FACTS
Birth Name: Michael Robert Henrion Posner
Stage Name: Mike Posner
Nicknames: Mikey, Pose, Posey, MP, and Posner
Date of Birth: February 12, 1988
Place of Birth: Detroit, Michigan (USA)
Hometown: Southfield, Michigan (USA)
Current Residence: Austin, Texas (USA)
Religion: Christian. Mike was raised in a Jewish and Catholic family, with a Jewish father and Catholic mother, and had a bar mitzvah at age 13. In 2025, he gave his life to Christ and was baptized in 2026.
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Brown hair and Red beard
Height: 5 ft 10 in
Astrological Sign: Aquarius
Sibling: Emily Henrion Posner (born September 11, 1981)
Parents: Roberta Henrion and M. Jon Posner
Fiancée: Alli Schaper (engaged 2025)
Production Company: North Greenway Productions (Founder)
Occupations: Singer, Songwriter, Rapper, Record Producer, Musician, Poet, and Speaker
Music Genres: Pop, Folk-Pop/Singer-Songwriter, R&B/Soul, Hip Hop, Rap, Electronic Dance Music (EDM), Electronica, and Electropop
Instruments: Vocals, Guitar, and Keyboards
Member Of: Mansionz
Past Record Labels: J Records, RCA Records, and Island Records
Current Record Labels: Warner Records, Arista Records, and Monster Mountain, LLC (Founder)
FAVORITES
Favorite Color: Jungle Green
Favorite Number: 8
Favorite Sports: Ultimate Frisbee and Basketball
Favorite Movie: Jeff, Who Lives at Home and the Iron Man Trilogy
Favorite Chick Flick Movie: Garden State
Favorite Television Show: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Favorite Songs: “Mr. Brightside” (Jacques Lu Cont’s Thin White Duke Remix) – The Killers, “Human” – The Killers, “You’re Beautiful” – James Blunt, “A Change Is Gonna Come” – Sam Cooke, “Old Love” – Eric Clapton, “Juicy” – The Notorious B.I.G., “SpottieOttieDopaliscious” – Outkast
Favorite Cartoons: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, DuckTales, and Recess
Favorite Superhero: The Flash
Favorite Food: Sprouts
Favorite Snack: Cashews
Favorite Drink: Water
Favorite Animals: White Tiger and King Penguin
Favorite Rapper: Nas
TIDBITS
First Kiss: Age 9
Childhood Dream: As a kid, Mike dreamed of becoming an astronaut.
Celebrity Crushes: Natalie Portman (2010-2011), Paula Patton (2012), and Alicia Keys (2013)
Double-Jointed: Mike’s fingers are all double-jointed, though he clarified that his toes are “regular.”
TRIVIA
Family Origins: Mike and his sister, Emily, share the same middle name, Henrion, which is their mother’s maiden name.
Musical Instinct: Mike’s mother, Roberta Henrion, recalls that when he was a child, she was outside with him in their Michigan backyard while birds were chirping, and he instinctively tried to sing their notes back to them. Mike has described this as an early example of his natural connection to music, saying, “music got into me.”
Academic Excellence: A standout student, Mike graduated from Wylie E. Groves High School in 2006 with a 4.4 GPA. He went on to attend Duke University, graduating on December 30, 2009, with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a 3.59 GPA.
Early Hustle: Before finding fame, Mike worked as a paperboy and later held a job at a movie theater when he was 17 years old.
Musical Roots: He began making beats at the age of 13. His eclectic musical influences include OutKast, The Roots, Nate Dogg, Mos Def, The Killers, J Dilla, and Talib Kweli.
Finally Famous: Mike is an official member of the Finally Famous crew alongside longtime collaborator and friend, Big Sean.
Daily Rituals: A firm believer in mindfulness and creativity, Mike meditates daily and consistently records his songs, poems, dreams, and goals in various notebooks. He is also an avid reader.
Style & Jewelry: Mike is known for wearing turquoise and jade stones on his necklaces. He also famously wore a gold diamond “Frank the Rabbit” pendant, inspired by the 2001 cult classic film Donnie Darko.
