Shannon Leto (/lɛtoʊ/; born March 9, 1970) is an American musician best known as the drummer of rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars.

[3] Leto has worked on several side projects during his career, including a collaboration with Antoine Becks, a recording with the short-lived supergroup The Wondergirls, and performing on occasional dates with Street Drum Corps.

His parents divorced when he was a child, and he and his younger brother, Jared, lived with their mother and their maternal grandparents, William Lee Metrejon and Ruby Russell.

[4] Leto became interested in percussion from the moment he and his brother started playing music together at early age, and his models were artists of many mediums.

[6] Leto formed the rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars in 1998 in Los Angeles, California with his brother Jared.

[11] The band worked with producers Bob Ezrin and Brian Virtue on their debut album 30 Seconds to Mars, which was released on August 27, 2002, in the United States through Immortal and Virgin.

[12] Upon its release, 30 Seconds to Mars was met with mostly positive reviews; music critic Megan O'Toole felt that the band has "managed to carve out a unique niche for themselves in the rock realm.

[14] It took two years to record their next release A Beautiful Lie, with the band traveling to four continents to accommodate Jared Leto's acting career.

[1] The band heavily toured in support of the album and played at several major festivals, including Roskilde, Pinkpop, Rock am Ring, and Download.

[16] After nearly a year of legal battles, the band announced on April 28, 2009, that the suit had been settled following a defence based on the De Havilland Law.

During his youth, Leto had been a devoted fan of progressive rock and blues music, listening to artists such as Fleetwood Mac, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Boz Scaggs.

[33] His major influences also include jazz band Steely Dan, as well as heavy metal groups Mountain, Iron Maiden and Kiss.

[35] Journalist Kelly King, a long-time contributor with Drumhead magazine, opined that Leto is "energy and grace behind the drums, stoking the fire that drives his band."

He commented that the musician is both confident and aggressive on his kit,[35] and felt that "his drive to push himself to the limit, to create and explore his own artistic capabilities is paramount.

Leto recorded the songs "Drop That Baby" and "Let's Go All the Way" with the short-lived supergroup The Wondergirls in 1999, which members included Scott Weiland, Mark McGrath, and Ian Astbury, among others.

[40] In June 2008, he joined Habitat for Humanity to work with Thirty Seconds to Mars on a home being repaired and renovated through the Greater Los Angeles Area's "A Brush With Kindness" programme.

[27] In 2014, Leto launched Black Fuel Trading Company, a lifestyle brand primarily focusing on responsibly sourced, direct-trade coffee.