Age, Biography, and Wiki
Russell Brand was born in Grays, Essex, England, to Barbara Elizabeth Brand. He was raised by his mother after his parents separated when he was just six months old. Brand's early life was marked by challenges, including struggles with addiction and a tumultuous period of personal growth. He gained fame in the early 2000s as the host of "Big Brother's Big Mouth," and his career has since included numerous roles in film and television, such as "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and "Get Him to the Greek." Brand is also known for his podcasting and YouTube presence, hosting shows like "The Russell Brand Podcast" and "Under the Skin with Russell Brand."
| Occupation | Stand-up Comedians |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 4 June 1975 |
| Age | 50 Years |
| Birth Place | Grays, Essex, England |
| Horoscope | Gemini |
| Country | England |
Height, Weight & Measurements
- Height: 6 feet 1 inch (185 cm)
- Weight: Approximately 82 kg (181 lbs)
- Measurements: Not publicly disclosed
Television presenter Vanessa Feltz released a clip of her appearance on Brand's TV show in 2006, where he asked if he could "have it off" with her or her daughters, which left her "deeply offended". Lorraine Kelly said she felt uncomfortable during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show after Brand touched her thigh and called her a "slut" in 2007.
| Height | 185 cm |
| Weight | 181 lbs |
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Dating & Relationship Status
Russell Brand has been married twice: to singer Katy Perry from 2010 to 2012 and to Laura Gallacher since 2017. He has three children with Laura Gallacher.
He is the only child of Barbara Elizabeth (née Nichols) and photographer Ronald Henry Brand. Brand's parents separated when he was six months old, and he was raised by his mother.
When Brand was eight, his mother was diagnosed with uterine cancer and then breast cancer one year later. While she underwent treatment, Brand lived with relatives. When he was 14, he developed bulimia nervosa. At age 16, Brand left home because of disagreements with his mother's partner. He then started to use illegal drugs such as cannabis, amphetamines, LSD, and ecstasy. Brand says he had a "strange relationship" with his father, whom he saw sporadically and who took him to visit prostitutes during a trip to Thailand when Brand was a teenager.
In January 2017, Brand announced his new tour Re:Birth, which debuted in April 2017 and was meant to go through November 2018. However, on 30 April 2018, he was forced to cancel the remaining dates after his mother was critically injured in a hit-and-run accident. Russell Brand: Re:Birth, which was filmed in London in April 2018, was released as a standup comedy film on Netflix on 4 December 2018.
Brand achieved American fame when he starred in the 2008 film Forgetting Sarah Marshall, in which he played rock star Aldous Snow, the boyfriend of the title character (played by Kristen Bell). Brand received rave reviews for his performance as Snow, and he revealed the character was changed from an author to a rock star because of his audition. Brand starred alongside Adam Sandler in the Disney film Bedtime Stories, which was released on 25 December 2008. In 2010, he reprised the role of Aldous Snow for a buddy comedy titled Get Him to the Greek, co-starring Jonah Hill, which also reunited him with Forgetting Sarah Marshall director Nicholas Stoller and producer Judd Apatow for the film.
Other projects Brand has been tied to include a remake of Drop Dead Fred, an Adam Sandler-produced film about a con man posing as a priest tentatively entitled Bad Father, co-written by Brand and Matt Morgan; and a film adaptation of the children's television programme Rentaghost, a project that was picked up by Fox Studios in 2011 with Ben Stiller attached.
In 2014, former girlfriend Jordan Martin said Brand had committed sexual assault and physical and emotional abuse during their six-month relationship in 2007. She accused Brand of assaulting her at the Lowry Hotel in Salford when he became angry after discovering she had spoken to an ex-boyfriend.
Brand first met American singer Katy Perry in mid-2009 when she filmed a cameo for his film Get Him to the Greek, although the cameo was cut from the film. They began dating after meeting again at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards in September. The two became engaged on New Year's Eve 2009 during a holiday in India and married there on 23 October 2010 in a Hindu ceremony near the Ranthambhore tiger sanctuary in Rajasthan.
