Marilyn Manson is the stage name of Brian Hugh Warner, the most controversial rock performer of our time, the vocalist of the eponymous band Marilyn Manson, "the scariest musician of all time" according to Billboard magazine, a visual artist, and an actor.
Marilyn Manson
Many call him a "moral corrupter" and "antichrist messenger." However, his song lyrics are clever and ironic, his spectacular shows are beautiful and shockingly effective, his music videos resemble high-budget horror films and are full of cultural references, and his image is free from societal norms and standards.
The secret to the rocker's popularity, who adopted his pseudonym according to the dichotomy of good and evil—after sex symbol Marilyn Monroe and infamous criminal Charles Manson—is not just in his provocative appearance and outrageous actions. Manson is an artist and musician in the truest sense. This is evidenced by the abundance of prestigious awards in his collection, such as the MTV Video Music Award, BMI Awards, Alternative Press Music Awards, etc., and four nominations for the most prestigious music award, the Grammy.
Brian Hugh Warner
Five Marilyn Manson albums have been certified "gold," and four have become "multi-platinum." Classic Rock magazine included the band's albums "Antichrist Superstar" and "Mechanical Animals" in the list of the top hundred rock albums of the century, alongside records by legendary bands like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and The Beatles.
Acting in his art as a social critic who denounces vulgarity and hypocrisy in capitalist society, he remains, in the opinion of many critics, the last true American rocker carrying the protest flag of the 1960s.
Childhood
The future exceptional rock singer was born on January 5, 1969, in the city of Canton, located about a hundred kilometers from Cleveland, Ohio. The boy's mother, Barbara J. Warner, was a nurse, and his father, Hugh Angus Warner, was a furniture dealer. The parents, who had English, German, and Sioux Native American heritage (on the mother's side), were religious, but followed different branches of Christianity - Catholicism and Protestantism. From an early age, his mother took their only son to the Episcopal (Protestant) church, trying to instill a love for God. At the age of five, he was sent to a Christian school.
Marilyn Manson as a child
Later, in his autobiographical book "The Long Hard Road Out of Hell," the musician described all the nightmares hidden behind the idyllic facade of this educational institution and their family. In particular, he candidly recounted how other children bullied him, thinking he was gay, how his father threatened to take him to a prostitute, and that his grandfather was a sexual deviant. As a child, Brian often heard his grandfather satisfying himself in the basement, accompanied by strange sounds produced by his throat after a tracheotomy. "I am grateful to my grandfather. He conveyed to me one simple truth: the basements of America are not as decent as they seem," the singer recalled.
Marilyn Manson during his school years
Comparing biblical commandments with the behavior of those around him showed the teenager the hypocrisy of society and led him to explore the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche and "The Satanic Bible" by Anton LaVey. He found the idea of each person having both a light and dark side, a god and a devil within, interesting. This idea later became a cornerstone in his image and work. However, according to Manson, he is an atheist and never practiced Satanism (although the media often called him "the world's most famous Satanist").
Marilyn Manson in his youth
The teachers tried their best to drill into their students which music they should never listen to. Brian, as often happens with children, rebelled against the imposed opinion and went the opposite way, becoming a passionate fan of hard rock. At school, he wrote poetry, published the magazine, and was particularly interested in the music that the teachers advised against listening to – Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne, The Beatles, David Bowie.
After completing the tenth grade, Warner's family moved to the resort city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. There, he attended GlenOak School and graduated with a high school diploma in 1987. He then studied journalism at Broward College, continued writing poetry, and worked for the "Fort Lauderdale" and "25th Parallel" publications as a music critic and interviewer. In particular, he interviewed Groovie Mann from the industrial rock band Thrill Kill Kult, which comically presented themes of sex and religion.
Brian Warner attended GlenOak School
Music
In late 1989, Brian met guitarist Scott Putesky for the first time and showed him his lyrics. Together they decided to form the rock band Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids, focusing on gothic music with a predominance of intellectual lyrics and dark themes. Later, the friends shortened the name to Marilyn Manson.
