Zachary Cole Smith

Zachary Cole Smith is an American musician and model, best known as the founder, frontman, and principal songwriter of the indie rock band DIIV. Born in New York City on November 7, 1985, he was raised by his father, musician and Scandal founder Zack Smith, and his mother, Deborah E. MacIntyre, a fashion editor for Vogue magazine. Smith learned to play guitar at a young age and formed a brief band in high school with Andrew Bailey. Following disciplinary suspensions in middle school and an arrest during his freshman year, he attended six different schools—including St. Luke's School, The Beekman School, and Wooster School, from which he graduated. In 2004, he enrolled at Hampshire College to study music and film, though he did not graduate.

After leaving college, Smith worked construction, landscaping, and restaurant jobs, becoming involved in New York's underground music scene. He began playing guitar for the band Soft Black around 2009, later joining Beach Fossils as a live drummer and subsequently a guitarist. He also toured as a guitarist with Darwin Deez. In 2011, he established a solo recording project originally called Dive, inviting Andrew Bailey, Devin Ruben Perez, and Colby Hewitt to form a full band. Renamed DIIV, the group signed with Captured Tracks and released their debut studio album, Oshin, in 2012, incorporating elements of krautrock, post-punk, and shoegaze.

Smith continued to lead DIIV through subsequent studio albums, releasing Is the Is Are in 2016, Deceiver in 2019, and Frog in Boiling Water in 2024. In addition to his songwriting and vocal duties, he co-directed DIIV's music video for "Doused" and directed Sky Ferreira's music video for "Omanko." Outside of music, he was featured in an episode of Noisey's "Under the Influence" series in 2015, which explored the impact of krautrock on contemporary music.

As a model, Smith signed with Re:Quest Model Management in the summer of 2013. He was photographed alongside Cara Delevingne by Hedi Slimane for Saint Laurent's Fall 2013 campaign. He also walked in Saint Laurent's menswear runway shows during Paris Fashion Week for their Spring 2014 and Spring 2016 collections.

Throughout his career, Smith has drawn musical inspiration from artists such as Arthur Russell, Red Krayola, Faust, Kluster, Neu!, Can, Nirvana, Elliott Smith, and Royal Trux. Alongside his work with DIIV, he served as a live guitarist for Launder in 2019.