Eminem's Real Name: Marshall Bruce Mathers III

Quick answer: Eminem's real name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III. He was born on October 17, 1972, in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Real name and early life

Britannica records Eminem as the byname of Marshall Bruce Mathers III, born October 17, 1972, in St. Joseph, Missouri. Biography.com matches that full legal name and birth details. The stage name Eminem comes from his initials, M and M; he also uses the alter ego Slim Shady.

His childhood was marked by poverty and frequent moves between Missouri and the Detroit area. He began rapping in Detroit clubs at about 14, left school after repeated ninth-grade setbacks, and built an underground reputation as a solo act and with the Detroit rap group D12 (the Dirty Dozen). His first album, Infinite (1996), sold poorly while he worked odd jobs.

Quick facts

• Real name: Marshall Bruce Mathers III
• Known as: Eminem; also Slim Shady
• Born: October 17, 1972, in St. Joseph, Missouri
• Known for: Rapper, producer, actor
• Notable work: The Slim Shady LP, The Marshall Mathers LP, 8 Mile, Lose Yourself
• Sources checked: Britannica, Biography.com, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Career highlights

A strong showing at the 1997 Rap Olympics drew Dr. Dre's attention. With Dre producing, The Slim Shady LP (1999) sold multi-platinum and earned Grammys. The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) set a U.S. record for the fastest-selling rap album and spawned hits including "The Real Slim Shady" and "Stan." The Eminem Show (2002) followed, and the same year he starred in the semi-autobiographical film 8 Mile; the film's song "Lose Yourself" won an Academy Award.

Later albums include Encore (2004), Relapse (2009), Recovery (2010), The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (2013), Kamikaze (2018), and Music to Be Murdered By (2020)—his tenth consecutive Billboard 200 No. 1 debut. Britannica notes he was the first artist with ten straight No. 1 album debuts. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022 and released The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) in 2024.

Name notes

Eminem is a stage name built from the initials of Marshall Mathers. Slim Shady is a separate persona, not a legal name. Searchers often ask whether "Marshall Mathers" or "Marshall Bruce Mathers III" is correct; major sources use the full three-part legal name. Fan sites often copy names from one another, so we checked this page against Britannica and Biography.com.