Russell Brand Biography

Russell Brand was born in Essex, England. His father, Ronald Brand, was a photographer and his mother Barbara Nichols was a housewife. They divorced when Russell was only 6 months old. Russell’s mother suffered from Cancer and so would be admitted to the hospital all the time, while Russell would be sent to live with some relatives. He moved around a lot which really affected him. As a child he was very quiet and did not like to mix around. The reason might be because he had been sexually abused by a tutor when he was 7 years old. When he was 14 years old he suffered from Bulimia and became dangerously thin. Bulimia is a disease which mostly affects teenagers who vomit after every meal, the body then used to it and it automatically starts throwing up after every meal. This causes massive weight loss and can lead to Anemia.

At the age of 16, Russell left home as he could not get along with the guy his mother was living with. He had a very strained relation with his father and did not get along with him either. He also got involved in drugs and used almost every kind of drug that was available. He studied in the Grays School Media College, where he participated in school drama. This experience gave him the inspiration to become an actor. To further his career he joined the Italia Conti Academy for an introductory year but was soon thrown out of the Academy because of his drug abuse and behavioral problems. He struggled and managed to find some work in the TV Shows; Mud and The Bill.

His drug addiction continued and by now he had completely become a heroin and alcohol addict. He managed to enroll himself in the Drama Centre, London. But got himself kicked out in the final year after he took some broken glass and stabbed himself in the chest. Now it was high time that Russell took control of his life. He decided that he would rather concentrate on his comedy. He had befriended Karl Thoebald at the Centre and made a stand up double-act with him called Theobald and Brand on Ice. The act didn’t last very long and both went solo after that.

Russell found comedy to be soothing and he was much more in control of it, so he decided to take part in the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year competition. He did not win the competition but finished a respectable fourth. That was enough for him to get noticed by an agent who gave him gigs all over the country. He performed different acts all over, many of them became popular and a DVD was released containing his performance called Russell Brand: Live. Many of his other acts too were put on DVD and made good business.

Russell then got himself a job as a Video Jockey in MTV. He hosted the show called Dancefloor Chart. The show had him going to different clubs in Britain and Ibiza. Here too he got himself fired after he came to work dressed up as Osama Bin Laden, the very next day of the 9/11 attacks on America. He had also brought his drug dealer to work. The channel had enough of his antics and fired him immediately. Finally, a good period came in his life after he got relative success doing shows related to Big Brother. He also got a chance to host a few Award ceremonies. During the same time he had also worked as a Radio Jockey for XFM but typical of him he got fired after he read pornographic material on air. He moved to BBC radio and created havoc there too after he called a man named Andrew Sachs and discussed his granddaughter with whom Russell had an affair. He was suspended by the channel but Russell quit the show himself.

He made his big screen debut as Flash Harry in St. Trinian’s (2007). The movie did well and his film career got off to a good start. He played a small role in Penelope (2008) but did not reprise his role in the sequel to his debut movie. He was not very known in America and got a chance to get famous by playing a rock star in the American movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008).His character was so loved that he even got a spin-off movie with Jonah Hill called Get Him to the Greek (2010). He also played a supporting role in the Adam Sandler blockbuster Bedtime Stories (2008). Russell also lent his voice for the animation movie Despicable Me (2010). His movie career seems to be going great as he is now working with Oliver Stone and playing the lead in his movie called Arthur (In Production). He will again be working with Adam Sandler in an untitled project which is being written by Russell and Matt Morgan.

What made Russell really famous in America was the fact that he recently got married to singer Katy Perry. Their wedding had created a lot speculation in the media with almost new information on the wedding being printed in the media every day. They finally tied the knot on the 23rd of October in a Hindu ceremony in the Ranthambore tiger sanctuary situated in Rajasthan, India. The wedding was a very private affair attended only by close friends and family.