Mark Ronson

Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, record producer, songwriter, and remixer.

He was born into the Ronson family, formerly one of Britain's wealthiest families and founders of Heron International; following success in the 1980s, they lost $1 billion of their wealth in the property crash of the early 1990s.

He is the nephew of businessman Gerald Ronson.

Through his mother, he is distantly related to British Conservative politicians Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Leon Brittan, and Odeon Cinemas founder Oscar Deutsch.

Ronson has two younger sisters, twins Charlotte Ronson, a fashion designer, and Samantha Ronson, a singer and DJ.

Through his mother's second marriage to Mick Jones he has two elder step-siblings and two half-siblings, including actress Annabelle Dexter-Jones.

Through his father's second marriage, he has three other half-siblings.

While attending New York University, Ronson became a regular in the downtown hip hop night life.

He became known as a DJ on the New York club scene by 1993, charging $50 per job.

He was known for his diverse, genre-spanning selection.

He attracted a wide audience by fusing funk, hip hop, and rock and roll into his setlists, and playing songs that were popular in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

He signed with Elektra Records to release his debut studio album Here Comes the Fuzz (2003), which contained guest performances from prominent American hip hop acts and was met with lukewarm commercial reception.

Due to this, he parted ways with Elektra the following year and co-founded his own label Allido Records, through which he released his following projects and signed other artists including Wale, Rhymefest, and Daniel Merriweather.

He has won eight Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Amy Winehouse's album Back to Black (2006), as well as two for Record of the Year with her 2006 single "Rehab" and his own 2014 single "Uptown Funk" (featuring Bruno Mars).

By 2006, he gained wider recognition for his production work on albums and singles for Lily Allen, Christina Aguilera, and Amy Winehouse.

The following year, he signed with Columbia Records and released the Motown-funk cover singles "Stop Me" (featuring Daniel Merriweather) and "Valerie" (featuring Amy Winehouse), both of which peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart and preceded the release of his second album, Version (2007).

It reached number two on the UK Albums Chart earned him the Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist.

In 2008, he obtained American citizenship so that he could vote in that year's election.

His third album, Record Collection (2010), matched its chart position and moderately entered the U.S. Billboard 200.

His 2014 single, "Uptown Funk" (featuring Bruno Mars) saw his furthest commercial success internationally, spending 14 consecutive weeks atop the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, seven non-consecutive weeks atop the UK Singles Chart, and remains one of the best-selling singles of all-time.

"Uptown Funk" served as the lead single for his fourth studio album Uptown Special (2015), which was dedicated to Winehouse and peaked atop the UK Albums Chart, as well as number five on the Billboard 200.

In 2015, he became a patron of the Amy Winehouse Foundation, which helps disadvantaged youth through music.

He has also worked with the End the Silence campaign to raise funds and awareness for the Hope and Homes for Children charity.

He served as an artist mentor at Turnaround Arts, a national program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which helped low-performing schools through arts education.

Mark Daniel Ronson was born in Notting Hill, London, England, to Laurence Ronson, a then music manager and publisher, now real estate developer, and Ann Dexter-Jones (née Dexter), a writer, jewelry designer, and socialite.

His Ashkenazi Jewish ancestors emigrated from Austria, Lithuania, and Russia.

He was brought up in a Conservative Jewish household and celebrated his Bar Mitzvah.

After his parents' divorce, his mother married Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones.

Jones wrote Foreigner's hit song "I Want to Know What Love Is" about his burgeoning relationship with Dexter-Jones.

Ronson, along with his mother, stepfather, and sisters, moved to New York City when he was eight years old.

Living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, he counted Sean Lennon among his childhood friends.

At twelve, being a self-described music nerd, he pestered Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner into an internship at the magazine.

He attended high school at the private Collegiate School in Manhattan before attending Vassar College and then New York University.

He has also won an Academy Award for Best Original Song, a Golden Globe and a Grammy Award for co-writing "Shallow" (performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper) for the film A Star Is Born (2018).

Ronson served as lead and executive producer for the soundtrack to the 2023 fantasy comedy film Barbie, on which he also composed and co-wrote several of its songs with his production partner Andrew Wyatt.

The soundtrack won three Grammy Awards—"What Was I Made For?" won Song of the Year and Best Song Written for Visual Media, while the parent album won Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media—from 11 nominations, as well as two Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song.

Ronson was born in London and raised in New York City.

His stepfather is Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones, which contributed to a childhood surrounded by music.

While attending New York University, Ronson became a popular DJ in the regional area for his work in hip hop music.

In 2018, he founded the record label Zelig Records, an imprint of Columbia Records, and formed the duo Silk City with fellow producer Diplo; their debut single, "Electricity" (featuring Dua Lipa) was released in September of that year and won a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.