In 2012, he briefly dated singer Geri Halliwell. From 2013 to 2014, Brand was in a relationship with Jemima Goldsmith (formerly known as Jemima Khan), a daughter of financier James Goldsmith. After The Sun printed a story in November 2013 alleging that he had been unfaithful to Khan, Brand received unspecified libel damages from the paper in May 2014 which he said he would donate to the Hillsborough Justice Campaign. Brand and Khan ended their relationship in September 2014.
Since 2015, Brand has been in a relationship with Scottish blogger and former restaurateur Laura Gallacher, the sister of television presenter Kirsty Gallacher and daughter of Bernard Gallacher. Brand and Gallacher first dated in 2007, when Gallacher was 19 and Brand was 30. Brand married Gallacher in Henley-on-Thames on 26 August 2017. In July 2018, Brand and Gallacher had a second daughter.
| Parents | |
| Husband | Katy Perry (m. 2010-2012) Laura Gallacher (m. 2017) |
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Net Worth and Salary
As of 2025, Russell Brand's estimated net worth is approximately $20 million. His earnings come from a variety of sources:
- Film and TV Earnings: Brand earned between $2 million and $5 million per film during his peak, appearing in nearly a dozen major productions between 2008 and 2013.
- Book Sales: His memoir "My Booky Wook" sold over 600,000 copies, contributing significantly to his wealth.
- YouTube and Online Media: Prior to his channel's demonetization, Brand earned around $1 million annually from his YouTube presence. However, recent reports indicate much lower earnings due to the channel's status.
- Speaking Engagements and Podcasts: He charged between $50,000 and $100,000 for keynote speeches and hosted well-paying live events.
Over the course of his career, Brand has been the subject of frequent media coverage for issues such as his promiscuity, drug use, political views, provocative behaviour at various award ceremonies, his dismissal from MTV, and his resignation from the BBC amid a prank call controversy. Since guest-editing an edition of British political weekly New Statesman in 2013, Brand has become known as a public activist and campaigner, and has spoken on a wide range of political and cultural issues, including wealth inequality, addiction, corporate capitalism, climate change, and media bias. In 2014, he launched his political-comedy web series The Trews on YouTube, released a book entitled Revolution, and acted in the documentary The Emperor's New Clothes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Brand's YouTube channel underwent an increase in activity and change in political direction, and was accused of promoting COVID denialism and conspiracy theories.
On 18 October 2008, on his radio show, Brand and Jonathan Ross broadcast the recording of a series of lewd phone messages for then-78-year-old actor Andrew Sachs. This infamously included Ross saying, "He fucked your granddaughter", a reference to Sachs' granddaughter Georgina Baillie, whom Russell had dated. The comments were broadcast on the pre-recorded show. After little initial interest, a media story about the calls by the Daily Mail generated a high number of complaints. Brand resigned from the BBC, while Ross was suspended without pay. The BBC was later fined £150,000 by Britain's broadcast regulator for airing the calls. On 21 November 2008, the BBC Trust said that the phone calls were a "deplorable intrusion with no editorial justification".
"A socialist egalitarian system based on the massive redistribution of wealth, [with] heavy taxation of corporations ... I think the very concept of profit should be hugely reduced ... I say profit is a filthy word, because wherever there is a profit there is also a deficit."
On 15 March 2012, an arrest warrant was issued for Brand in New Orleans because of allegations that he had thrown a photographer's mobile phone through a window. The paparazzo was taking pictures of Brand with an iPhone when Brand wrestled the device from his hands and tossed it at a law firm's window. The warrant cited "simple criminal damage to property", leading Brand, who offered to pay for the replacement of the window, to voluntarily appear at a police station. Brand was filming a movie in New Orleans at the time of the incident.
Career, Business, and Investments
Russell Brand's career spans multiple fields:
- Acting: Known for films like "St Trinian's," "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," and "Get Him to the Greek."
- Comedy and Hosting: Hosted "Big Brother's Big Mouth" and various other shows.
- Writing: Published several successful books, including "My Booky Wook."
- Podcasting and YouTube: Hosts "The Russell Brand Podcast" and "Under the Skin with Russell Brand," though his YouTube channel has faced challenges, including demonetization following allegations.
