OK! ICONS SIMON COWELL
AFTER CELEBRATING HIS 60TH BIRTHDAY, HERE’S WHY WE’RE THANKFUL SIMON COWELL HAS NO INTENTION OF RETIRING JUST YET
Simon Cowell almost broke the internet when he revealed his recent transformation – a 20lb weight loss, a smooth as silk complexion and a smile so dazzling his dentist must need shades! But as The X Factor: Celebrity hit our screens last weekend, we were reminded that underneath the Hollywood makeover, it’s his genius as an entertainment mogul that ensures Simon’s star still shines brightly.
Although he famously turned down both Take That and the Spice Girls early in his career, Simon’s responsible for over 25 million album sales, signing the likes of 5IVE and Westlife – who he once described as ‘the ugliest boy band in the world!’ – and One Direction.
Over the past 18 years, award-winning talent shows Pop Idol, American Idol, Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor have spawned a host of international superstars, but it’s Simon’s crushing critiques that audiences really love. With put-downs such as: ‘You sounded like Dolly Parton on helium,’ and: ‘You have the personality of a handle,’ it’s no wonder his Mr Nasty demeanour has stuck.
A long line of colleagues have also felt his wrath, and there have been well-documented fall-outs with Louis Walsh, Sharon Osbourne and Cheryl Tweedy – who he fired from the American X Factor in 2011. ‘My falling out with Cheryl was a nightmare,’ he later said, admitting: ‘There was so much expectation on the show in America and I definitely wasn’t myself. I was uptight.’
But we always suspected there was a softer side to Simon. And in 2014 he and his partner Lauren Silverman welcomed a son, Eric.
Simon later described fatherhood as ‘incredible’, saying: ‘It does make you a happier person.’ Recalling a recent weekend with Eric, now five, he revealed: ‘We went jet skiing together, we saw seals. I see my life through his eyes now and it’s much more simple and fun.’
His health kick was triggered by an incident two years ago when he was rushed to hospital after fainting. The diagnosis was low blood pressure and Simon says of that time: ‘It was a wake-up call. I was like a vampire, going to sleep between five and seven in the morning.’
Cutting out gluten, switching to a vegan diet and going to bed at 10pm have worked wonders!
Last week Simon celebrated his 60th birthday with a lavish dinner in Malibu. ‘A lot of people who retire, they hate their job so much, they just love the idea of not working any more. That horrifies me,’ he says, adding: ‘I’m going to be still working in my eighties or nineties.’
‘I SEE MY LIFE THROUGH ERIC’S EYES NOW’