Simon Fuller (born 17 May 1960 in
Hastings,
East Sussex,
England) is an
artist manager,
television producer and creator of the
Idol franchise, first seen as
Pop Idol in the UK and over 100 other versions including
American Idol,
Australian Idol,
Canadian Idol,
Deutschland sucht den Superstar,
Indian Idol,
Nouvelle Star,
New Zealand Idol and
World Idol. Simon Fuller is also the co-creator and executive producer of the Fox TV reality show
So You Think You Can Dance and other US and European TV shows. He is an executive producer of
Little Britain USA, a TV show that he signed to HBO and BBC TV in 2008. He is, or has been, the manager of performers and entertainers including
David and
Victoria Beckham,
Claudia Schiffer,
Annie Lennox,
Andy Murray,
Spice Girls,
Cathy Dennis,
Sam and Mark,
Carrie Underwood,
Samantha Ronson,
Will Young,
Mini Viva,
David Cook and others. His brother is comedy writer and director
Kim Fuller.
Business
Simon Fuller is Chief Executive of 19 Entertainment, based in London, Los Angeles and New York City, which he founded in 1985. Prior to forming 19 Entertainment, from 1981 to 1985, Mr. Fuller worked at
Chrysalis, in publishing (Chrysalis Limited) and
A&R (Chrysalis Records). In 1983 he was responsible for signing
Madonna's first hit 'Holiday' to the company. When he discovered
Paul Hardcastle in 1985 he started his own management company aged 25. Hardcastle went to No.1 in the US and UK single chart with his
Vietnam war song, "
19"
In March 2005, Simon Fuller sold 19 Entertainment to CKX, Inc. in a cash and stock deal worth over $200 million. 19 Entertainment employs 180 people based in London, New York, Nashville and in Europe and delivered a profit of $92 million into its parent company during 2008. Simon Fuller remains in his role as President of 19 but has become a director of CKX, a position which includes responsibility for the Elvis Presley Estate,
Muhammad Ali’s business interests and other iconic rights properties. In 2007, he was named by
Time magazine
[Simon Fuller, Time, 3 May 2007] as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
