Background
Pharrell Williams was born on April 5, 1973, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, the United States, to Carolyn and Pharaoh Williams. Pharrell is the eldest of three sons. His father was a handyman and house painter and his mother was a teacher.
2014
1270 Leroy Pond Dr, Fayetteville, AR 72701, United States
Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke perform during the Walmart 2014 annual shareholders meeting on June 6, 2014, at Bud Walton Arena at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy)
2014
1201 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90015, United States
Pharrell Williams performs onstage during "The Night That Changed America: A GRAMMY Salute To The Beatles" at the Los Angeles Convention Center on January 27, 2014, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter)
2015
Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, 1 Boulevard de la Croisette, 06400 Cannes, France
Pharrell Williams poses on the balcony of the Palais des Festivals after the iHeart Seminar during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity on June 23, 2015, in Cannes, France. (Photo by Richard Bord)
2016
1201 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90015, United States
Pharrell Williams (L) and Rihanna attend the 2016 MusiCares Person of the Year honoring Lionel Richie at the Los Angeles Convention Center on February 13, 2016, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk)
2002
Chicago, Il, USA
N.E.R.D. on 8/30/02 in Chicago. (Photo by Paul Natkin)
2013
10850 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064, United States
Pharrell Williams attends TheWrap's Awards & Foreign Screening Series "Despicable Me 2" at the Landmark Theater on November 19, 2013, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by David Buchan)
2014
1270 Leroy Pond Dr, Fayetteville, AR 72701, United States
Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke perform during the Walmart 2014 annual shareholders meeting on June 6, 2014, at Bud Walton Arena at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy)
2014
10 W Century Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90067, United States
Pharrell Williams attends the collaboration celebration of Pharrell Williams and Adidas at Hinoki & The Bird on December 3, 2014, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk)
2014
1111 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90015, United States
Pharrell Williams attends the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Larry Busacca)
2014
1201 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90015, United States
Pharrell Williams performs onstage during "The Night That Changed America: A GRAMMY Salute To The Beatles" at the Los Angeles Convention Center on January 27, 2014, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter)
2014
777 Chick Hearn Ct, Los Angeles, CA 90015, United States
Pharrell Williams accepts Video of the Year for 'Happy' onstage during the BET AWARDS '14 at Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE on June 29, 2014, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter)
2015
Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, 1 Boulevard de la Croisette, 06400 Cannes, France
Pharrell Williams poses on the balcony of the Palais des Festivals after the iHeart Seminar during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity on June 23, 2015, in Cannes, France. (Photo by Richard Bord)
2015
1111 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90015, United States
Pharrell Williams speaks onstage during The 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards at the Staples Center on February 8, 2015, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter)
2016
1201 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90015, United States
Pharrell Williams (L) and Rihanna attend the 2016 MusiCares Person of the Year honoring Lionel Richie at the Los Angeles Convention Center on February 13, 2016, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk)
2016
6801 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028, United States
Pharrell Williams attends the 88th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 28, 2016, in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Ethan Miller)
2016
West Hollywood, California, USA
Pharrell Williams attends Adidas Originals Pink Beach Pharrell Williams party on May 13, 2016, in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur)
2016
New York City, NY, USA
Pharrell Williams attends the Opening Of Billionaire Boys Club Flagship with Pharrell Williams on November 9, 2016, in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris)
2016
15 Place Vendôme, 75001 Paris, France
Pharell Williams walks the runway during the "Chanel Collection des Metiers d'Art 2016/17: Paris Cosmopolite" show on December 6, 2016, in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain)
2016
15 Place Vendôme, 75001 Paris, France
Pharrell Williams and stylist Karl Lagerfeld attend the "Chanel Collection des Metiers d'Art 2016/17: Paris Cosmopolite": Show at Hotel Ritz on December 6, 2016, in Paris, France. (Photo by Bertrand Rindoff Petroff)
2017
Paris, France
Pharrell Williams attends the Chanel Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2017-2018 show as part of Haute Couture Paris Fashion Week on July 4, 2017, in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain)
2018
Beverly Hills, California, USA
Pharrell Williams performs onstage during the 7th Biennial UNICEF Ball on April 14, 2018, in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Rich Polk)
2018
787 Windsor St SW, Atlanta, GA 30315, United States
Pharrell Williams of N.E.R.D performs in concert during the 2018 AfroPunk Festival Atlanta: Carnival of Consciousness at 787 Windsor on October 13, 2018, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin)
2019
6801 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028, United States
Pharrell Williams and Helen Lasichanh attend the 91st Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland on February 24, 2019, in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz)
2019
6801 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028, United States
Michelle Yeoh and Pharrell Williams speak onstage during the 91st Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on February 24, 2019, in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter)
2019
Leicester Square, London, England, UK
Pharrell Williams attends "The Lion King" European Premiere at Leicester Square on July 14, 2019, in London, England. (Photo by Samir Hussein)
2019
Leicester Square, London, England, UK
Pharrell Williams attends "The Lion King" European Premiere at Leicester Square on July 14, 2019, in London, England. (Photo by Samir Hussein)
2019
55 Wall St a, New York, NY 10005, United States
Pharrell Williams and Rihanna perform on stage during Rihanna's 5th Annual Diamond Ball Benefitting The Clara Lionel Foundation at Cipriani Wall Street on September 12, 2019, in New York City. (Photo by Dave Kotinsky)
2019
9876 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210, United States
Pharrell Williams attends the 23rd Annual Hollywood Film Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on November 03, 2019, in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison)
2019
1697 Broadway, New York, NY 10019, United States
Pharrell Williams visits "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" at the Ed Sullivan Theater on December 4, 2019, in New York City. (Photo by James Devaney)
2019
9876 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210, United States
Pharrell Williams accepts the Hollywood Song Award onstage during the 23rd Annual Hollywood Film Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on November 03, 2019, in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter)
Pharrell Williams and Selena Gomez
Pharrell Williams and Ariana Grande
Pharrell Williams and Miley Cyrus
Young Pharrell Williams
Young Pharrell Williams
Young Pharrell Williams
Young Pharrell Williams
Young Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams, childhood photo
(The Grinch tells the story of a cynical grump who goes on...)
