major album, Encore (2004), landed Mathers in more hot water; this time with the U.S. Secret Service. The song 'We As Americans' was leaked onto the internet and Mathers was investigated for allegations that he had threatened the President. The lyrics in question were: "Fu** money / I don't rap for dead presidents / I'd rather see the president dead / it's never been said, but I set precedents." Aside from the scandal, Encore was another chart-topper for Mathers A compilation album released in 2005, entitled Curtain Call: The Hits, sparked rumours that Eminem was about to end his rapping career. Mathers denied this on Detroit's WKQI radio station, but suggested that he may be taking a break as a recording artist. Summer 2005 saw Mathers embarking on his first US tour in three years (the Anger Management Tour, featuring 50 Cent and G-Unit, Obie Trice and Lil' John). In August, however, he cancelled the European tour in order to enter drug rehabilitation. In 2006, Mathers launched Shady Records with the Eminem Presents the Re-Up mixtape. Mathers released the album 'Relapse' in 2009, which received mixed reviews, but did very well commercially being the biggest selling hip-hop album of that year. The album sold 608,000 copies in its first week causing it to debut at number one in the US Billboard 200 chart, and eventually the album was certified multi-platinum in the US. The album got to number one in it's first week in other countries such as France, Australia, Norway, Denmark and New Zealand. The following year Mathers released 'Recovery' which debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 selling 741,000 copies, where it remained for nine weeks. The album also received more positive reviews than 'Relapse'. The album was certified multi-platinum in the United States, selling over 4 million copies. The album featured guest spots from Rihanna, P!ink and Lil Wayne. In 2013 Mathers released 'The Marshall Mathers LP 2', which was a sequel to 'The Marshall Mathers LP'. The album debuted at number one in the Billboard 200, having sold more than 792,000 copies in its first week, making it the second biggest of 2013 (second to Justin Timberlake's 'The 20/20 Experience'). It was also Eminem's seventh number one album. The album received mostly positive reviews, and once again featured Rihanna, as well as Kendrick Lamar, Nate Ruess and Skylar Grey. The album was certified multi-platinum in the United States. Mathers is also a member of the rap group D12, whose 'Purple Pills' track was rewritten to remove the more obvious drug references, and renamed 'Purple Hills'. The semi-autobiographical film 8-mile was Mathers' official Hollywood acting debut. He recorded a number of new songs for the soundtrack, including 'Lose Yourself', which won an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Personal life: Marshall Mathers has been married twice to Kim Scott with whom he has a daughter named Hailie. The first marriage lasted from 1999 to 2001, the second lasted from January 2006 to April 2006. During his younger brother Nate's teenage years, Mathers had custody of him. Marshall Mathers has admitted that he does believe in God, but isn't massively religious. His mother Debbie sued him in 1999 for slandering her name in some song lyrics on 'The Slim Shady LP'. She won $1,600 in damages despite wanting $10 million, and Mathers later apologised for his behaviour on his track 'Headlights' from 'The Marshall Mathers LP 2'. In 2000, Mathers was arrested for possessing a concealed weapon when he pulled out a gun on Douglas Dail, and for assault for attacking bouncer John Guerrera the next day after spotting him kissing Kim. Kim sued Mathers after the violent lyrics in his song 'Kim', which followed her attempted suicide. Marshall Mathers has struggled with his addiction to prescription drugs throughout most of his career. In 2007, he overdosed on methodone and was on the verge of death. By 2008, he was sober following extensive rehab therapy.