Jack White

John Anthony White (born Gillis on July 9, 1975) is an American musician best known as the guitarist and lead vocalist of the rock duo the White Stripes. Recognized as a key artist of the 2000s indie and garage rock movements, he is noted for his distinctive musical techniques, eccentricity, and utilization of analog technology. Following the split of the White Stripes in 2011, White achieved success through his solo career and various business ventures.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, White was raised Catholic in Mexicantown, Southwest Detroit, as the youngest of ten children. He grew up in a musical household, learning to play the drums in the first grade and later picking up the guitar. At age 15, he began a three-year upholstery apprenticeship with Brian Muldoon, who introduced him to punk music and with whom he formed the band the Upholsterers. White later started his own business, Third Man Upholstery, and gained his first professional music experience as the drummer for Goober & the Peas.

In the 1990s, White met Meg White, whom he married in 1996 and whose surname he legally adopted. The couple formed the White Stripes in 1997, presenting themselves publicly as siblings and dressing exclusively in a red, white, and black color scheme. Starting in Michigan's underground garage rock scene, the duo released their self-titled debut album in 1999 and De Stijl in 2000. They earned international fame with their 2001 breakthrough album, White Blood Cells.

The White Stripes released Elephant in 2003, featuring the lead single "Seven Nation Army," which won the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. The band subsequently released Get Behind Me Satan in 2005 and Icky Thump in 2007. Alongside his work in the White Stripes, White co-founded his record label and studio, Third Man Records, in 2001. He produced and performed on Loretta Lynn's 2004 album Van Lear Rose, formed the rock groups the Raconteurs in 2005 and the Dead Weather in 2009, and recorded the James Bond theme "Another Way to Die" with Alicia Keys in 2008.

White launched his solo recording career with his debut studio album, Blunderbuss, in 2012. His second solo album, Lazaretto (2014), broke the record for most first-week vinyl sales since 1991, holding that record until 2021. He followed this with three experimental albums, as well as his sixth and seventh studio albums, No Name (2024) and Frozen Charlotte (2026), both of which were noted for their unique release methods and earned critical acclaim.

In addition to his musical endeavors, White has pursued acting, appearing in films such as Cold Mountain (2003), Coffee and Cigarettes (2003), Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007), and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023). He joined the Library of Congress' National Recording Preservation Foundation in 2013 and opened an art exhibit in 2026.

Over the course of his career, White has won twelve Grammy Awards and was included on Rolling Stone's 2010 and 2023 lists of the greatest guitarists of all time. In 2012, The New York Times called him "the coolest, weirdest, [and] savviest rock star of our time." He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the White Stripes in 2025.