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Marilyn Manson Biography

Marilyn Manson is the stage name of Brian Hugh Warner, one of the most controversial rock performers 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.

Many have branded him a "moral corrupter" and "messenger of the antichrist." However, his song lyrics are clever and ironic, his spectacular shows are visually stunning and shockingly effective, his music videos resemble high-budget horror films and are full of cultural references, and his image completely defies societal norms and standards.

The rocker's popularity—built on a pseudonym that embodies the dichotomy of good and evil, combining sex symbol Marilyn Monroe with infamous criminal Charles Manson—stems from more than just his provocative appearance and outrageous actions. Manson is an artist and musician in the truest sense. His impressive collection of prestigious awards proves this, 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.

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.

As an artist who uses his platform to critique vulgarity and hypocrisy in capitalist society, many critics consider him the last true American rocker still carrying the protest flag of the 1960s.

Childhood

The future shock-rock icon was born on January 5, 1969, in Canton, Ohio, about a hundred kilometers from Cleveland. The boy's mother, Barbara J. Warner, was a nurse, and his father, Hugh Angus Warner, was a furniture dealer. His parents had English, German, and Sioux Native American heritage (on his mother's side) and were religious, though they followed different branches of Christianity—Catholicism and Protestantism. From an early age, his mother took him to the Episcopal church, trying to instill a love for God. At the age of five, he was sent to a Christian school.

Later, in his autobiography "The Long Hard Road Out of Hell," he described the nightmares hidden behind the idyllic facade of both the school and his family. He candidly recounted how other children bullied him for being different, how his father threatened to take him to a prostitute, and revealed that his grandfather was a sexual deviant. As a child, Brian would often hear his grandfather in the basement, accompanied by disturbing sounds from his throat following a tracheotomy. "I'm grateful to my grandfather," the singer later recalled. "He taught me one simple truth: the basements of America aren't as decent as they seem."

Seeing the gap between biblical commandments and the behavior around him exposed society's hypocrisy to the teenager, leading him to explore Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy and Anton LaVey's "The Satanic Bible." The idea that each person contains both light and dark sides—a god and devil within—fascinated him. This idea later became a cornerstone in his image and work. Manson has always maintained he's an atheist who never actually practiced Satanism, despite media dubbing him "the world's most famous Satanist."

Teachers worked hard to drill into students which music they should avoid at all costs. Like many kids, Brian rebelled against these restrictions and went the opposite direction, becoming a passionate hard rock fan. At school, he wrote poetry, published a magazine, and gravitated toward exactly the music teachers warned against—Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, The Beatles, and David Bowie.

After tenth grade, the Warner family moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. There, he attended GlenOak School and graduated in 1987. He studied journalism at Broward College while continuing to write poetry and working as a music critic and interviewer for "Fort Lauderdale" and "25th Parallel" publications. He notably interviewed Groovie Mann from industrial rock band Thrill Kill Kult, who presented themes of sex and religion with dark humor.

Early Career

In late 1989, Brian first met guitarist Scott Putesky and shared his lyrics with him. Together they formed the rock band Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids, focusing on gothic music dominated by intellectual lyrics and dark themes. The friends later shortened the name to simply Marilyn Manson.

All the members' stage names followed a principle the frontman invented: take a first name from an iconic beauty and a last name from a serial killer. Scott became Daisy Berkowitz (combining TV character Daisy Duke with serial killer David Berkowitz), while Jeordie White, who'd later become the band's second most recognizable face after Manson, took the name Twiggy Ramirez (merging British model Twiggy with serial killer Richard Ramirez). The bandleader took his first name from Marilyn Monroe and his surname from Charles Manson, founder of the hippie commune The Family, whose followers murdered Roman Polanski's pregnant wife in 1969.

The band quickly gained popularity through its signature vocals, distinctive guitar sound, and theatrical performances that blended performance art with rock theater. Women's clothing, bright makeup, tights, oppressive atmosphere, and terrifying ambience – the singer and his bandmates had no limits when it came to stage personas and props.

One of the first concerts by Marilyn Manson's band (1991)

In 1993, Nine Inch Nails leader Trent Reznor – known for equally provocative shows featuring threatening stage behavior, instrument destruction, and self-harm – took notice of them. Reznor offered them a record deal and opening slots on tour. After accepting the offer, the band began recording their debut album "Portrait of an American Family." Released in 1994, it became a clear success by tackling contemporary American family issues. With over 500,000 copies sold, the album achieved gold status. But the album's release brought not just legions of fans – it also attracted fierce criticism from church leaders and government officials.

Brian thought out almost all the album covers himself

Around the same time, the band released the promotional single "Dope Hat" with a music video inspired by Manson's favorite film, "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory." The video showed the band sailing through a psychedelic tunnel on a boat. During this period, the vocalist met with Anton LaVey, high priest of the Church of Satan, who bestowed upon him the title of "reverend."

