O. J. Simpson Orenthal James Simpson
13 min read
Reading time
2,562
Words
Published
83
Film credits
2
Books
2
Awards
O.J. Simpson was a Hall of Fame NFL running back who became the first player to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season in 1973. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1968 at USC and acted in films like The Naked Gun series. His murder trial and acquittal in 1995 for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman made him a polarizing figure.
Names, aliases, and relatives of O.J. Simpson — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
O.J. Simpson by the numbers — life, work, and family.
O.J. Simpson — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
At age seven, O.J. Simpson joined a San Francisco street gang called the Persian Kings circa 1954. Born Orenthal James Simpson on July 9, 1947, he grew up in the city’s housing projects with his three siblings. He attended Galileo Academy of Science and Technology, where his athletic talent began to emerge, leading him to City College of San Francisco and eventually the University of Southern California.
In 1968, O.J. Simpson won the Heisman Trophy while playing halfback for the University of Southern California. He was drafted first overall by the Buffalo Bills in 1969 and spent 11 seasons in the NFL, primarily with the Bills. In 1973, he became the first NFL player to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season, setting a single-season yards-per-game average of 143.1 that still stands. After retiring in 1979, he turned to acting and broadcasting, appearing in The Naked Gun comedy series and hosting Saturday Night Live in 1978.
Simpson married Marguerite Whitley in 1967, and they had three children: Arnelle, Jason, and Aaren. Aaren drowned in the family pool in 1979 at age two. He then married Nicole Brown in 1985, with whom he had two children, Sydney and Justin. The couple divorced in 1992. On June 12, 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman were murdered, leading to his arrest and a widely covered trial. He was acquitted in October 1995 but later found civilly liable for their deaths in 1997, ordered to pay $33.5 million.
Simpson’s NFL records include the first 2,000-yard rushing season and a career total of 11,236 yards, ranking 14th all-time at his retirement. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983. His murder trial, the longest in California history, drew over 150 million viewers and sparked intense debate on race and justice. Outside of football, Simpson acted in films like The Naked Gun series and was a friend to many, but his legacy remains forever tied to the 1994 murders and his subsequent legal battles.
The complete filmography of O.J. Simpson — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by O.J. Simpson — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
O.J. Simpson's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.
A wall of memorable lines from O.J. Simpson — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
If There Wasn’t No Fight, There Wasn’t No Weekend.
I Could Not Tell You the Date of My Mother’s Death. I Could Not Tell You the Date of My Dad’s Death. These Are Not Dates That I Find Significant.
Money Takes Wings. the Only Thing That Endures Is Character.
My NFL Pension Can Barely Pay My Son’s Tuition. You Know, It’s Very Little Money.
I Tend to Watch a Little TV . . . Court TV, Once in a While. Some of the Cases I Get Interested In.
I Think I’ve Been a Great Citizen.
I Have Always Wanted to Be Liked and Respected.
I’m Enjoying the Money, the Big House, the Cars; What Ghetto Kid Wouldn’t?
I’ve Always Thought I’ve Been Pretty Good with People I’ve Basically Spend a Conflict Free Life.
Little-known facts about O.J. Simpson — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Producers considered O.J. Simpson for the title role in The Terminator 1984 but feared he was too nice to be taken seriously as a cold-blooded killer.
A Las Vegas jury convicted Simpson of armed robbery and kidnapping in 2008, 13 years to the day after he was acquitted of killing ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
Simpson became the second professional athlete to host Saturday Night Live on February 25, 1978; he was the only former host not invited to the show’s 25th Anniversary Special.
Multiple attempts at a Hollywood comeback yielded no offers for Simpson.
In November 2006, publisher Judith Regan arranged for Simpson to write a hypothetical confession to the murders; the book If I Did It attracted so much negative publicity it was quickly canceled.
On June 17, 1994, O.J. Simpson was arrested and charged with the June 12, 1994 murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman; he was tried on January 24, 1995, and found not guilty on October 3, 1995 after 16 months of confinement.
Simpson served as Ahmad Rashad’s best man at his 1985 wedding to Phylicia Rashad; Bill Cosby walked her down the aisle.
The murder case cost nearly $20 million to fight and defend.
When the verdict for the murder trial was broadcast on live television, at least 150 million people tuned in.
