Adam Horovitz

Adam Keefe Horovitz (born October 31, 1966), better known as Ad-Rock or King Ad-Rock, is an American musician, guitarist, rapper, producer, and actor. He is best known as a member of the hip hop group the Beastie Boys. He is married to musician and feminist activist Kathleen Hanna. Early life Horovitz was born to Doris Horovitz (née Keefe) and playwright Israel Horovitz and raised in Manhattan, New York. He was reportedly born in South Orange, New Jersey, but he has denied this in interviews and on stage. His sister is film producer Rachael Horovitz. His father is Jewish, and his mother, who was of Irish descent, was Roman Catholic. Career Horovitz began his music career with a stint in the punk rock band the Young and the Useless, who would often perform with the Beastie Boys. In 1982, Beastie Boys guitarist John Berry quit and Horovitz replaced him. He was only 16 at the time. After Horovitz joined the band, the Beastie Boys changed their sound, evolving from a hardcore punk band to a more hip-hop oriented group. The band was signed to Def Jam, and released their debut album Licensed to Ill in 1986. The album was a huge commercial success, and spawned six hit singles. Seven further albums followed, and by 2010 the Beastie Boys had sold 22 million records in the United States alone, and 40 million worldwide. In 2012, the Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In addition to his work with the Beastie Boys, Horovitz also remixes numerous tracks for other artists under the alias 41 Small Stars. He plays bass in The Tender Moments, the backing band of New York based cabaret performer Bridget Everett. Horovitz has also acted in several motion pictures and television shows. Some of his roles include Tim 'Chino' Doolan in Lost Angels (1989), Sam in Roadside Prophets (1992), Repulski in Godspeed (2007), and Fletcher in While We're Young (2014). Personal life In the late 1980s, Horovitz was in a relationship with American actress Molly Ringwald. They met on the set of The Pick-up Artist. Horovitz was married to actress Ione Skye from 1992 to 1995. They separated in 1995 and divorced in 1999. Since 1997 he has been involved with riot grrrl artist Kathleen Hanna; they married in 2006. He wore a medical alert bracelet after having a grand mal seizure in 2003. Horovitz is featured prominently in The Punk Singer, a 2013 documentary film about Hanna's life and career; he even shot a scene himself to show Hanna's distressed reaction to the medication she was taking against Lyme disease.