Marilyn Manson – Dope Hat

In 1995, the band launched its first national tour. Soon after, they released their cover of British duo Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams." It became their first major hit and went platinum. A year later, in October, they released their second studio album "Antichrist Superstar." It brought the band worldwide fame, charted in over ten countries, and reached number three on the Billboard 200. The album was meticulously crafted 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 Beautiful People," which tackles beauty culture and its ties to Nietzsche's "master-slave" morality theory, dropped as the album's lead single. It quickly became the band's signature anthem. Manson penned the lyrics while Twiggy Ramirez handled the music. The album packaging was equally mysterious and complex, packed with religious imagery and hidden digital codes. The band then launched their "Dead to the World" world tour, playing 175 shows while frequently drawing protests from conservative groups.

Marilyn Manson – The Beautiful People

Career peak

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

To create his next studio album, the singer relocated from Florida to Los Angeles. In 1998, the band released "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 departed from his previous albums, embracing a glam rock aesthetic, and the album's artwork remained heavily symbolic. 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. Critics hailed "Great Big White World" as a classic example of the rocker's descent into terrifying drug-induced nightmares—proof of his ability to not only expose the hell people create for themselves, but drag listeners into his own twisted fantasies.

At his career peak, the press churned out countless 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 was endless. By the late '90s and early 2000s, the name Manson had become synonymous with controversy, triggering outrage from "pious Christians." But beneath the provocative persona lurked someone entirely different—vulnerable and deeply emotional.

Marilyn Manson on The O'Reilly Factor (2001)

In 1999, the rock band went on tour. The final shows were canceled out of respect for the Columbine High School tragedy victims, where two teenagers killed twelve children and one teacher before shooting themselves. Public opinion nearly blamed the singer for inspiring their violence. But it later emerged that neither student was actually a fan, 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 marked his return to industrial metal. It earned "gold" certification in Japan, Switzerland, Canada, and the UK. Critics hailed it as the band's finest work. Most of the album was written as a response to the Columbine massacre. His raw response crystallized in "The Nobodies," where he repeatedly declared: "Something is wrong with this world."

The band struck gold again with their fifth album "The Golden Age of Grotesque," released in May 2003. Manson drew inspiration for the album while watching his then-girlfriend Dita Von Teese perform in a burlesque show. The album topped the Billboard 200 list. That June, the band hit the stage at Ozzfest—the festival created by Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne—before launching into a full album tour.

The band's image during 'The Golden Age of Grotesque'

The shock rocker's follow-up releases couldn't match that level of success. Their sixth album "Eat Me, Drink Me" dropped in 2007 but only climbed to number eight 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 veteran jumped on a remix of Lady Gaga's "Love Game." The following year brought the band's seventh album "The High End of Low," which peaked at number four on the Billboard 200. The album featured songs Manson wrote during his painful split from Evan Rachel Wood.

On Christmas Day, he desperately tried calling her 158 times, harming himself after each failed attempt. The music video for "Running to the Edge of the World" later sparked massive controversy. In it, the vocalist beat a character resembling his ex-girlfriend to death. Critics universally slammed the video for what they saw as glorifying violence against women.

Marilyn Manson - Craziest Onstage Incidents

The band dropped their eighth studio album "Born Villain" in 2012. Debuting at number ten on the Billboard 200, the album spent two weeks at number one on the UK Rock Albums Chart. During the supporting tour, Manson brought the show to St. Petersburg.

Around the same time, Manson took the stage at LA's Revolver Golden Gods Awards to perform "Sweet Dreams" alongside Johnny Depp and The Pretty Reckless frontwoman Taylor Momsen. He also hit Berlin's Echo Awards to perform "The Beautiful People" with Rammstein, plus shared the stage with The Doors at the Doomsday Festival.

Marilyn Manson ft. Rammstein – Beautiful People

In 2013, Manson joined Alice Cooper on his "Masters of Mayhem" tour for a duet of "I'm Eighteen," then teamed up with Eminem in Barcelona to perform "The Way I Am." He also laid down the 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

Later works

In 2015, the band released their ninth album "The Pale Emperor" (a title that fans would later use as a nickname for their idol). This persona was inspired by a book about Elagabalus, a cruel Roman ruler, that Johnny Depp gave to Manson 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. Critics hailed it as the band's best album in a decade. On this record, Manson refined his gothic sound with sophisticated blues elements.

The Pale Emperor is one of Marilyn Manson's alter egos

Their tenth album "Heaven Upside Down" followed in October 2017. As usual, Manson wrote all the lyrics himself. He described the album as "one of the most complex and thematic" of his works.

