John Legend Biography
John Legend Basic Information
| Stage Name: | John Legend |
| Real Name: | John Roger Stephens |
| Occupation: | Singer, Songwriter, Pianist, Record Producer, Actor |
| Date Of Birth/Age: | December 28, 1978 (45) Years Old |
| Place of Birth: | Springfield, Ohio, U.S. |
| Gender: | Male |
| Nationality: | American |
| Marital Status: | Married |
| Education: | North High School (Springfield, Ohio), University of Pennsylvania |
| Height: | 1.75 m |
| Net Worth: | $100M |
John Legend Biography
John Roger Stephens, better known by his stage name John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He was born on December 28, 1978. Working behind the scenes, he contributed piano to Lauryn Hill’s “Everything Is Everything” and made uncredited cameo performances on Jay Z’s “Encore” and Alicia Keys’s “You Don’t Know My Name” to start his musical career. After that, he joined Kanye West’s GOOD Music and put out his 2004 debut album Get Lifted, which peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200 and was given a double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America.
He received eight nominations for the album at the 48th Grammy Awards, including ones for the singles “So High” with Lauryn Hill and “Ordinary People.” The latter song won the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, and he also won the awards for Best New Artist and Best R&B Album.
In NBC’s 2018 adaptation of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, Legend played Jesus Christ. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for his acting work and went on to win the award for his work as the show’s producer, making him the first black man and second-youngest recipient of all four major American entertainment honors (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) (EGOT). The NAACP President’s Award was also given to Legend. Legend has been a coach on The Voice since 2019 thus far.
Family
Wife
American model and television personality, Christine Diane Teigen, was born on November 30, 1985. In 2010, she made her professional modeling debut in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. In 2014, she shared the cover of the magazine’s 50th anniversary issue with Nina Agdal and Lily Aldridge. She previously had an appearance on the syndicated daytime chat show FABLife, which ran from 2015 to 2016. She and LL Cool J co-hosted the musical competition show Lip Sync Battle from 2015 to 2019. She also served as a judge on the comedy competition show Bring the Funny (2019). Teigen has written two cookbooks as well.
Children
Luna Simone Stephens
Chrissy Teigen and John Legend are parents to Luna, their firstborn daughter and child. With 60,000 followers, she has a sizable Instagram following. She was delivered weighing 6 pounds, 11 ounces. In October 2015, her mother made the news of her pregnancy public. Approximately three days after she was born, her parents announced her birth over social media.
Miles Theodore Stephens
Chrissy Teigen and John Legend’s second child and first son is Miles. The night he was born, Chrissy posted the first online record of his birth on her Twitter account. On May 20, 2018, Chrissy and John’s Instagram accounts posted the first image of him online. He is Luna Stephens’ younger brother. He was named after the famed jazz musician, Miles Davis.
Parents
Mother
Phyllis Stephens is John’s mother. She is a talented quilter who has won awards for her beautiful African-American story quilts, which are displayed in galleries and museums all over the world. She was a seamstress in the past. Radar Online reports that Phyllis was detained four times for theft, drug usage, and soliciting. This is what drove John to become a fervent supporter of jail reform.
Father
John’s father is Ronald Stephens. He worked as a factory worker when John was a child. He was a drummer as well, so it’s clear that John inherited part of his musical skills from dad. Ronald now owns a hat company called Popz Topz. Ronald made the decision to launch his own hat-making company using his years of tailoring knowledge. Ronald explained to Page Six that he came upon one of his old straw hats while performing some spring cleaning.
Ethnicity
On the Henry Louis Gates Jr.-hosted PBS television program Finding Your Roots, which aired in 2012, Legend underwent a very public reveal of some of his ancestry. Legend’s parents are both African Americans. Researchers were able to trace Legend’s ancestry down to Peyton Polly, his great-great-great-great-great grandpa, during the event. Polly was born a slave, but she was set free thanks to the slave owner’s will. The show also revealed Legend’s DNA ancestry in addition to this amazing and tragic history. The vocalist is mostly descended from the Fula and Mende peoples of Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone, and is 64% African, 32% European, and 4% Native American.
