Russell Brand has been a recognisable name for approximately 20 years after kickstarting his career as a comedian before hitting Hollywood for the big screen.
Over the weekend, the comedian - who re-positioned himself from an actor to an online personality in recent years - was accused of sexual assault, rape and emotional abuse following a joint investigation with The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4's Dispatches.
Brand released a video statement saying he “absolutely refutes” the allegations against him which he described as “very, very serious criminal allegations”. The documentary and article saw four unnamed women make allegations of incidents with Brand, said to have taken place at the height of his fame between 2006 and 2013. Following its release, a fifth woman came forward to police and alleged she was sexually assaulted by him
Although he has recently gained a cult following for his YouTube videos on politics, society and conspiracy theories, he started his career in entertainment as a stand-up comedian, performing for fans at the Hackney Empire in 2000 and, later, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
How did he become famous?
The 48-year-old is an only child who was born in Essex. The star - who left home at 16 and started to use illegal drugs such as cannabis, amphetamines, LSD, and ecstasy - kicked off his career by performing stand-up at the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year final in 2000. During the same year, he performed at Fringe as one-third of the stand-up show Pablo Diablo's Cryptic Triptych.
When he wasn't doing stand-up, he was presenting on MTV's Dancefloor Chart which saw him touring nightclubs in Britain and Ibiza. He also hosted the tea-time request show Select. In 2004, he performed his first one-man show at Fringe where he claimed to give an open and honest account of his heroin addiction.
A lot of his material drew from his personal experiences, including his illegal drug use and sex addiction. Brand even opened up about his addictions in his 2007 autobiography, My Booky Wook.
At the beginning of his career, Brand was a jack of all trades and worked as a comedian, presenter, actor, and radio host. His radio career began in 2002 when he hosted a Sunday afternoon show on Xfm. Three years later, he went on to host shows on BBC Radio 6 Music before getting a job at BBC Radio 2.
However, what pushed him to fame was when he hosted Big Brother's Big Mouth in 2004. After three seasons, he left the sister series and hosted a one-off special called Big Brother According to Russell Brand before starring in Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack in 2008.
TV and Hollywood
Brand also tried his hand at acting and guest-starred in the likes of Blessed, A Bear's Tail, The Abbey and Cold Blood. In 2007, he made his first major film debut as Flash Harry in the British movie, St Trinians. He finally made his way to Hollywood when he got the part of rock star Aldous Snow in Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
The movie, which got a sequel called Get Him to the Greek, starred the likes of Jason Segel, Kristin Bell and Mila Kunis. The late 2000s and early 2010s were when he reached the peak of his fame as he gained roles in Bedtime Stories and Rock of Ages. He also voiced Dr. Nefario in the animated movie, Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2.
Like many stars, he landed a guest role in a The Simpsons episode as himself and played many roles in movies that weren't as popular, such as Arthur and The Tempest. In the last few years, his biggest roles included playing Windlesham in 2022's Death on the Nile, reprising his role as Dr Nefario in 2022's Minions: The Ruse of Gru and appearing as himself in the Australian soap show, Neighbours.
Many people, however, are used to seeing him on panel shows and game shows like Celebrity Juice, The Big Fat Quiz of the Year and more. Although his personality wasn't for everyone, he landed endless hosting gigs at awards shows such as NMW, MTV's VMAs and the Brit Awards.
'Sachsgate' Controversy
A segment during Brand's BBC Radio 2 show - The Russell Brand Show - resulted in himself alongside guest Jonathan Ross being suspended from the BBC. The pair made a series of phone calls on air to Fawlty Towers star Andrew Sachs, where Brand claimed he had sex with the actor's granddaughter - musician Georgina Baillie.
The stunt was met with backlash from the public, including then Prime Minister Gordon Brown, which saw the press label it 'Sachsgate'. The pair of presenters were suspended by the broadcaster as a result before Brand ended up resigning from his own show. Ofcom later fined the BBC £150k over the incident.
At the time, Ofcom said the comments, which were recorded with Ross, were "gratuitously offensive, humiliating and demeaning". Years later, during a chat on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs in 2013, Brand called the scandal blew up as he became caught up in an anti-BBC "agenda".
Katy Perry Marriage
Brand and US singer Katy Perry shared a whirlwind romance together, with a marriage lasting just 14 months. He popped the question on New Year's Eve in 2009, just three months after their first date.
But their union ended bitterly with Katy Perry revealing her ex-husband ended their marriage with a brutal text message sent to her on New Year's Eve. The content of the text hasn't been revealed, but it's understood to have been a single message from Russell to Katy telling her he was filing for divorce - just a few moments before she was about to perform on stage.
Speaking about their relationship in 2013, she said: "He’s a very smart man, and I was in love with him when I married him. Let’s just say I haven’t heard from him since he texted me saying he was divorcing me on December 31, 2011."
Drug and Sex Addiction
It has been well documented that Brand had struggles with substance abuse, while he also admitted to being a sex addict. After leaving home at 16, Brand ended up falling into drug abuse where he would take illegal drugs such as cannabis, amphetamines, LSD, and ecstasy.
Making light of his scandals, he would incorporate them into his stand-up. One included a time when he confessed during a show he had been arrested 12 times for drug-related issues.
The comedian was addicted to crack, heroin and alcohol and was told by his former manager he'd 'end up in a prison or a graveyard' if he didn't get clean. After spending months in rehab, Russell turned his life around and took to the social media platform to pay tribute to those who have helped him on the road to recovery.
"I'm 20 years clean and sober today," he said, proudly in the video shared last year. "It's December the 13th. So, firstly I wanted to express my gratitude for all the people who have helped me to remain clean and sober. What I have been taught and shown is that it is impossible for a person like me to not drink and use drugs, unless I have sufficient ongoing support from people who understand what it's like to feel that drugs or alcohol, or you know, certain behaviours, are necessary in order to feel okay."
Rape and sexual abuse * If you've been the victim of sexual assault, you can access help and resources via www.rapecrisis.org.uk or calling the national telephone helpline on 0808 802 9999*
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