Heaven Upside Down is Manson's tenth studio album

In spring 2019, Manson announced on Instagram that he'd nearly finished his next studio album, featuring collaborations with singer-songwriter Shooter Jennings. The album "We Are Chaos" was released in September 2020.

Marilyn Manson - WE ARE CHAOS (Official Music Video)

The album featured a cover of The Doors' "The End," recorded specifically for "The Stand" series based on Stephen King's bestseller. CBS All Access had greenlit the post-apocalyptic fantasy adaptation. Manson was set to play Trashcan Man, but the role fell through due to budget constraints.

Film Roles

Manson caught the attention of film directors and producers, landing a series of minor but memorable roles. The shock rocker made his screen debut in 1997's psychological thriller "Lost Highway" by David Lynch, appearing 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," which starred his then-girlfriend, actress Rose McGowan. In 2002, he appeared in Michael Moore's documentary "Bowling for Columbine," which tackled school violence in America.

In 2003, "Party Monster" was released, starring Macaulay Culkin in the lead role. The musician took on the role of drag queen superstar Christina. A year later, he had a small role as Jackson in the drama "The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things" by Asia Argento, and in 2007 played a bartender in the horror film "Rise: Blood Hunter."

In 2012, the rock performer joined the cast of French-American comedy "Wrong Cops" by director Quentin Dupieux (also known as Mr. Oizo), which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. He played a techno fan who gets schooled in good music by a police officer.

The following year, the rock artist played himself in the dramedy series "Californication," a show he'd always been a huge fan of. Around the same time, the creators of hit series "Once Upon a Time," who were fans of the singer, cast him as the voice of Peter Pan's shadow. They needed a voice that would send chills down your spine.

In Californication, Marilyn Manson played a cameo

In 2014, the "king of shock" played neo-Nazi Ron on the TV series "Sons of Anarchy." In 2016, he played sociopath Thomas in the fantasy series "Salem," starring Janet Montgomery and Shane West.

In 2017's drama "Let Me Make You a Martyr," Manson landed one of the key roles, playing colorful killer and psychopath Pope, a character of Native American descent. He was joined by co-star Mark Boone Junior, who'd become a friend during their time on "Sons of Anarchy."

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

This gifted musician excels at everything he touches. His creativity is genuinely captivating. Since the band's inception, he's designed nearly all their flyers and demo tape covers, and in 1999, he started painting watercolors. Over 150 of his paintings have been exhibited publicly.

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 painting, valued at $55,000, depicted a hermaphroditic Hitler.

Two years later, he unveiled his second exhibition, "Trismegistus," in Paris and Berlin. The centerpiece, sharing the same title, featured a three-headed Christ painted on a wooden tabletop from an antique embalming table.

In 2006, he opened his own Los Angeles gallery, The Celebritarian Corporation Gallery of Fine Art. The 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.

His works 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.

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

Behind his shocking stage persona, the rock icon's love life has been filled with high-profile romances and dramatic breakups. His first serious relationship was with Missi Romero, whom he met at a Beastie Boys concert in 1992 – they stayed together for five years.

He then got engaged to actress Rose McGowan during their relationship from 1999 to 2001, though they ultimately called it off. 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."

The marriage fell apart when it came to light that Manson was having an 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.

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. But they never made it down the aisle – the couple split in 2010 amid allegations of domestic violence.

Marilyn Manson's music video with Evan Rachel Wood

Following his breakup with Wood, Manson was linked to TV personality CariDee English, singer Lana Del Rey, and photographer Lindsay Usich. By 2015, he was publicly single and has kept his love life under wraps ever since. That changed in 2020 when news broke that he'd secretly 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. The actress claimed he "brainwashed" her when she was 16, beat her, tormented her, threatened her, and demanded her complete submission.

After Wood came forward, 16 other women backed her up, saying they'd experienced a similar pattern in their relationships with Manson. Four of the musician's victims filed lawsuits.

Meanwhile, Dita Von Teese and Rose McGowan, who both had serious relationships with Manson, said they never experienced anything like this.

After these allegations surfaced, his label Loma Vista Recordings, which was working on his new album, dropped him, 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 claims a "horrible distortion of reality," insisting he'd always built relationships on trust.

Abuse Allegations Against Marilyn Manson

In September 2023, the case against Marilyn Manson was closed. He reached settlements with some plaintiffs, including Esmé Bianco, who then dropped their lawsuits. Others dropped their cases, suggesting they'd faced pressure and bullying.

Marilyn Manson Now

Despite the scandal, Marilyn Manson has been working on a new album. In February 2024, Tyler Bates, who's worked closely with the musician, hinted that Manson's next album might drop in October. He claims it'll be Marilyn Manson's best work: "People will go crazy, and the vocals are delightful."

Photos: Marilyn Manson