Mac Miller

Miller had an on-and-off relationship with writer Nomi Leasure, whom he met in middle school, which lasted for seven years until 2016. Themes related to their relationship appeared across his music, notably on the 2012 mixtape Macadelic. In August 2016, Miller began dating singer Ariana Grande, with whom he had previously collaborated on the 2013 hit single "The Way" and a 2012 cover of "Baby, It's Cold Outside". Their relationship ended in May 2018.

Throughout his adult life, Miller spoke candidly about dealing with depression and substance abuse. During his 2012 Macadelic Tour, he developed an addiction to promethazine and lean to cope with stress, eventually quitting promethazine in November 2012 prior to filming his reality television series. His relationship with substance use and periods of sobriety heavily influenced his songwriting, particularly on projects like Faces and GO:OD AM.

Malcolm James McCormick was born on January 19, 1992, in the Point Breeze neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His mother, Karen Meyers, worked as a photographer, and his father, Mark McCormick, worked as an architect. He grew up alongside his older brother, Miller. His mother is Jewish and his father is Christian; Miller was raised Jewish, had a bar mitzvah, and attended a Catholic grade school before attending Winchester Thurston School and graduating from Taylor Allderdice High School.

A self-taught musician from an early age, Miller learned to play piano, guitar, drums, and bass by age six. While he initially wanted to be a singer, he began rapping at age 14 and decided to pursue hip-hop seriously at 15. Performing initially under the pseudonym Easy Mac, he released his debut mixtape, But My Mackin' Ain't Easy, in 2007. After forming the duo The Ill Spoken with rapper Beedie in 2008, he adopted the stage name Mac Miller and released the solo mixtapes The Jukebox: Prelude to Class Clown and The High Life in 2009.

In July 2010, Miller signed with the independent Pittsburgh-based label Rostrum Records after label president Benjy Grinberg took notice of his artistic development. His breakthrough mixtape, K.I.D.S., arrived in August 2010, gaining substantial momentum through touring and internet platforms. In 2011, Miller was selected as part of XXL magazine's annual Freshman Class alongside artists like Kendrick Lamar and Meek Mill. His subsequent mixtape, Best Day Ever (2011), produced the single "Donald Trump", which became his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and eventually received a platinum certification from the RIAA.

Miller released his debut studio album, Blue Slide Park, in November 2011. The record debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 144,000 copies sold in its first week, making it the first independently distributed debut album to top the chart since 1995. Despite its massive commercial success and gold certification, the album received polarized reviews from music critics, prompting Miller to push into more musically ambitious and experimental directions.

Moving to Los Angeles in 2012, Miller shifted toward a psychedelic and musically complex sound. Under the jazz alter-ego Larry Lovestein & The Velvet Revival, he released the lounge-jazz EP You in late 2012. He also established his production moniker, Larry Fisherman, releasing the instrumental mixtape Run-On Sentences, Volume One and producing Vince Staples's mixtape Stolen Youth. In 2013, he founded the imprint REMember Music and starred in the MTV2 reality series Mac Miller and the Most Dope Family.

Miller's second studio album, Watching Movies with the Sound Off, was released in June 2013 to positive reviews, featuring guest appearances from Earl Sweatshirt, Ab-Soul, Action Bronson, Schoolboy Q, and Tyler, the Creator. Following the end of his Rostrum Records contract in 2014, Miller independently released the 24-track mixtape Faces. The project addressed fame, drug use, and mortality, becoming widely regarded as one of his most personal and creative achievements.

In October 2014, Miller signed a recording and distribution contract with Warner Bros. Records. His major label debut, GO:OD AM, arrived in September 2015, featuring the platinum single "Weekend" with Miguel. He followed this in September 2016 with The Divine Feminine, an album focusing on love, R&B, and funk, featuring guest vocal contributions from artists such as Anderson .Paak and Ariana Grande.

Miller released his fifth studio album, Swimming, on August 3, 2018. Centered on themes of healing, mental health, and self-reflection, the project received widespread critical acclaim and debuted at number three on the Billboard 200. Following his death, the album earned a nomination for Best Rap Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, and its lead single "Self Care" reached the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.

On September 7, 2018, Miller died at his Studio City home in Los Angeles at the age of 26. The Los Angeles County Coroner determined the cause of death to be an accidental drug overdose resulting from mixed drug toxicity of fentanyl, cocaine, and alcohol. He was buried at Homewood Cemetery in Pittsburgh following a traditional Jewish service. In 2019, three men were indicted in connection with distributing the counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl that caused his death, resulting in prison sentences for two of the suppliers.

Following his death, Miller's family established the Mac Miller Fund to support youth arts programs and addiction recovery initiatives. In January 2020, his estate released the Jon Brion-completed companion album Circles, which debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and featured the hit single "Good News". The estate subsequently oversaw commercial re-releases of his classic mixtapes, including K.I.D.S. and Faces, as well as the release of the archival project Balloonerism in 2025.