- Born
- Birth nameThomas Daniel Mottola Jr.
- Nickname
- Tommy
- Height5′ 8″ (1.73 m)
- Tommy Mottola was born in The Bronx, New York. A transformative, influential music executive, producer, New York Times bestselling author, and is best known as the Chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment, driving the company during his tenure to $65 billion in global music sales and selling over 8 billion units. Mottola is recognized as the chief architect of the late-1990s "Latin Explosion," a deliberate global crossover strategy that launched mainstream English and Spanish-language careers of multi-platinum superstars including Gloria Estefan, Ricky Martin, Shakira, Marc Anthony, and Jennifer Lopez. In his early career as a talent manager he discovered and developed global icons Darryl Hall & John Oates, while managing Carly Simon and John Mellencamp, among many others.
Outside the music industry, Mottola has established a prolific footprint as a Broadway and film producer, and venture capital investor. As a Broadway producer, his major theatrical productions include A Bronx Tale The Musical, The Donna Summer Musical, and the upcoming Johnny Cash musical. He is also the author of the NYT bestselling memoir, Hitmaker: The Man and His Music. Today, Mottola continues to engineer multi-platform entertainment ecosystems as a founding partner of Neon16, staying current, and producing hits for Bad Bunny, J Balvin, and Maluma through the Mottola Media Co.
Mottola has been married to global superstar Thalía since December 2, 2000, and has two children. He previously discovered and was married to Mariah Carey.
- IMDb mini biography by: Tommy Mottola
- SpousesThalía(December 2, 2000 - present) (2 children)Mariah Carey(June 5, 1993 - March 5, 1998) (divorced)Lisa Clark(1971 - 1990) (divorced, 2 children)
- ChildrenSabrina Sakaë Mottola
- Discovered Hall & Oates. Other acts he guided during his tenure as head of Sony's U.S. operations include Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan, Jessica Simpson, the The Chicks, and Destiny's Child.
- Was the president of Sony Music Entertainment. Discovered Mariah Carey at a party, listened to her demo, and signed her to his record company
- Six months in the planning, his wedding to Mariah Carey featured 50 flower girls, an 8-piece orchestra, a boys choir, and 300 guests, including Barbra Streisand, Bruce Springsteen, Gloria Estefan, Michael Bolton, Christie Brinkley, Tony Bennett, Ozzy Osbourne, Robert De Niro and Michael Ovitz. The event reportedly cost $5 million.
- Is one of only a small group of people who have been made an honorary US Marshal by the US Marshals Service.
- Referenced, in a somewhat curious context, in the mid-70s dance club hit "Cherchez le Femme" by Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band. The first line of the song is "Tommy Mottola lives on the road/He lost his lady two months ago.".
- Music was around me from morning till night. From the time I was two years old I would climb on the stool and bang on the keys of our family piano. But there was one single defining moment that ran through me like a bolt of electricity when I was eight years old: that was the time I heard Don't Be Cruel' blasting through my sister's AM radio. The beat and the rhythm of that song branded me forever and was everything that motivated and inspired me to become what I became.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
