Jon Bon Jovi

Did You Know?

• Bon Jovi's mother Carol was a former Marine and Playboy Bunny.
• The Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation opened the JBJ Soul Kitchen in Red Bank, New Jersey, in 2011, where patrons pay what they can afford or volunteer.
• Bon Jovi is one of 21 artists on the charity single 'Everybody Hurts' for 2010 Haiti earthquake victims.

Musical career

Jon Bon Jovi began playing music in 1974, forming his first band Raze and entering a school talent contest. At 16, he formed Atlantic City Expressway with David Bryan, who later joined Bon Jovi. He also played in John Bongiovi and the Wild Ones, performing in clubs like the Fast Lane. By 1980, he had formed the Rest, which opened for New Jersey acts such as Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.

With the Rest, founded by guitarist Jack Ponti, Bon Jovi wrote early songs including "Shot Through the Heart," later on Bon Jovi's debut album. The group disbanded after receiving no record offers. Out of school and working part-time at a women's shoe store, Bon Jovi took a job at Power Station Studios, a Manhattan recording facility co-owned by his cousin Tony Bongiovi. While sweeping the floor, disco producer Meco suggested Bon Jovi sing "R2-D2 We Wish You a Merry Christmas" for the album Christmas in the Stars: The Star Wars Christmas Album; this became his first professional recording, credited as John Bongiovi.

In 1981, he made his television debut with the John Bongiovi Band on The Uncle Floyd Show. He made several demos, including one produced by Billy Squier, but failed to attract record companies. In 1982, he recorded "Runaway" in his cousin's studio with studio musicians. He visited radio station WAPP 103.5FM "The Apple" in Lake Success, New York, to write and sing jingles.

DJ Chip Hobart and promotion director John Lassman suggested including "Runaway" on the station's compilation album of local talent. Bon Jovi reluctantly agreed, and the song was re-recorded in 1982 with local studio musicians he called the All Star Review: guitarist Tim Pierce, keyboardist Roy Bittan, drummer Frankie LaRocka, and bassist Hugh McDonald.

Other ventures

Jon Bon Jovi has appeared in a number of films, including Moonlight and Valentino, The Leading Man, Destination Anywhere, Homegrown, Little City, No Looking Back, Row Your Boat, Vampires Los Muertos, U-571, Cry Wolf, National Lampoon's Pucked, and New Year's Eve. He played a supporting role in Pay It Forward as Helen Hunt's abusive ex-husband. His television credits include Sex and the City, 30 Rock, Las Vegas, The West Wing, and a longer stint on Ally McBeal as a plumber who briefly dated Ally.

He also had a small, uncredited part in the 1990 film Young Guns II. In 2004, he founded and became the primary owner of the Philadelphia Soul, an Arena Football League team. He appeared in league commercials, often alongside former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway. He no longer owns a stake in the Soul.

In 2014, he was part of a group that attempted to buy the Buffalo Bills, but the sale went to Terry Pegula. On June 8, 2024, Bon Jovi opened JBJ's, a rooftop restaurant and bar in Nashville at 405 Broadway. The venue has multiple levels, each with a balcony overlooking a central stage, and features live music every day. The grand opening included a performance by Bon Jovi and his band, their first full-band show since the end of their 2022 tour.

Guests at the event included Vince Neil, Jeremy and Ajay Popoff, Big Kenny, Jelly Roll, and Jamie O'Neal. JBJ's also houses the first permanent Proto hologram machine in a music venue, which can display holograms of Bon Jovi and his band and beam in special guests. On December 3, 2025, Bon Jovi co-hosted NBC's Christmas in Rockefeller Center and performed the song "Unbroken," which deals with war veterans' experiences with PTSD and the comfort provided by service animals.

Activism

During the 2004 presidential campaign, Bon Jovi toured extensively for John Kerry, performing acoustic sets with Richie Sambora at rallies. In 2009, he played at a Manhattan fundraiser for Hillary Clinton to help reduce her 2008 presidential campaign debt. On January 18, 2009, he performed a duet of Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come" with Bettye LaVette at Barack Obama's inauguration concert. On June 4, 2009, he performed an acoustic benefit for New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine at NJPAC in Newark.

On June 24, 2009, Bon Jovi, Sambora, and Andy Madadian recorded a musical message of solidarity with the people of Iran, featuring a handwritten Persian sign reading "we are one. In the 2020 Democratic primaries, he endorsed Cory Booker for president. On October 24, 2020, he performed at a drive-in event for Joe Biden in Dallas, Pennsylvania. On January 20, 2021, Bon Jovi and the Kings of Suburbia performed a cover of the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun" as part of the "Celebrating America" inauguration event.

During the 2024 presidential election, he endorsed Kamala Harris. On October 18, 2025, he participated in a No Kings protest in New Jersey, holding a sign reading "No Kings. No Tyrants. No Sycophants. No Trump."

Personal life

Jon Bon Jovi married his high school sweetheart, Dorothea Hurley, on April 29, 1989, at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. The couple secretly traveled there during a stop in Los Angeles while his band was on the New Jersey Syndicate Tour. They have four children: a daughter, Stephanie (born 1993), and three sons, Jesse (born 1995), Jake (born 2002), and Romeo (born 2004). In 2024, Jake married English actress Millie Bobby Brown, making Bon Jovi her father-in-law, and the couple adopted a daughter in 2025, making him a grandfather.

He used to live in Rumson, New Jersey, where he set up his Sanctuary Sound recording studio in the basement. He has called himself a recovering Catholic. He is good friends with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and former head coach Bill Belichick, owns two Super Bowl rings from the Patriots, and has performed multiple times at Gillette Stadium. In 2019, he received an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and in 2021, a second honorary doctorate from Princeton University for his work in music and social welfare.

In October 2021, he tested positive for COVID-19 at a fan event in Florida but showed no symptoms because he was fully vaccinated and felt "great"; he recovered by November 12. In April 2022, he said the experience made him realize "how volatile we are and how fragile life is." In February 2024, he revealed he had reconstructive vocal cord surgery in June 2022, called vocal cord medialization, followed by nearly two years of daily rehabilitation.

In an October 2025 interview, he said one of his vocal cords was atrophying and he was trying several recovery methods. In September 2024, during a break from shooting a music video on the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge in Nashville, he talked a woman who was about to jump off the bridge into climbing back over the railing. Nashville police thanked him, and CNN released security camera footage of the incident.