Early life

Reid was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is one of four children of Emma Reid, a seamstress and interior decorator. He was raised in the Mount Auburn and Madisonville neighborhoods in Cincinnati's east side.Antonio gained the nickname "L.A." as a young musician when a guitar player in his band called him "L.A." because he was wearing a T-shirt that said “L.A.” in reference to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who were currently competing against the Cincinnati Reds at the time.

His first drum lessons were with his uncle, Albert Baldwens.
At Hughes Center High School (Cincinnati, Ohio), Reid was a star drummer who cut his teeth playing with bands in "Merry-Go-Round," an annual talent show held in the school auditorium. He also played in the marching band. Reid's former music teacher Terry Brown (now deceased) taught him how to be a professional.

Reid's first appearance on record was with Cincinnati funk rock outfit Pure Essence who released one solitary 45 in the middle 1970s as well as garnering an appearance on local FM rock radio station WEBN's second annual LP compilation, this time as Essence. Reid then became a member of the 1980s R&B band The Deele, best known for their 1988 hit"Two Occasions". The band had broken up before the success of the single, then reunited to promote "Two Occasions" as it rose up the charts. The song peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1989-2004: LaFace Records & Arista Years

After The Deele disbanded, Reid and fellow band mate Kenneth"Babyface" Edmonds founded LaFace in 1989 through a joint venture with Arista Records, with funding from Arista Records creator Clive Davis.The label soon became one of the premiere destinations for popular African-American entertainers who created Black Pop music that was easily accessible to both Urban and Top 40 radio formats. Reid signed 14 year old Usher to the label, whose six album releases have sold 65 million units worldwide.Other popular acts on the label during its peak include Toni Braxton, TLC, and Outkast. Initially headquartered in Atlanta, the label played a role in building the current landscape of the Atlanta music industry.

In May 2000, Edmonds and Reid sold their remaining 50% stake in LaFace to parent company BMG. The label became an imprint of Arista Records, with Arista taking on sales, marketing, and promotional duties for its acts. At this time, Reid also succeeded his mentor, Clive Davis, as President of Arista Records. This happened after Davis refused to name a successor at the request of Arista parent company, BMG, due to the fact that Davis, who was 67, was beyond the company's mandatory retirement age.Davis went on to find success creating another BMG imprint named J Records, which signed global superstars such as Alicia Keys, Luther Vandross & Rod Stewart. Reid then took a six week executive course at the Harvard Business Schoolin order to prepare himself to become CEO and President of Arista.

"The most vital lesson [Reid has] learned from 22 years working at record companies? “That you keep the doors open and the lights on and a star will walk in,” he says. “I learned to stay in business. People are still buying music, dancing to it and dressing like it. They’re using it to sell cars and CoverGirl makeup, so we sell product lines with our artists. The popularity of music is at an all-time high. How we monetize it is sometimes a moving target.” "

2004-2011: Island Def Jam Music Group

Following the merger of Sony and BMG, L.A Reid was released from his contract at Arista in 2004 and quickly became the Chairman and CEO of The Island Def Jam Music Group in February 2004. Reid is noted for bringing Mariah Carey's career back to prominence with her multi-platinum 2005 album The Emancipation Of Mimi after her career had stalled from 2001-2003 with less than stellar sales and general lack of public interest for her two previous projects GlitterandCharmbracelet .

Reid has also played a role in the recent successes of artists such as Amerie, Kanye West, Rihanna (alongside Jay-Z), Bon Jovi, and most recently teenage pop phenomenon Justin Bieber. In the last few years, L.A. Reid has also been responsible for the recent high profile signings of major Pop music artists such as Janet Jackson (who left the company after her 2008 album,Discipline), as well as former Bad Boy rapper Shyne to the record company. In 2010, Reid also signed Jennifer Lopez after her departure from Epic Records and also is noted for releasing her Top 10 hit (since 2002's"All I Have") called"On the Floor". Reid stepped down as CEO and Chairman of Def Jam in March 2011.

2011-present: The X Factor

It was officially confirmed by Entertainment Weekly and Fox on 18 March 2011 following speculation that Reid is to become a judge on the upcoming U.S. version of the British singing competition The X Factor, alongside its creator and formerAmerican Idol judge Simon Cowell, 80's pop star Paula Abdul and British pop star Cheryl Cole.

With the belief that good songwriting is essential to the success of recording artists, Reid formed the Hitco Publishing Group in 1996, as a joint venture with Windswept Music.While starting up Hitco, Reid was looking to connect to a wholly new market of producers and songwriters and talent spotted the young Shakir Stewart whom he saw as someone with a "a finger on the pulse of the next generation of hot producers in the Atlanta music scene".He gave the future senior vice president of Island Def Jam Music Group his first position as an inter-level creative person at Hitco.

In 2008, Reid launched a cosmetics line named LE MÉTIER DE BEAUTÉ, which is sold at upscale retailers such as Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus.

On August 30, 2006, L.A. Reid, along with Babyface, was honored as a BMI Icon at the 6th annual BMI Urban Awards. As of 2006, he has won 18 BMI awards.Together with Babyface, Reid has produced and/or co-written penning numerous R&B hits, racking up 33 No. 1 singles.

Reid was married to singer and TLC manager Perri "Pebbles" Reid from 1989-1996, with whom he has two sons, Antonio Reid Jr. and Aaron Reid. Aaron was featured on an episode of MTV's My Super Sweet 16. Reid also helped raise Perri's daughter Ashley V. Smith (born 1983 from a relationship with her former producer George L. Smith) and she now goes by the name Ashley V. Reid.Reid later married former schoolteacher Erica Holton in Capri,Italy in July 2000. Their daughter Ariana Manuelle was born in April 2001.Their son Addison Kennedy was born in August 2003. They reside in New York City.