Simon Cowell is an English television personality and entrepreneur. He became famous as a judge on various talent shows like Pop Idol, American Idol, and The X Factor. He is famous, or rather notorious, for his biting and sarcastic remarks on contestants’ performances in reality shows. A wealthy entrepreneur, he is the founder of the television and music production house, Syco, which produced the highly successful Got Talent franchise in the U.S. and the U.K. As a youngster, he was thrown out of several schools due to his bad behavior. He attended college, but dropped out before completing his degree. Concerned about his future, his father arranged various job interviews for him which he deliberately sabotaged. He even got a chance to work as a runner on Stanley Kubrick's movie The Shining, but faced problems with his colleagues due to his ill-temper. His father got him a job with EMI Music Publishing where he rose to the position of an Artists and Repertoire (A&R) man. He was chosen to judge the British music television show Pop Idol along with Neil Fox and Nicki Chapman. He was noticed by the public for being the rudest and insensitive judge who did not think twice before passing bitter and insulting comments to the participants—a reputation that only got stronger as he moved on to judge other talent shows. He has also signed many popular bands like Westlife, One Direction, and CNCO.
