13 things about Springfield, Ohio singer John Legend

Who is John Legend?

Professionally known as John Legend, John Roger Stephens is an American singer, songwriter and pianist from Springfield, Ohio, United States. He is 7 years older than his wife Chrissy Teigen, who is of Norwegian, German, Sinti and Thai descent.

Teigen and Legend have two sons and two daughters together. The children were born in April 2016, in May 2018, in January 2023 and on June 19, 2023.

Legend is 5’9″ tall. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. He was born in Springfield to Ronald Lamar Stephens and Phyllis Elaine Lloyd Stephens.
2. His father was a drummer who worked as a factory worker.
3. His mother was a seamstress who sang and directed the church choir.
4. His first three children were all conceived via in vitro fertilization and his fourth child was born via surrogacy.
5. In 1983, he started playing the piano.
6. From 1990 to 1994, he attended North High School in Springfield where he graduated salutatorian.
7. From 1994 to 1999, he attended the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in English with an emphasis on Africa-American literature.
8. He was the first artist to sign with GOOD Music, a record label Kanye West founded on March 16, 2004.
9. From 2004 to 2024, he released 10 studio albums.
10. Anthony Stokes alleged that his song “Maxine’s Interlude” from his 2006 album “Once Again” was copied from a demo song Stokes gave him in 2004 and filed a copyright infringement against him in Newark, New Jersey, USA on July 5, 2011, which was later settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.
11. In 2014, he founded the FREEAMERICA campaign, which supports prison reform in the U.S.
12. In 2018, he became the first African American male recipient of all four of the major American entertainment awards namely Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony (EGOT).
13. On December 28, 2024, he turned 46.