- Business Ventures: Recently, his business assets grew by £3.2 million in the year leading up to December 2023.
Russell Edward Brand (born 4 June 1975) is an English comedian, actor, podcaster and media personality. He established himself as a stand-up comedian and radio host before becoming a film actor. After beginning his career as a comedian and later becoming an MTV presenter in the UK, in 2004 Brand gained a role as the host of the television show Big Brother's Big Mouth, a Big Brother spin-off. He had his first major film role in British comedy St Trinian's (2007) before starring in the Hollywood comedies Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), Get Him to the Greek (2010), Arthur (2011), and Rock of Ages (2012). He has released several stand-up specials, including Scandalous (2009), Messiah Complex (2013), and Brandemic (2023). He hosted his own radio show The Russell Brand Show (2006–2008, 2010, 2013, 2017) and also hosts the podcasts Stay Free with Russell Brand and Under the Skin with Russell Brand. He has received three British Comedy Awards and a nomination for a BAFTA Award.
After appearing as William Carr in the Diablo Cody film Paradise (2013), Brand went on hiatus from acting. His return role was as the villainous Creek in the DreamWorks animated film Trolls (2016), followed by his portrayal of God in the comedy Army of One (2016) with Nicolas Cage. In 2018 and 2019, he portrayed Sports X Network founder Lance Klians in a recurring arc In the last two seasons of the HBO series Ballers. Brand appeared as Tristan Trent in the 2020 fantasy film Four Kids and It, and in 2022 played Linus Windlesham in Kenneth Branagh's remake of Death on the Nile.
As of October 2008, Brand's own production company is called Vanity Projects. The company's latest production, Russell Brand Doing Life, was released in 2009.
Brand also established his own production company in 2011 with his friend Nik Linnen. Called 'Branded Films', the company operates from the Warner Bros. studios in Burbank, California, United States. The company's primary focus is to develop films that Brand stars in.
Brand's radio career began in early 2002, when he hosted a Sunday afternoon show with Matt Morgan on London's Indie Rock station Xfm. Brand was dismissed from the job after reading pornographic material live on-air.
On 3 September 2013, in his acceptance speech at the GQ Awards show after receiving the "Oracle" award, Brand mentioned sponsor Hugo Boss's former business making uniforms for the Gestapo. Brand said of the Nazis, "They did look fucking fantastic, let's face it" before he goose stepped across the stage in a comical imitation of the Nazi march. Brand was ejected from the event after GQ editor Dylan Jones confronted Brand, saying that the speech was "very offensive". Brand replied that the Nazis' treatment of the Jewish people was "very offensive".
In June 2014, he took part in the People's Assembly Against Austerity, which attracted an estimated 50,000 people marching from the BBC office to Westminster. Brand addressed the crowd, saying, "The people of this building [the House of Commons] generally speaking do not represent us, they represent their friends in big business. It's time for us to take back our power. Power isn't there, it is here, within us. The revolution that's required isn't a revolution of radical ideas, but the implementation of ideas we already have."
The film documentary Brand: A Second Coming, which reflects on Brand's journey into political activism, premiered at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas, in March 2015. Brand and director Michael Winterbottom worked together to produce a documentary, The Emperor's New Clothes, that had its international premiere on 24 April 2015 at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film features archival footage with appearances by Brand in London and New York City, examining the 2008 financial crisis and global economic inequality. The documentary is produced by Brand's Revolution Films company and distributed by StudioCanal UK.
He released additional material from his discussion with Ed Miliband and stating "I think we've got no choice but to take decisive action to end the danger of the Conservative party". He dropped his anti-voting position and "declared the importance of voting", backing Labour and telling his fans that "You gotta vote Labour", although he admitted "that he couldn't be sure of the reality of what a Labour government would mean". Brand was not registered to vote in the 2015 election. Brand later endorsed Jeremy Corbyn in the 2015 Labour Party leadership election.