The Grinch tells the story of a cynical grump who goes on a mission to steal Christmas, only to have his heart changed by a young girl's generous holiday spirit.
https://www.amazon.com/Illumination-Presents-Dr-Seuss-Grinch/dp/B07K6Y4GF2/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=The+Grinch&qid=1606393900&sr=8-1
2018
designer producer singer rapper songwriter
Pharrell Williams was born on April 5, 1973, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, the United States, to Carolyn and Pharaoh Williams. Pharrell is the eldest of three sons. His father was a handyman and house painter and his mother was a teacher.
Pharrell attended Princess Anne High School and Kempsville High School. When he was in his seventh grade, he became acquainted with Chad Hugo with whom he later formed The Neptunes. He would later state in interviews that he used to be different from the average kid and that he was a nerd. After high school, Williams attended Northwestern University for two years before dropping out.
Williams eventually teamed up with friend Chad Hugo. The pair started performing together and later became the acclaimed producing duo the Neptunes. Another one of Williams' early breaks came thanks to producer Teddy Riley, who asked him to contribute to Rump Shaker by Wreckx-N-Effect in the early 1990s. The Neptunes produced the track Tonight’s the Night on the eponymous debut album (1994) of Riley’s vocal group Blackstreet.
They successfully contributed to the works of several artists in the late-1990s as well as in the 2000s. They became known for producing hit songs, such as I Just Wanna Love U by Jay Z and I’m a Slave 4 U by Britney Spears, Nelly’s Hot in Herre (2002), Justin Timberlake’s Rock Your Body (2003), Kelis’s Milkshake (2003), and Snoop Dogg’s Drop It Like It’s Hot (2004).
In 2003, Williams made his first solo effort with the song Frontin. Williams and Hugo also picked up their first Grammy Awards - for their work on Justin Timberlake's 2002 Justified album and for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical.
After a few other successful works, they released an album titled The Neptunes Present… Clones in 2003. The album peaked at the first position on the United States Billboard 200. It also received mostly positive reviews. The album included Frontin, Pharrell’s debut solo single, which peaked at the fifth position on the United States Billboard Hot 100. It also became the 34th best-selling song in the country in 2003.
Williams’ debut studio album In My Mind was released in July 2006. It turned out to be quite successful. It debuted at the third position on the United States Billboard 200. Even though several songs from the album had been leaked on the internet before its release, the album successfully sold over 142k copies within the first week of its release.
For the next few years, he collaborated with several well-known singers, such as Shakira and Jennifer Lopez. He was credited as a co-writer and producer for Lopez’s hit song Fresh Out the Oven. He branched out into soundtrack composition as well, scoring the animated film Despicable Me (2010). Noted composer Hans Zimmer produced the score, and the two collaborated again on the music that was played at the 2012 Academy Awards ceremony.
In 2013, Williams was instrumental in making two mega-hits: Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines and Daft Punk's Get Lucky. (He co-wrote and sang on both of those tracks.) The following year, he earned individual Grammys for Record of the Year with Get Lucky and Album of the Year for contributing to Daft Punk's Random Access Memories. Williams also won for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and again for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical.
Also in 2013, Williams reached the top of the charts with a solo effort - Happy from the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack, with the track staying at No. 1 for weeks and setting a Billboard record as a crossover chart phenomenon. Happy also earned Williams his first Academy Award nomination, with the singer/producer performing the song live on the Oscar telecast and serenading actress nominees Amy Adams, Lupita N'yongo, and Meryl Streep in the audience.