Simpson’s murder trial was the longest murder trial ever held in the state of California.
On February 4, 1997, a civil jury held Simpson liable for the deaths of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, awarding $8.5 million in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages to the families.
Simpson was ordered to pay $33.5 million total to the Goldman and Brown families, with 10% annual interest for every year it remained unpaid.
During a 1998 guest appearance on The Ruby Wax Show, Simpson pretended to stab host Ruby Wax with a banana while mimicking the theme music from Psycho 1960.
At the height of his football fame, polls indicated Simpson was one of the top three most recognized faces in North America.
Simpson was working on a TV movie titled Frogmen 1994 shortly before the murders; it was designed as a pilot but never aired.
Simpson and Nicole Brown had two children: Sydney born October 17, 1985 and Justin born August 6, 1988.
Simpson was the first pro football player to grace the cover of Rolling Stone magazine on September 8, 1977.
Under terms of their divorce, Marguerite Simpson received a $500,000 trust fund, $600,000 to purchase a new home, 50% of deferred income from football contracts, and half of $3 million in community property.
Howard Stern’s book Miss America was originally titled Getting Away With Murder and had a photo of O.J. and Stern taken at Donald Trump’s wedding on the cover.
Simpson had three children with first wife Marguerite Whitley: Arnelle born December 4, 1968, Jason born April 21, 1970, and Aaren born September 24, 1977, drowned August 26, 1979.
Simpson was a close friend of Frank Olson, the Hertz executive who hired him as a spokesperson in 1974; both died on the same day — April 10, 2024.
As a child, Simpson was in a street gang called The Persian Kings around 1954.
Kevin Costner cited Simpson as his favorite athlete, calling him the greatest football player he ever saw in an interview with Michael Kay on CenterStage.
Simpson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.
He was granted parole by a unanimous vote of the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners.
Simpson was a football player turned actor and sportscaster.
He played running back for the Buffalo Bills from 1969 to 1977 and the San Francisco 49ers from 1978 to 1979.
Nicole Brown Simpson appeared uncredited as a bus passenger in Simpson’s made-for-TV movie Detour to Terror 1980.
Simpson won the Heisman Trophy in 1968 as a halfback for the University of Southern California.
When he retired in 1979, Simpson held NFL records for rushing yards in a season 2,003 and touchdowns in a season 23 — both since broken.
Simpson ranks 21st on the NFL All-Time Rushing Average List at 4.674 yards per carry.
He is tied for 30th with Herschel Walker on the NFL All-Time Rushing Touchdowns List with 61 touchdowns.
Simpson was released from prison on October 1, 2017.
The Simpson case is estimated to have generated more than one billion dollars in media and merchandising.
He ranks 16th on the NFL All-Time Rushing Attempts List with 2,404 attempts.
Simpson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983.
He ranks 14th on the NFL All-Time Rushing Yardage List with 11,236 yards.
A Hungarian metal band called Húsdaráló Project wrote a song about Simpson.
Simpson was originally considered for the role of Peter in Dawn of the Dead 1978 before George A. Romero decided to cast Ken Foree; Romero had previously directed a Simpson television documentary titled O.J. Simpson: Juice on the Loose 1974.
Simpson was 23 years younger than Cicely Tyson, who played his wife in The Last Ten Yards 1969.
He was inducted into the California Community College Sports Hall of Fame in 1984 as part of its inaugural class.
A computer game from Banana Productions titled O.J.’s All-American Race to Acquittal debuted in January 1995, noting that Simpson’s full name is an anagram of O.J. on simple harassment.
Simpson is mentioned in Joe Eszterhas’s memoir Hollywood Animal.
In 2003, Simpson was residing outside Miami, Florida.
He appears briefly as an extra in An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn.
Following his death, Simpson had no public memorial services; his remains were cremated and ashes given to family.
Simpson had three grandchildren.
He shared a birthday with Jodi Arias, Courtney Love, and Tom Hanks.
Simpson was the son of Jimmy Lee Simpson.
He had three siblings: Melvin Leon Simpson, Shirley Simpson-Baker, and Carmelita Simpson-Durio.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about O.J. Simpson.
Celebrities similar to O.J. Simpson — same craft, ranked by reach.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇭🇷 Croatia
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan
🌍 Hong Kong
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
