Tommy Lee

Thomas Lee was born Thomas Lee Bass on October 3, 1962, in Athens, Greece, to David Lee Thomas Bass, an American U.S. Army sergeant, and Vassiliki Papadimitriou, a 1957 Miss Greece contestant. At approximately two years old, his family relocated to California. Lee received his first drum sticks at four years old and his first proper drum kit as a teenager. While attending Royal Oak High School, where he participated in the marching band, he met Vince Neil. Lee subsequently dropped out of high school to pursue a career in music, joining the Los Angeles club band Suite 19.

During the late 1970s, Suite 19 performed regularly on the Sunset Strip club circuit. Around this time, Lee befriended bassist Nikki Sixx. Following the 1981 breakup of Sixx's group London, Lee and Sixx decided to form a new band. Guitarist Mick Mars joined shortly thereafter, and Lee suggested bringing in his high school acquaintance Vince Neil as vocalist. Together, the members founded the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe.

Mötley Crüe released its debut album, Too Fast for Love, in 1981 on its independent label Leathür Records before signing with Elektra Records, which reissued the album in 1982. The group gained major commercial success through subsequent releases, including Shout at the Devil (1983), Theatre of Pain (1985), Girls, Girls, Girls (1987), and Dr. Feelgood (1989). During concerts, Lee incorporated notable drumming gimmicks such as performing on revolving drum kits and playing suspended above the audience. In 2004, Lee reunited with Mötley Crüe's original lineup for the quadruple-platinum compilation album Red, White & Crüe, which was supported by a 2005 reunion tour.

In addition to his work with Mötley Crüe, Lee has pursued several side bands and solo endeavors. In 1999, he formed the rap metal group Methods of Mayhem, releasing a self-titled debut album. He launched a solo recording career with the albums Never a Dull Moment in 2002 and Tommyland: The Ride in 2005, which coincided with his autobiography, Tommyland. In 2006, he formed the supergroup Rock Star Supernova, releasing a self-titled album later that year. He has also performed as an electronic dance music DJ alongside DJ Aero under the moniker Electro Mayhem.

Lee recorded with Mötley Crüe for the 2008 album Saints of Los Angeles and toured with the group on its Crüe Fest tour. Beyond his main projects, he played drums on Jack's Mannequin's album Everything in Transit and the Smashing Pumpkins' 2014 album Monuments to an Elegy. In 2014, he rejoined Mötley Crüe for its farewell tour. His media appearances include starring in and producing the 2004 reality television series Tommy Lee Goes to College, co-starring in the 2008 show Battleground Earth, and acting in the 2022 film The Retaliators.

Lee has been married four times: to Elaine Starchuk in 1984, actress Heather Locklear in 1986, actress Pamela Anderson in 1995, and social media personality Brittany Furlan in 2019. He shares two sons, Brandon Thomas and Dylan Jagger, with Anderson. Lee is also a supporter of animal rights and PETA.