Mark Ronson, 43, and Miley Cyrus, 26, just released an epic remake of the Christmas classic song “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”, originally recorded in 1971 by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and now he’s set to perform the impressive track on the Dec. 15 episode of Saturday Night Live. The successful DJ has come a long way since his most recent release and has truly made a name for himself with some amazing collaborations over the years. Here are five things you should know about him before you see him in action on America’s favorite comedy sketch show.
1.) He’s British but grew up in America. Mark was born in London, England and has ancestors that come from a wide range of places, including Austria, Lithuania and Russia. He moved to New York with his family when he was just eight-years-old and grew up there, even befriending John and Yoko’s son Sean Lennon. He eventually went on to study at New York University and obtained his American citizenship in 2008 right before the presidential election.
2.) He’s worked as a DJ, songwriter and producer for his own albums and the albums of many high-profile musicians. Mark’s released four of his own albums and worked on some of the most successful tracks of all-time, including Amy Winehouse‘s Back To Black in 2006, Adele‘s 19 in 2008, and 25 in 2015 and Bruno Mars‘ Unorthodox Jukebox in 2012.
3.) His sister is also a well-known DJ. Samantha Ronson has collaborated with Mark on a number of mixtapes and worked on remixes with various musicians, including The Chainsmokers and Lady Gaga.
4.) In addition to being a musician, he has been an activist. Mark has publicly fought in issues he believes in, including animal rights. He joined PETA’s “Please Don’t Wear Any Fur” campaign in 2009.
5.) As a successful music professional, he’s won numerous prestigious awards. Some of the most impressive are five Grammy Awards, and two BRIT Awards. He has also won honors for things that are not music related, including being named the most stylish man in the U.K. by GQ Magazine in 2009 and one of the magazine’s 50 best dressed British men in 2015.