David Bowie's Biography
David Bowie was born David Robert Jones in Brixton, London on January 8, 1947, the son of Hayward Stenton Jones and Margaret Mary Burns.
He was educated at Stansfield Road School in Brixton, South London.
David Bowie changed his name in 1966 to avoid confusion with Davy Jones of The Monkees.
Over his extensive career, David Bowie has had a variety of personae and musical styles, but has consistently achieved popular and critical acclaim.
Many of David Bowie's best known albums are from the 1970s: Hunky Dory (1971), "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars (1972), Diamond Dogs (1974), Young Americans (1975), Station to Station (1976), Low (1977), and Heroes (1977).
Bowie's first major acting role was as the television obsessed alien in The Man Who Fell To Earth. His other film acting credits include Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence and Absolute Beginners.
He also acted in the 1980 New York stage production of The Elephant Man.
As at 2007, David Bowie and Robbie Williams shared the record for having the most number one albums in the UK.
David Bowie was a keen painter and skier. In 1992, he married Iman Abdul Majid, often just referred to as Iman.
David Bowie's son Duncan Zowie Haywood-Jones, or Duncan Jones for short, made his feature film debut as a director in 2009.
In 2003, Bowie declined a knighthood.
He experienced pains in his arm and shoulder at a festival in Germany, on 25 June 2004, and it was revealed that he had an acutely blocked artery requiring angioplasty.
It was to lead to an end to his live appearances, after performing a three-song set in New York in 2006.
In 2006, David Bowie was given a lifetime award at the Grammys.
On 8 January 2013, his 66th birthday, David Bowie released a new single Where Are We Now? as a video and download.
It was revealed that there would be a new album, The Next Day, to be released in March. It became number one in the UK in its first week. The Next Day was Bowie's first number one since Black Tie White Noise in 1993.
In February 2014, David Bowie was named best British male at the Brit Awards.
On his 69th birthday in 2016, David Bowie released his 25th studio album, Blackstar.
A few days later on 10 January 2016, David Bowie died after an 18-month battle with cancer.
News
David Bowie's Will
On 30 January 2016, it was revealed that David Bowie left an estate valued at roughly $100m.Iman was to receive half, and the remainder was to be shared between his son Duncan and daughter Alexandria.
His personal assistant, Corinne Schwab, was left $2m and a former nanny, Marion Skene was to receive $1m.
David Bowie asked that his ashes be scattered in Bali in a Buddhist ritual.
Back to Top
