Simon Phillip Cowell (born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, A&R executive, television producer and personality, and entrepreneur. He is famous in the United Kingdom and in the United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, American Idol, The X Factor, and Britain's Got Talent. He is also the owner of the television production and music publishing house Syco which will be rebranded to Greenwell Entertainment as part of a coalition with Sir Philip Green.

Cowell is notorious as a judge for his blunt and often controversial criticisms, insults and wisecracks about contestants and their abilities. He is often parodied in pop culture, and was described by the The Times journalist Minette Marrin as representing, along with his fellow judges on Britain's Got Talent, the "heartless, thoughtless and superficial – the flotsam and jetsam of the polluted seas of celebrity that is likely to sink without trace into toxic foam". Cowell is known for combining activities in the television and music industries, having promoted singles and records for various artists, including television personalities. He was most recently featured on the sixth series of The X Factor, the eighth season of American Idol and the third series of Britain's Got Talent.

Cowell was born in Brighton, East Sussex, England and brought up in Elstree, Hertfordshire. His father, Eric Philip Cowell, was an estate agent developer and music industry executive, and his mother, Julie Brett (née Josie Dalglish), is a former ballet dancer and socialite. Cowell's paternal grandparents, Joseph Cowell and Esther Malinsky, were English Jews, and his maternal grandfather was Scottish. He has 1 brother and 2 half-brothers; younger brother Nicholas Cowell, half-brother Tony Cowell, and half-brother Michael Cowell. Michael is the oldest, followed by Tony, Simon and Nicholas (in that order).