Jon Bon Jovi

Jon Bon Jovi married his high school sweetheart, Dorothea Hurley, in Las Vegas on April 29, 1989. They have four children: Stephanie, Jesse, Jacob, also known as Jake, and Romeo.

His son Jake married English actress Millie Bobby Brown in 2024. Bon Jovi later became a grandfather when Jake and Brown adopted a daughter in 2025.

In 2022, Bon Jovi underwent vocal cord medialization surgery after developing vocal cord problems. He completed nearly two years of daily vocal rehabilitation, and later discussed continued concerns about atrophy in one vocal cord.

Bon Jovi began performing in New Jersey bands during his teens, including Atlantic City Expressway, John Bongiovi and the Wild Ones, and the Rest. He met keyboardist David Bryan in high school and later worked at Manhattan's Power Station recording studio, which was co-owned by his cousin Tony Bongiovi.

In 1982, he recorded "Runaway" with studio musicians. A New York radio station included the song on a compilation of local talent, helping it gain airplay and leading Bon Jovi to assemble a full band. David Bryan brought in bassist Alec John Such and drummer Tico Torres, while Richie Sambora became the guitarist after Dave Sabo played several early shows.

The band signed with Mercury Records and released Bon Jovi in 1984 and 7800° Fahrenheit in 1985. Its breakthrough came with Slippery When Wet in 1986, which spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart and produced the No. 1 singles "You Give Love a Bad Name" and "Livin' on a Prayer". The 1988 album New Jersey also reached No. 1 and produced five top-10 singles, including "Bad Medicine" and "I'll Be There for You".

During Bon Jovi's hiatus after the demanding tours supporting Slippery When Wet and New Jersey, Bon Jovi wrote and recorded the soundtrack for the 1990 western film Young Guns II. The resulting solo album, Blaze of Glory, produced a No. 1 title song and earned a Golden Globe, as well as Academy Award and Grammy Award nominations.

He released his second solo album, Destination Anywhere, in 1997. A film using the album's songs starred Bon Jovi alongside Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, and Whoopi Goldberg. He also recorded "Not Running Anymore" for the film Stand Up Guys, earning a Golden Globe nomination for the song.

Bon Jovi began acting in the 1990s, appearing in films including Moonlight and Valentino, The Leading Man, Homegrown, U-571, Pay It Forward, and Cry Wolf. His television credits include Sex and the City, Ally McBeal, The West Wing, Las Vegas, and 30 Rock.

Bon Jovi was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. He won a 2007 Grammy Award for "Who Says You Can't Go Home", his country collaboration with Jennifer Nettles. In 2024, he was named MusiCares Person of the Year.

In 2004, Bon Jovi became a founder and principal owner of the Arena Football League's Philadelphia Soul, later leaving his ownership position. He also established the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation in 2006 to support community efforts addressing poverty and homelessness.

The foundation opened JBJ Soul Kitchen, a community restaurant in Red Bank, New Jersey, in 2011. Additional locations opened in Toms River, at Rutgers University's Newark campus, and at New Jersey City University. Bon Jovi was appointed to the White House Council for Community Solutions by President Barack Obama in 2010.