Automotive History: His very first car was a 1987 Volvo. Since then, he has owned a diverse range of vehicles, including a Buick LaSabre, a 1995 Chevrolet Impala SS, a 2014 Porsche Cayman, a 1993 Dodge Ram 350 Van, and a Toyota 4Runner.
“Cooler Than Me” Milestones: The hit single was played on the radio for the first time by DJ Reflex on Power 106 in Los Angeles on February 22, 2010. It later appeared in the 2011 film Just Go With It, starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston. The track was also featured on Dancing With The Stars (Season 12, Episode 1) during Mike Catherwood and Lacey Schwimmer’s Foxtrot routine, where they earned a total score of 13 (5, 4, 4) from the judges.
On Screen: The “I Took A Pill In Ibiza (Seeb Remix)” has become a television staple, featured during the high school dance in the series premiere of Riverdale (2017), as well as in the shows Scream: The TV Series (Season 2, Episode 4, “Happy Birthday to Me”), and Superstore (Season 2, Episode 1).
Personal Tributes: Mike often includes his loved ones and hometown roots in his visuals. His father’s photo is prominently featured on a nightstand at the start of the “Bow Chicka Wow Wow” music video. His parents and sister also make cameos in the celebratory 2013 video for “Top of the World (feat. Big Sean).” Filmed as a tribute to his Detroit upbringing, the video features scenes at his childhood home in Southfield, his alma mater, Wylie E. Groves High School, and Bingham Farms Elementary School.
Detroit Landmarks & Cameos: The “Top of the World” video serves as a love letter to Michigan sports, with scenes filmed at Ford Field (Detroit Lions), Joe Louis Arena (Detroit Red Wings), Comerica Park (Detroit Tigers), and The Palace of Auburn Hills (Detroit Pistons). Big Sean appears throughout the visual alongside Mike, with additional cameos from Diplo, professional athletes Pavel Datsyuk and Nate Burleson, actress Cassie Scerbo, and the Finally Famous crew.
Family Legacy & A Real Good Kid: Mike has often shared how his deep bond with his father, M. Jon Posner, shaped his life and career. After his father was diagnosed with Glioblastoma (brain cancer) in 2016, Mike moved back to his childhood home in Southfield, Michigan, to care for him until his passing on January 11, 2017. At the funeral, held at the Ira Kaufman Chapel, Mike performed a moving cover of “First Day of My Life” by Bright Eyes.
This period of loss and healing became the foundation for Mike’s third studio album, A Real Good Kid (2019). The project is a deeply personal tribute that features actual recorded conversations between Mike and his father, including the heart-to-heart talk that inspired the album’s title. Following the album’s release, Mike began his Walk Across America, a 3,000-mile journey he dedicated to his father’s memory and his own healing process.
Tattoo: Mike Posner has one tattoo, located on his left torso, that reads “Blackbear Rest in Peace.” He got the piece in 2016 to commemorate his friendship and creative partnership with Matthew “Blackbear” Musto. In his song “How It’s Supposed To Be,” he references the tattoo with the lyric, “I got a tattoo, it’s a joke I keep a secret.”
Digital Success: In December 2017, Mike was awarded the YouTube Gold Play Button for surpassing 1 million subscribers on his MikePosnerVevo channel.
Space Launch: In May 2016, to celebrate the release of his album At Night, Alone, Mike partnered with GoPro to launch a copy of the record into near space aboard a high-altitude weather balloon. Equipped with GoPro cameras, the balloon carried the album high into the stratosphere before it parachuted back to Earth. The stunt fulfilled a childhood dream of Mike’s—becoming an astronaut—and the entire journey, from liftoff to the edge of space and back, was captured on video and released as a promotional feature for the album.
New Chapter in Austin: Mike met entrepreneur Alli Schaper in 2024 at a coffee shop in Venice Beach, California, where the two bonded over the shared experience of losing their fathers. The couple became engaged in 2025, a milestone Mike revealed in a social media timeline recap video, and later that year, they relocated to Austin, Texas, marking the beginning of a new chapter in his life.