Marilyn Manson before becoming famous
The stage pseudonyms for all the members were created following the principle invented by the frontman: a first name was taken from some iconic beauty, and a last name – from a serial killer. Scott became Daisy Berkowitz (from the American series character Daisy Duke and the maniac David Berkowitz), Jeordie White, who later became the second face of the band after Manson – Twiggy Ramirez (after the iconic British model Twiggy and serial killer Richard Ramirez), and so on. The bandleader borrowed the name from Marilyn Monroe, and the surname from Charles Manson, the founder of the hippie commune called The Family, whose followers killed Roman Polanski's pregnant wife in 1969.
Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids
The rock band quickly became popular thanks to its signature vocals, distinctive guitar sound, and performances that incorporated elements of performance art and theater. Women's clothing, bright makeup, tights, oppressive atmosphere, and terrifying ambience – for the singer and his companions, there were no limits when it came to stage personas and props.
One of the first concerts by Marilyn Manson's band (1991)
In 1993, Trent Reznor, the leader of Nine Inch Nails, known for equally original shows where musicians behaved indecently and threateningly on stage, destroying musical instruments, and causing self-injury, took notice of them. Reznor offered them a contract and opening performances. Accepting the offer, the rock band simultaneously started recording their debut album "Portrait of an American Family." It was released in 1994 and was a definite success, touching on the current issues of American families. With over 500,000 copies sold, the album went "gold." But with its release, in addition to an army of fans, the flamboyant rocker also gained a huge number of critics, represented by church and government officials.
Brian thought out almost all the album covers himself
At the same time, the musicians released the promo single "Dope Hat" and the music video for it, reminiscent of Manson's favorite movie "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory." It featured their band sailing on a boat through a psychedelic tunnel. During the same period, the vocalist met with the high priest of the "Church of Satan," LaVey, who honored him with the title of "reverend."
Marilyn Manson – Dope Hat
In 1995, the rock band embarked on its debut national tour. Soon after, they presented a cover version of the British duo Eurythmics' song "Sweet Dreams." It became their first major hit and achieved "platinum" status. A year later, in October, their second studio album "Antichrist Superstar" was released. It brought the rock performers worldwide fame, charted in more than ten countries, and reached the third position in the Billboard 200. It was carefully thought out and conceptually complex. Its true essence remains the subject of debate to this day.
Marilyn Manson in the era of the Antichrist Superstar album
The song "The Beautiful People," addressing the theme of beauty culture and its connection to Nietzsche's theory of "master-slave" morality, was released as the album's lead single. Subsequently, it became the band's "signature song." Manson traditionally wrote its lyrics, and Twiggy Ramirez was the composer. The album's packaging was no less mysterious and complex, containing intriguing religious motifs and hidden messages in the form of digital codes. Then the rock musicians embarked on the "Dead to the World" world tour and performed 175 shows, often facing protests from conservative organizations.
Marilyn Manson – The Beautiful People
In 1997, Rolling Stone magazine featured the distinctive musician on its cover and named him the best new artist of the year. At the same time, it was revealed that the album was conceived as part of a triptych, united by the common idea of the rise of the Antichrist.
1997: Marilyn Manson – artist of the year
At that time, to create the next studio album, the singer moved from Florida to Los Angeles. In 1998, the band presented the album, calling it "Mechanical Animals" (part 2 of the triptych). It reached the top positions in the charts of Canada, Australia, and the USA, where it was certified "platinum." Manson's tracks, unlike the previous two albums, were created in the spirit of glam rock, and its design still had a lot of symbolism. For example, on the cover, the singer was depicted as a genderless androgyne with six fingers on the left hand instead of five, hinting at numerous conflicts with Christian activists.
The era of Mechanical Animals: Manson uses the image of an androgyne
The music video for the single "The Dope Show" was nominated for a Grammy. The track "Great Big White World" experts called a classic example of the rocker's plunge into terrifying drug-induced dreams and proof of his ability not only to demonstrate the hell on earth that people have made for themselves but also to drag them into the hell of his own fantasies.
