http://www.people.com/people/simon_cowell

Gleefully snarky American Idol judge Simon Cowell notes that his first insult was directed at his own mother when he was only 4: He told his mum her white pillbox hat made her look like a poodle.

After bouncing through English schools that failed to handle him, he found work in the mailroom at EMI Records, where his father was an executive. By the time Cowell was 30, he was a bigwig at BMG, later signing top talent like 5ive and Westlife to his own label, S Records.

But it was his tell-it-like-it-is role as a judge on the British reality show Pop Idol that made him a household name in the U.K. When the American version, American Idol, made its debut, Cowell found an even larger audience. Today, the ratings juggernaut shows no signs of slowing down, having turned previously unknowns Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Jordin Sparks and David Cook into stars. simon facts- Simon Cowell once wrote a check on the spot for $19,000 for a Barbados animal refuge, while vacationing on the island. If he had the chance to invite six people, living or dead, to dinner, Simon Cowell would choose Bill Clinton (whose autobiography sits on his bookshelf), Natalie Wood and Frank Sinatra; then he'd tell Frank to pick the other three. Simon Cowell loves cars and has a Ferrari, Bentley, Mini Cooper and a Rolls Royce Phantom. Simon Cowell told Esquire that Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" is one of the greatest pop records of all time. In London at Madame Tussauds wax museum, Simon Cowell's likeness takes a step closer to reality by hurling insults at museum visitors: "That was extraordinary," the figure says. "Unfortunately, extraordinarily bad."