In 2007, on Brand's BBC Radio 2 comedy show, he called former Jim'll Fix It host Jimmy Savile and asked to meet him. Savile answered that that would only happen if Brand brought along his sister if he had one. In response, Brand joked, "I've got a personal assistant [...] and part of her job description is that anyone I demand she greet, meet, massages, she has to do it. She's very attractive, Jimmy." When he asked Savile what she should wear, Savile replied he would "prefer her to wear nothing". The exchange between Brand and Savile was featured in the 2023 Channel 4 Dispatches documentary Russell Brand: In Plain Sight.
The reports noted that complaints about Brand's behaviour had been made to Lesley Douglas, then controller of BBC Radio 2, in 2007, after Brand allegedly urinated into a bottle "in full view of everyone" in the BBC Radio 2 studio and hurled objects "in fits of rage". Brand allegedly pursued female audience members for sex and exposed himself to a crew member on the shows EFourum and Big Brother's Big Mouth. Production company Endemol and Channel 4 released statements of regret, saying in part: "We are sorry these women did not feel supported and protected while working on these productions and in light of these serious allegations encourage them to contact us in confidence."
Social Network
Russell Brand has a significant online presence, particularly on YouTube and social media platforms. However, his YouTube channel was demonetized in the wake of allegations, affecting his earnings from this source. As of mid-2020s, he had 6.6 million subscribers before the channel faced issues.
On 12 December 2007, BBC Four aired Russell Brand On the Road, a documentary presented by Brand and Matt Morgan about the writer Jack Kerouac and his novel On the Road. Brand returned to Channel 4 to host Russell Brand's Ponderland, in which he discussed topics like childhood and science through stand-up comedy. The show first aired on 22 October 2007 and continued for the next five nights. A second series began on 30 October 2008. The show ran for 12 episodes over the two series.
Brand made his children's book debut in November 2014 with Russell Brand's Trickster Tales: The Pied Piper of Hamelin. It is the first installment of an intended series, featuring illustrations by Chris Riddell. In The Guardian, reviewer Lucy Mangan noted: "The on-Brand need to be noticed is there on every page, his unwillingness to get out of the way of the story tripping the reader up at every turn" and adding that Chris Riddell's illustrations "give the book a beauty it does not deserve and a coherence the text does not deliver". Nicholas Tucker, in The Independent, noted the book's "wearingly offensive" language, and commented: "Brand's take on The Pied Piper of Hamelin is the first of a series of riffs on traditional fairy and folk tales. If they are all as bad as this one, British children's books will have hit a new low."
On 23 October 2013, in an interview by Jeremy Paxman for the BBC's Newsnight, Brand disparaged the British political system as ineffectual and encouraged the British electorate not to vote. Brand said that he has never voted and he never will. Paxman challenged Brand about his call for "revolution" and whether someone who had never voted could edit a political magazine. When Paxman asked what a revolution would look like, Brand replied:
In January 2014, Brand was invited by the Cambridge Union Society to participate in an interview. Brand launched his YouTube series The Trews: True News with Russell Brand in 2014. The show was halted for nearly a year as he decided to be away from social media to focus on his personal and professional growth.
On 2 December 2014, Brand joined East London residents to protest over the increase in rents at the New Era housing estate. During a protest for the New Era residents, Channel 4 News reporter Paraic O'Brien continually pushed Brand to answer questions about the value of his own property, which is rented. The line of questioning irritated Brand, who ended up calling the reporter a "snide"—the short clip went viral on YouTube.
On 29 April 2015, eight days ahead of 2015 UK general election, Brand published an interview with Labour leader Ed Miliband on an episode of The Trews. Miliband stated that he took part to win over people like Brand who do not vote, although his opponent David Cameron deemed the entire interview a "joke". The following day Brand released an interview with Green Party leader Natalie Bennett and Green MP Caroline Lucas, giving his support to Lucas in Brighton advising people there to vote Green.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Brand's YouTube channel underwent an increase in political activity and a rightward change in political direction, and was accused of promoting COVID denial and other conspiracy theories.<ref name="conspiracy theories"> According to culture reporter Louis Chilton, his videos are usually "framed with some sort of contrarian take or calling out hypocrisy in the mainstream media", and often hint "at a vague, world-altering conspiracy". Chilton questioned Brand's motives, suggesting that sceptics might "question why he advertises his stand-up tour just seconds into the start of each clip". In March 2023, Finn McRedmond of The New Statesman, which Brand had guest-edited in 2013, described Brand as having now melded his "trad-socialist values" with "all the suspicions and anxieties of the new American right".