A frame from the clip for The Dope Show
At the peak of the singer's career, the press was buzzing with many absurd rumors. Tabloids wrote that Manson had removed his lower ribs and pigment from the iris of his eyes, drank the blood of Christian infants, engaged in intimate pleasures with animals on stage, swallowed a cat whole during a concert, demonstratively cut off a hamster's leg, amputated his genitals... The list could go on indefinitely. At the end of the 90s – early 2000s, the mere name Manson, which had become a common noun, aroused the fury of "pious Christians." But behind the flashy image was a completely different person – vulnerable and emotional.
Marilyn Manson on The O'Reilly Factor (2001)
In 1999, the rock band went on tour. The last concerts were canceled out of respect for the victims of the Columbine High School tragedy, where two teenagers killed twelve children and one teacher before shooting themselves. Public opinion almost accused the singer of inspiring them to violence. But it later turned out that these two students were not his fans, and Marilyn himself said very wise words during an interview on this subject:
– If those kids from Columbine High School were here right now, what would you say to them? – I wouldn't say anything to them. I would simply listen to them, which is what no one did.
In 2000, the fourth album "Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)" (part 1 of the triptych) was released. The record signified the musician's return to the industrial metal style. It earned "gold" certification in Japan, Switzerland, Canada, and the UK. It was rated as the band's best work. Most of the album was written as a response to the Columbine massacre. The performer's sharp reaction was particularly evident in the song "The Nobodies," where he repeated: "Something is wrong with this world."
Holy Wood album cover
The band's fifth album "The Golden Age of Grotesque" was also successful, released in May 2003. Manson found inspiration in creating it during a burlesque show featuring his then-official girlfriend Dita Von Teese. The album topped the Billboard 200 list. In June of the same year, the musicians took part in the Ozzfest festival, founded by British singer Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon, and then went on a tour to support the album.
The band's image during 'The Golden Age of Grotesque'
The "horror king's" later creations did not have the same resounding success. The sixth album "Eat Me, Drink Me" was released in 2007 and only reached the eighth position on the Billboard 200. The song "Putting Holes In Happiness" from this album is considered one of the most subtle, profound, and underrated works in Manson's career.
Marilyn Manson – Putting Holes In Happiness
In 2008, the rock scene veteran participated in the remix of Lady Gaga's song "Love Game." The following year, the seventh album of his band "The High End of Low" was released, reaching fourth place in the list of the 200 most popular albums. It contained works written by the king of American industrial rock during a difficult breakup with Evan Rachel Wood.
With Evan Rachel Wood
On Christmas, he unsuccessfully tried to contact her 158 times and inflicted injuries on himself after each attempt. Later a music video for the song "Running to the Edge of the World" was released. In it, the vocalist beat a character resembling his ex-girlfriend to death. The video received universal condemnation for allegedly glorifying the rock singer's violence against women.
Marilyn Manson - Craziest Onstage Incidents
2012 marked the release of the band's eighth studio album "Born Villain." Debuting at number ten on the Billboard 200, the album spent two weeks at number one on the UK Rock Albums Chart. As part of the grand tour in support of it, he performed a concert in St. Petersburg.
Marilyn Manson without makeup
During the same period, at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles, Manson sang a cover of "Sweet Dreams" with Johnny Depp and Taylor Momsen, the frontwoman of The Pretty Reckless. He also appeared at the Echo Awards ceremony in Berlin, where he performed his hit song "The Beautiful People" with Rammstein, and at the Doomsday Festival, performing with the legendary band The Doors.
Marilyn Manson ft. Rammstein – Beautiful People
In 2013, during Alice Cooper's "Masters of Mayhem" tour, the rocker sang a duet with him on the song "I'm Eighteen," and as part of a big concert by Eminem in Barcelona, he performed together with the rapper on the song "The Way I Am." In addition, he recorded a joint track "Fancy Bitch" with rapper Gucci Mane. Gucci was thrilled with their collaboration, stating that Manson was "insanely cool."