That same year, he released his second solo album, G I R L. And early 2015 saw more accolades for Happy, with a visibly surprised Williams earning a Grammy for Best Pop Solo Performance for a live version of the song, along with Best Music Video. G I R L also won for Best Urban Contemporary Album.
His second studio album Girl released in March 2014. Peaking at number one in 12 different countries, the album became a huge success. It sold 591k copies in the United States within a year. It received mostly positive reviews from critics. The same year, Williams was also announced as the new coach in the popular TV singing competition The Voice. In 2014, Williams also served as a co-composer for the soundtrack of the hit superhero movie The Amazing Spiderman 2.
However, Williams landed in a court having to contend with a countersuit filed more than a year earlier from the estate of Marvin Gaye. He and Thicke were charged with committing copyright infringement by taking major musical elements from the song Got to Give It Up for the hit Blurred Lines.
After proceedings in which Thicke testified that he'd had little to do with the writing of the song, in March 2015 the jury ruled in favor of Gaye's family, who were awarded $7.3 million in damages and profit shares. The jury also ruled that neither Williams nor Thicke had purposely committed the infringement. The two plan to appeal the court's overall decision.
Besides music, Williams is also passionate about design. He co-founded two fashion labels - Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream - with Tomoaki "Nigo" Nagao. Working with Marc Jacobs, Williams has also designed a line of sunglasses. And he joined forces with the Adidas brand in 2014. The clothing made with Adidas will feature fabrics from Bionic Yarn, a textile company owned by Williams.
In addition to fashion, Williams has sought out different types of media projects. He signed on to act as creative director for Karmaloop TV in 2011, also investing in this effort to produce programming for young fashion-forward and tech-oriented viewers across different platforms, including the web.
In September 2014, Williams joined Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, and fellow rookie coach Gwen Stefani (whom he worked with on No. 1 hit Hollaback Girl) on the singing competition TV series The Voice. He continued as a coach on the show during winter and spring the following year. Then in early October 2015, Williams released a children's picture book, Happy, inspired by his award-winning song. The title hit the New York Times Best Sellers list.
In 2016, he was a producer as well as a composer for the popular biographical drama film Hidden Figures. The film was a huge success and received an Oscar nomination. In 2017, he wrote and performed the songs in Despicable Me 3. Williams also made brief appearances in movies, often playing himself or characters similar to him, as he did in Entourage and Pitch Perfect 2 (both 2015), respectively. He took on a larger role when he lent his voice as narrator to the animated feature The Grinch (2018), an adaptation of Dr. Seuss’s children’s classic (1957).
Williams’s other projects included the premium street-wear clothing lines Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream (with Japanese music producer Nigo). He also collaborated on a unisex fragrance with the perfume division of the fashion house Comme des Garƈons.
(The Grinch tells the story of a cynical grump who goes on...)
2018Williams sees himself as a universalist, even though he says that on paper he is a Christian.
Pharrell Williams is a democrat. Pharrell endorsed Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential run. To show his support for Hillary, he even created a music video. He believed that she was going to bring unity to America and that she would be a great first female president. In 2020, Williams supported Biden-Harris' campaign.
Pharrell Williams is a Global Citizen Advocate. In 2008, Pharrell founded a nonprofit foundation, From One Hand To AnOTHER Inc. (FOHTA), with the mission of promoting a new vision for the US educational system called S.T.E.A.M.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics, and Motivation).
FOHTA organizes six-week summer camp programs for 1,000 low-income students across six states - Virginia, Florida, Arizona, California, Missouri, and New York - with a focus on learning through and with technology. In 2011, the artist poured $35 million into the Pharrell Williams Resource Center, which provides a space for underprivileged Virginia Beach students to stay after school and study.
In 2018, Williams performed at various charity fundraisers for lifesaving children’s efforts, including the UNICEF Ball and the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles From Paris With Love Gala. He also launched a sneaker line inspired by African culture, which he hopes will motivate youth.
At a concert in Milan, Italy, in 2015, he spoke out for migrants, dedicating his song Freedom to the Syrian and North African migrants crossing the Mediterranean Ocean in search of better opportunities in Europe.
Quotations:
"Some people say there's nothing new under the sun. I still think that there's room to create, you know. And intuition doesn't necessarily come from under this sun. It comes from within."
"I am overly ambitious because I realize it can be done."
"When you're playing, you're playing something for the world to hear."
Pharrell is a big fan of the Star Trek movie series and also is a huge fan of director Wes Anderson.
The Big book of Planets and Stars by Emily Bone, Edgar Cayce on Vibrations: Spirit in Motion by Kevin Todeschi, Lois Logos by George Lois,
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Donny Hathaway, J Dilla, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Q-Tip, Rakim, Stevie Wonder, Queen, Axl Rose
In 2013, Pharrell Williams married Helen Lasichanh, a model and designer. They have a son named Rocket Williams who was born in 2008. In 2017, the couple had three more children, a set of triplets.