In September 2021, Brand told people attending his tour how they could bypass COVID-19 safety measures. The following month, YouTube began reviewing some of Brand's videos to see if they violated the site's COVID-19 vaccine policies. In 2022, Brand reacted to the World Health Organization's meetings on the pandemic treaty, saying "Your democracy is fucking finished" and that the world had "lapsed into a terrible technocratic, globalist agenda". Early that year, Brand released a video decrying the media for allegedly ignoring the Canada convoy protest.
Brand promoted unfounded claims of US bioweapon labs in Ukraine. Elon Musk defended Brand from media criticism on Twitter, saying: "I watched some of his videos. Ironically, he seemed more balanced & insightful than those condemning him! The groupthink among major media companies is more troubling. There should be more dissent." When YouTube took down one of his videos in September 2022, citing its policy on medical misinformation, he moved his channel to Rumble, where he launched a new daily live show, Stay Free with Russell Brand.
Brand responded by denying any criminal wrongdoing, saying his relationships "were absolutely always consensual" while stemming from a period of time when he was "very, very promiscuous". He said that he had been contacted by The Sunday Times and Channel 4 prior to the story's publication and that their reporting contained "a litany" of "astonishing, rather baroque attacks" and "some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute".
YouTube said on 19 September that it had suspended Brand's ability to make money from his account; a spokesperson said, "This decision applies to all channels that may be owned or operated by Russell Brand." The director general of the BBC, Tim Davie, announced an internal review of complaints against Brand during his time working for the organisation. The BBC had already removed some material featuring Brand from its archive. The CEO of the media platform Rumble, Chris Pavlovski, on 21 September, instead said the company would not "join a cancel culture mob". Pavlovski rejected a House of Commons Media Committee request to join YouTube in removing the monetisation from Brand's channels "based solely on these media accusations"; he also stated that the parliament's request was "extremely disturbing".
On 30 December 2011, Brand filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences, and their divorce was finalised in July 2012. Perry's July 2012 autobiographical documentary, Katy Perry: Part of Me, showed the couple having conflicting career schedules and Perry not feeling ready to have children. Perry later said in an interview that Brand did not like the idea of her "being the boss" of things, and that the last time she had heard from him was on 31 December 2011, when he text-messaged that he was divorcing her.
The media published articles on Brand during his drug-using period, typically in relation to incidents, and his public profile has since been associated with this era. Drug-related issues led to Brand's arrest on 12 occasions. Brand was ejected from The Gilded Balloon in Edinburgh and following a subsequent show in the city in 2004, a reviewer stated that "you'd rather hug him than hit him", as he had embraced recovery by this point. Following the cessation of his use, Brand revealed through his stand-up performances that he introduced his drug dealer to Kylie Minogue during his time at MTV and said he had performed manual sex on a male stranger in a public toilet for a television programme, adding: "I must say, it wasn't for me. I didn't really enjoy it. My tendencies and inclinations towards women are very, very powerful. I like them very much. It's just a biological urge."
Education
Russell Brand attended Grays School Media Arts College and later studied at the Italia Conti Academy. However, he did not complete his formal education at the academy due to personal issues and instead focused on his career in comedy and acting.
In conclusion, Russell Brand's net worth in 2025 reflects his diverse career and the challenges he has faced in recent years. Despite controversies, Brand remains a prominent figure in the entertainment industry.
He made his theatrical debut at the age of 15 in a school production of Bugsy Malone, and then began work as a film extra. Brand attended Grays School and in 1991, he was accepted to the Italia Conti Academy, and had his first year of tuition funded by Essex County Council. After his first year at Italia Conti Academy, Brand was expelled for illegal drug use and poor attendance. Brand has said that he was sexually abused by a tutor.
