O.J. Simpson

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 8: O. J. Simpson sits in Superior Court in Los Angeles 08 December 1994 during an open court session where Judge Lance Ito denied a media attorney's request to open court transcripts from a 07 December private meeting involving prospective jurors. Final selection of alternate jurors by attorneys in the double murder case is expected later this afternoon. (Photo credit should read POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

First Name
Orenthal James
Last Name
Simpson
Date of Birth
July 9, 1947
Place of Birth
San Francisco, California
NFL Career
Buffalo Bills, RB (1969-1977); San Francisco 49ers, RB (1978-1979)
Filmography
Cade’s County (1972), Here’s Lucy (1973),The Klansman (1974), The Towering Inferno (1974), The Cassandra Crossing (1976), Killer Force, Firepower (1979), Hambone and Hillie (1983), 1st & Ten (1985 – 1991), Back to the Beach (1987), The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988), In the Heat of the Night (1989), The Naked Gun 2+1⁄2: The Smell of Fear (1991)

Orenthal James Simpson, known as “O.J.,” was a former NFL star and actor who became notorious after he was accused of double murder in one of the highest-profile trials in U.S. history.

Simpson was born and raised in San Francisco, California where he honed his love of sports and tapped into his athleticism. Simpson excelled at football in high school and went on to win the Heisman trophy with the University of Southern California. In 1969, Simpson was the NFL first draft pick by the Buffalo Bills. Simpson had an illustrious football career with the Bills and later retired with the San Francisco 49ers. By the time he retired in 1979, Simpson was a major celebrity appearing in commercials and making his major film acting debut in 1974’s The Klansman.

But Simpsons’ fame turned notorious on the night of June 12, 1994, when Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman were found stabbed to death outside of her Los Angeles home. With a previous domestic violence charge against Brown, Simpson was a person of interest in the murder. In response to the warrant for his arrest, Simpson engaged in a low-speed police chase while the passenger of a Ford Bronco as former teammate Al Cowling drove in a now infamous moment.

What followed was one of the most infamous court cases in American history dubbed the “Trial of the Century” by the media. Following a sequence of dramatic courtroom events that now live in pop-culture infamy, from Simpson’s “Dream Team” of high-priced lawyers to the allegations of racism levied against LAPD detective Mark Fuhrman, to Cochran’s “If the glove don’t fit, you must acquit” quip about the bloodied glove found at the murder scene, Simpson was found not guilty.

In 1997, Simpson was found guilty in a civil wrongful death lawsuit filed by Goldman’s family. Ten years later, in 2007, his legal troubles continued as he was arrested and found guilty of charges related to the armed robbery of sports-merchandise dealers in a Las Vegas hotel room. Simpson spent eight years in prison before being released in 2017.

Simpson died from an undisclosed cancer on April 10, 2024 at the age of 76.