They and Eminem have performed a duet together
In 2015, the band's ninth album "The Pale Emperor" was released (translated as "The Pale Emperor," as fans later came to call their idol). The creation of this persona was inspired by a book about Elagabalus, a cruel Roman ruler, gifted to Manson by Johnny Depp on their 16th friendship anniversary. The frontman dedicated the album to the memory of his mother, who passed away in 2014. The album reached the eighth position on the Billboard 200. However, many publications called it the band's best album of the last 10 years. In his new work, the artist added a more perfect blues sound to the "gothic" image.
The Pale Emperor is one of Marilyn Manson's alter egos
And the subsequent, tenth album "Heaven Upside Down" was released in October of that year. The group leader traditionally wrote the lyrics for all the tracks. According to him, the album was "one of the most complex and thematic things" among his works.
Heaven Upside Down is Manson's tenth studio album
In the spring of 2019, the rock musician announced on his Instagram that he had almost finished working on his next studio album and that singer-songwriter Shooter Jennings participated in its recording. The album "We Are Chaos" was released in September 2020.
Marilyn Manson - WE ARE CHAOS (Official Music Video)
It included a cover version of the hit "The End" by The Doors, recorded specifically for the series "The Stand," based on the eponymous bestseller by Stephen King. CBS All Access announced the creation of the new post-apocalyptic fantasy adaptation. The master of spectacle intended to play a character named Trashcan Man, but due to the project's fairly modest budget, everything fell through.
Film Roles
Manson caught the attention of film directors and producers. He played many roles: minor but memorable. The shock rocker first appeared on screen in 1997 in the psychological thriller "Lost Highway" David Lynch, starring alongside his band's bassist Twiggy Ramirez as an adult film actor.
Marilyn Manson's first movie role (Lost Highway)
A year later, he played a stranger in Darren Stein's black comedy "Jawbreaker," where one of the main characters was played by his then-girlfriend, actress Rose McGowan. In 2002, he participated in Michael Moore's documentary "Bowling for Columbine," which addressed the issue of school violence in the United States.
In 2003, "Party Monster" was released, starring Macaulay Culkin in the lead role. The musician was entrusted with the role of drag queen superstar Christina. A year later, he played the episodic role of Jackson in the drama "The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things" Asia Argento, and in 2007 – a bartender in the horror film "Rise: Blood Hunter."
A scene from Party Monster
In 2012, the rock performer joined the cast of the French-American comedy film "Wrong Cops" by director Quentin Dupieux (also known as Mr. Oizo), which was presented at the Cannes Film Festival. He played a techno fan who receives a lesson in good music from a police officer.
Marilyn Manson in the film Wrong Cops
The following year, the rock artist played himself in the dramedy series "Californication," which he has always been a big fan of. Around the same time, the creators of the popular series "Once Upon a Time," being fans of the singer, decided to entrust him with the voice acting of Peter Pan's shadow. They needed a voice that would send shivers down your spine.
In Californication, Marilyn Manson played a cameo
In 2014, the "king of shock" portrayed the role of neo-Nazi Ron on the TV series "Sons of Anarchy." In 2016, he transformed into sociopath Thomas in the fantasy series "Salem," starring Janet Montgomery and Shane West.
A scene from the series Sons of Anarchy
In 2017, the drama "Let Me Make You a Martyr" was released, where Manson landed one of the key roles, playing the colorful killer and psychopath of Native American descent named Pope. He was joined by co-star Mark Boone Junior, with whom he had become friends during their time working together on "Sons of Anarchy."
On the set of Let Me Make You a Martyr
In January 2020, the drama series "The New Pope" by Paolo Sorrentino was released, featuring Manson and continuing the project "The Young Pope."
Marilyn Manson in the TV series 'The New Pope'
Art
A gifted musician is extraordinary in everything. His creativity captivates the imagination. Since the band's inception, he has designed nearly all of their flyers and demo tape covers, and since 1999, he began painting watercolors. More than 150 of his paintings have been exhibited for public viewing.
Marilyn Manson - At Art Exhibit
Marilyn Manson's first exhibition, "The Golden Age of Grotesque," was held in September 2002 at the Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions Center. One of the paintings, valued at $55,000, depicted a hermaphroditic Hitler.
