Sean Combs

Sean Combs was born in Harlem, New York City, and was raised by his mother after his father was murdered when Combs was a young child. His family later moved to Mount Vernon, New York, where he attended a Catholic boys school in the Bronx. He enrolled at Howard University as a business major but left after two years to pursue work in the music industry.

Combs began as an intern at Uptown Records in 1990 and rose to become a talent director and vice president. Working under label founder Andre Harrell, he helped develop artists including Mary J. Blige and Jodeci. His early reputation also grew through the large dance parties he organized while attending Howard University.

After leaving Uptown Records in 1993, Combs founded Bad Boy Entertainment. He signed Christopher Wallace, known as Biggie Smalls and The Notorious B.I.G., and the label's early success was established by Wallace's album Ready to Die. Bad Boy's roster later included Faith Evans, 112, Mase, Total, and The Lox.

Following Wallace's murder in 1997, Combs released the tribute single “I'll Be Missing You,” featuring Faith Evans and 112. The song spent 11 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Combs's debut album, No Way Out, also reached number one on the Billboard 200 and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.

Combs released Forever in 1999 and The Saga Continues... in 2001. He later recorded Press Play, which became his third album to reach number one on the Billboard 200. His music career also included the group Diddy-Dirty Money, formed with Dawn Richard and Kalenna Harper, whose album Last Train to Paris was released in 2010.

Combs changed his stage name from Puff Daddy to P. Diddy in 2001 and dropped the “P.” in 2005, adopting Diddy. He used the name Puff Daddy again for the 2015 mixtape MMM. In 2021, he legally changed his middle name from John to Love, and he subsequently used the name Love, also known as Brother Love.

His later recordings included the collaborative album 11:11 with Guy Gerber in 2014 and The Love Album: Off the Grid in 2023. The latter earned a Grammy nomination for Best Progressive R&B Album. Combs also executive-produced MTV's Making the Band, a reality series that created acts including Da Band, Danity Kane, Day26, and Donnie Klang.

Combs began taking significant acting roles in 2001, appearing in Made and playing Lawrence Musgrove in Monster's Ball. He later appeared in Carlito's Way: Rise to Power, Get Him to the Greek, Muppets Most Wanted, and Draft Day.

In 2004, Combs played Walter Lee Younger in the Broadway revival of A Raisin in the Sun. He reprised the role in the 2008 television adaptation, for which he received an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special. His television appearances also included CSI: Miami, Hawaii Five-0, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

In November 2023, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, with whom Combs had been in a relationship from 2007 to 2018, filed a lawsuit accusing him of rape, physical abuse, and sex trafficking. The case was settled the following day. In May 2024, CNN released surveillance footage showing Combs assaulting Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel in 2016, and Combs later apologized for his conduct in the video. Other civil lawsuits followed, including accusations of sexual assault and harassment.

Federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security searched Combs's homes in Los Angeles and Miami in March 2024. He was arrested in New York City in September 2024 after being indicted on charges including racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. At trial in 2025, a jury acquitted him of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking but convicted him on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He was sentenced to 50 months in prison.