Simon Cowell

Simon Phillip Cowell (/ˈkaʊəl/; born 7 October 1959) is an English television talent judge and mentor, music and television producer, music talent scout (aka A&R executive) and entrepreneur. He is most recognized as a judge on the British TV talent competition series Pop Idol, The X Factor, and Britain's Got Talent, and the American TV talent competition shows American Idol, The X Factor, and America's Got Talent. Cowell owns the television production and music publishing house Syco.

As a judge, Cowell often makes blunt and controversial comments, including insults and wisecracks about contestants and their abilities. He combines activities in both the television and music industries. Cowell has produced and promoted singles and albums for various artists, including television personalities. He was most recently featured on the ninth series of Britain's Got Talent and the eleventh series of UK's The X Factor.

In 2004 and 2010, Time named Cowell one of the 100 most influential people in the world.New Statesman listed Cowell at number 41 in a list of "50 People who Matter [in] 2010".TV Guide named him at number 10 in their 2013 list of The 60 Nastiest Villains of All Time. According to The Sunday Times Rich List of the wealthiest people in the UK, Cowell was worth £325 million in 2015.

Wildlife Aid Foundation

The Wildlife Aid Foundation is a charity dedicated to the rescue, care and rehabilitation of sick, injured and orphaned animals. Based in Leatherhead, Surrey, UK, the centre operates Surrey County's only wildlife hospital (one of the three largest such hospitals in the UK) and maintains a referral service for wildlife hospitals throughout Europe. The organisation also carries out environmental activist and educational roles. Wildlife Aid has attracted media attention for its rescues of photogenic wild animals like young foxes and baby badgers;Animal Planet's TV program Wildlife SOS chronicles the activities of Wildlife Aid volunteers as they rescue imperiled animals.

Wildlife hospital

Wildlife Aid got its start in 1979 when its founder, Simon Cowell, MBE, acquired a farmhouse in Leatherhead with the intention of starting a local wildlife rescue facility. Formally established a year later, the centre's activities steadily increased in scale; the hospital now treats more than 20,000 wild animals a year, returning 70% of them to the wild. It has saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of animals since the charity's formation in 1980. The organisation currently operates on a budget of £350,000 per year, and relies on over 300 volunteers to provide an all-year-round service. Its facilities include two operating theatres, a pathology lab, and an intensive care unit. The charity's longer term aim is to build a larger complex on a new site that will allow the expansion of the organisation's educational programmes; the planned expansion would increase the facility's footprint to 10 acres (40,000 m²), rely heavily on eco-friendly technology, and be carbon-neutral.

Cowell (surname)

Cowell /ˈkaʊəl/ is a surname with multiple origins.

Origin of the name

Cowell is a surname of English origin. It is a habitational name from several places in the counties of Lancashire and Gloucestershire called Cowhill, composed the Old English cu (cow) + hyll (hill). In some instances the surname Cowell may also be an Americanized form of the Polish, Jewish and Sorbian name Kowal. It could also be an anglicisation of a Scots Gaelic surname or from the Irish name McCawell.

People with the surname