Pharrell Williams

Pharrell Lanscilo Williams is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born on April 5, 1973, he initially rose to prominence as one half of the music production duo the Neptunes alongside Chad Hugo. The pair also formed the rock and hip-hop group N.E.R.D. with Shay Haley, featuring Williams as the lead vocalist. Beyond his band and production work, Williams has established a successful solo career and contributed music to all of the Despicable Me animated films.

Williams was born in Virginia Beach, Virginia, as the eldest of three sons to Carolyn, a teacher, and Pharoah Williams, a handyman. His ancestral roots trace back generations through Virginia and North Carolina, including a relative who traveled to West Africa in 1831. Williams met Chad Hugo during a seventh-grade summer band camp, where Williams played drums and Hugo played tenor saxophone. They later performed together in their high school band before Williams graduated in 1991 and subsequently attended Northwestern University for two years.

In the early 1990s, Williams briefly formed the hip-hop group Surrounded by Idiots before forming the Neptunes with Hugo, Haley, and Mike Etheridge. Discovered by producer Teddy Riley at a high school talent show, the Neptunes signed with Riley after graduation. Williams began writing for other artists, including Wreckx-n-Effect's 1992 hit "Rump Shaker." By the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Neptunes achieved extensive commercial success producing popular tracks for artists such as Noreaga, Kelis, Mystikal, Jay-Z, Nelly, Britney Spears, and Justin Timberlake.

In 2001, Williams and Hugo co-founded the record label Star Trak Entertainment and released N.E.R.D.'s debut album, In Search of.... Williams achieved his first top-five solo hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with the 2003 single "Frontin'" featuring Jay-Z. He followed with his debut solo studio album, In My Mind, in 2006. Throughout the mid-to-late 2000s, Williams continued producing and collaborating with prominent musicians, including Clipse, Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg, Madonna, and Shakira.

During the 2010s, Williams expanded into film scoring, co-composing the music for Despicable Me alongside Hans Zimmer and Heitor Pereira. In 2013, he achieved major international success through high-profile vocal and production collaborations, including Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" and Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines." Williams also penned the hit single "Happy" for Despicable Me 2, which led his second studio album, Girl (2014). He accompanied "Happy" with a project billed as the first 24-hour music video.

Williams's career expanded further into television, film production, and live events. In 2014, he joined the television singing competition The Voice as a coach, serving across multiple seasons. He co-composed the score for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, produced tracks for Ariana Grande's album Sweetener, and served as a producer on the 2016 film Hidden Figures. In 2019, Williams partnered with the city of Virginia Beach to launch the multi-day music and cultural festival Something in the Water.

In addition to his music career, Williams is active in fashion and business. In 2012, he established the media company I Am Other, which serves as an umbrella for his creative endeavors, including his fashion brand Billionaire Boys Club. In 2023, he was appointed Men's creative director for Louis Vuitton. Over his career, Williams has earned 13 Grammy Awards, including three for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, and has received two Academy Award nominations.