John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor.

[11][13] Still in his teens, Bon Jovi played in the band John Bongiovi and the Wild Ones, performing in clubs such as the Fast Lane and opening for local acts.

[13][15][16] At the time, Bon Jovi ran errands between gigs at the Power Station recording studio owned by his cousin Tony Bongiovi.

Meco suggested that Bon Jovi sing "R2-D2 We Wish You a Merry Christmas", which became his first professional recording (credited as John Bongiovi).

[21] In 1986, the band achieved widespread success and global recognition with its third album, Slippery When Wet,[21][22] which had sold 28 million copies worldwide as of 2011.

The Japanese version, with lyrics by B'z's Koshi Inaba, was recorded first in 1999 by Johnny & Associates's special unit called J-Friends as part of the relief efforts for the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake.

A short movie of the same name was based entirely on the songs from the record; it starred Jon Bon Jovi, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon and Whoopi Goldberg.

[41][better source needed] Jon Bon Jovi is a credited actor in the films 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 appeared in several television commercials for the league, typically with John Elway, Hall of Fame quarterback for the Denver Broncos and co-owner of the AFL's Colorado Crush.

[55] The grand opening was attended by Vince Neil of Mötley Crue, Jeremy and Ajay Popoff from Lit, Big Kenny, Jelly Roll, and Jamie O'Neal, amongst others.

[56] During an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2005, Bon Jovi (the band, not the individual) donated $1 million to the Angel Network foundation.

[60][61] On October 19, 2011, it opened the JBJ Soul Kitchen, a community restaurant in Red Bank, New Jersey, where patrons pay what they can afford for their meals, either with money or by volunteering work.

[64] Jon Bon Jovi is one of 21 artists singing on "Everybody Hurts", a charity single organized by Simon Cowell aiding victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

[70] On June 24, 2009, Bon Jovi, Sambora and Andy Madadian recorded a musical message of worldwide solidarity with the people of Iran.

[73] In the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Bon Jovi endorsed fellow New Jersey resident Cory Booker for President of the United States.

[75][76] On January 20, 2021, Bon Jovi and the Kings of Suburbia performed a cover of the Beatles' song "Here Comes the Sun" as part of the "Celebrating America" Inauguration of Joe Biden event.

[77] During a stop in Los Angeles on the New Jersey Syndicate Tour in 1989, Bon Jovi secretly took a trip to Las Vegas, where he married his high school sweetheart, Dorothea Hurley, on April 29 at the Graceland Wedding Chapel.

[8] Bon Jovi is a close friend of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and former head coach Bill Belichick.

[88] In April 2022, Bon Jovi spoke of how much his COVID-19 experience had affected him, including in his songwriting, saying about COVID-19 that it made him realize "how volatile we are and how fragile life is.

"[89] On September 11, 2024, Bon Jovi helped prevent a woman from jumping off the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge in Nashville.