ROBBIE WILLIAMS

Biography

Robert Peter Williams was born February 13th, 1974, in Stoke-on-Tent, a North England town. The son of Janet and Peter, young Robbie always had the entertainer in him, but never had the academics.

While growing up with his mother and sister Sally after his parents' divorce, Williams enjoyed St. Margaret Ward High School more for its opportunities to be the class clown (his father was actually a comedian) rather than for studying.

take that britain

Although he was and still is a fan of Port Vale FC, he aspired to become an actor, and even joined the local theater company. Giving him the experience of a performer (which he presently exercises to great extremes), Williams landed minor roles in productions of musical plays such as Fiddler on the Roof, Oliver and appeared in the soap opera Brookside.

With musical experience under his belt, Williams' mother saw the ad for a band that was auditioning potential members and would become a British pop sensation. A 16-year-old Williams was an instant go, and immediately landed the gig of one fifth of the boy band, Take That.

While the pop group was a smash in the UK, it broke into North America with the hit single, "I Want You Back". After five years of record-breaking success in the UK, and becoming somewhat of a pop phenomenon, it appeared that Take That did not want Robbie Williams back: he was dismissed from the group and the news was one of the biggest stories to hit the British papers.

breaking out

Apparently, Williams was not only the joker of the group, but he was also known as the bad seed, thanks to much-publicized acts and his bad-boy ways -- not the right image for a boy band. But Williams reportedly wanted out anyhow.

He also wanted out of his record contract with Take That's management, which led to a legal battle that lasted half a year. Although Williams ultimately won and signed with EMI, he lost his ability to be sober and had to go to a rehab clinic for his drug and alcohol habits.

Unfortunately, by the time he had sobered up, his debut album, Life Thru A Lens, which was released in 1997, was met with disappointing sales. Finally, once "Angels", the fifth single off the album was released, Williams was on his way to stardom, making a comeback as a solo artist.

By the time The Ego Has Landed was released in 1999, Williams was almost deserving of his self-proclaimed ego. He hit it big with the timely single, "Millennium", which was a Top 10 hit in North America, and followed up with "I've Been Expecting You", "No Regrets", "Strong", and the successful "She's The One".

the ego is soaring

After worldwide tours and a lot of press, Williams returned to the music scene with his third album, Sing When You're Winning. He is definitely winning, thanks to the success of the international hit, "Rock DJ" (which has a very unique accompanying video), as well as the single "Kids", a duet with Kylie Minogue (who he has allegedly been doing more than just singing with).

After the 2001 Brit Awards, Williams certainly has a lot to sing about: he took home a record-breaking 12 awards, including honors for Best British Male Artist, and Best British Single and Video for "Rock DJ".

Williams may love himself, but he also shows a love for the charity organizations that he supports, such as UNICEF, Jeans For Genes (which researches inherited illnesses) and Children's Promise, among others.

Meanwhile, Robbie has made a charitable start by donating the proceeds of his 2 million Pepsi deal to charities that help sick children.

Definitely sitting high on the UK throne, Williams seems to be the most popular man in Britain today. Always a tabloid favorite thanks to his womanizing ways (he was engaged to All Saints' member Nicole Appleton several years ago), and an on-and-off feud with fellow ego Liam Gallagher of Oasis (who is incidentally presently with Appleton), his success gives him every reason to think highly of himself.