Paintings by Marilyn Manson
Two years later, he presented his second exhibition, "Trismegistus," in Paris and Berlin. Its central piece, sharing the same title, featured a three-headed Christ painted on a wooden tabletop from an antique embalming table.
At the exhibition of Manson's works
In 2006, he opened his own gallery in Los Angeles, The Celebritarian Corporation Gallery of Fine Art. Its inaugural show was his third exhibition, "Flowers of Evil." In 2007, some of its pieces were displayed at the Space 39 Modern & Contemporary Art Gallery in Fort Myers, Florida, and then at the Brigitte Schenk Gallery in Cologne.
The works of the artist were also exhibited in Miami, Moscow, and Athens. The prices of his paintings such as "Anaclitism," "Sisyphus," "Fibonacci," "Superman," and others ranged from $1,500 to $50,000.
Manson has his own art gallery
In 2011, in collaboration with director David Lynch, Manson published the book "Genealogies of Pain." It served as a catalog for thirty watercolor paintings by the artist, which were featured at an eponymous exhibition at the Kunsthalle gallery in Vienna, along with illustrations from four of Lynch's early experimental short films: "The Alphabet," "The Grandmother," "The Amputee," and "Six Figures Getting Sick."
Marilyn Manson's Personal Life
Despite his distinctive appearance, the rock musician's personal life was rich with passions and romances. His first girlfriend was Missi Romero. They met at a Beastie Boys concert in 1992 and dated for five years.
Marilyn Manson and Missi Romero
From 1999 to 2001, he dated actress Rose McGowan. They were engaged, but called off the engagement. According to the actress, the reason for their separation was Manson's cocaine addiction.
Marilyn Manson and his ex-girlfriend, actress Rose McGowan
In 2005, the rocker married the "queen of burlesque" Dita Von Teese. A year later, she filed for divorce, citing "irreconcilable differences."
Marilyn Manson and Dita Von Teese
It later emerged that their marriage was actually destroyed by the singer's affair with 19-year-old actress Evan Rachel Wood. Their relationship was announced in January 2007. He proposed to her in November of the following year, but she declined.
Marilyn Manson and Evan Rachel Wood
In 2009, the rock star had a relationship with adult film actress Jessica Stoyadinovich, known as Stoya. He then proposed again to Wood, who accepted. However, they never made it to the altar – in 2010, they split up, allegedly due to domestic violence.
Marilyn Manson's music video with Evan Rachel Wood
After splitting with Rachel, the rock idol was rumored to be dating TV star CariDee English, singer Lana Del Rey, and photographer Lindsay Usich. In 2015, he declared himself single and since then has kept his romantic affairs private. However, in 2020, it was revealed that he married Lindsay Usich. The wedding took place during the coronavirus pandemic, so there were only five guests present.
Marilyn Manson and his wife Lindsay Usich
Sexual Scandal
In January 2021, Evan Rachel Wood accused Marilyn Manson of domestic violence. According to the actress, he "brainwashed" her when she was 16, beat her, tormented her, threatened her, and demanded her complete submission.
After Wood made her candid confession, another 16 women supported her, stating that they experienced a similar pattern in their relationships with Manson. Four of the musician's victims filed lawsuits.
At the same time, Dita Von Teese and Rose McGowan, who once had strong relationships with Manson, said they never encountered anything like this.
Following these events, the label Loma Vista Recordings, under which the musician was working on a new album, terminated the contract, and the creators of the TV show "American Gods" promised to cut Manson from the footage. The musician himself denied all accusations. He called Evan Rachel Wood's words a "horrible distortion of reality," adding that he always built relationships on trust.
Abuse Allegations Against Marilyn Manson
In September 2023, the case against Marilyn Manson was closed. With some plaintiffs, such as Esmé Bianco, the musician reached a settlement, and they withdrew their lawsuits. Others withdrew their lawsuits, hinting at pressure and bullying.
Marilyn Manson Now
Despite the scandal, Marilyn Manson had been working on a new album. In February 2024, Tyler Bates, who closely collaborated with the musician, hinted that the next Manson's album might be released in October. According to him, it will be Marilyn Manson's best work: "People will go crazy, and the vocals are delightful."
