Manson, Marilyn

Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He is the lead singer and the only original member remaining of the same-titled band he founded in 1989. The band members initially created their stage names by combining the first name of an American female sex symbol, Marilyn Monroe, and the last name of a male serial killer, Charles Manson. In the 1990s, the band released the albums Portrait of an American Family (1994), Antichrist Superstar (1996) and Mechanical Animals (1998), which included hit singles such as "The Beautiful People," "Tourniquet," "The Dope Show" and "Rock Is Dead." The band's 2000 album Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) is a direct response to mainstream media, who blamed Manson for supposedly influencing the perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre. Three of the band's albums have been awarded platinum status and three more went gold, and they have had eight top-ten albums and two number-one albums on the Billboard 200. He has been ranked at No. 44 on the list of the "Top 100 Heavy Metal Vocalists" by Hit Parader and, along with his band, has been nominated for five Grammy Awards. Manson is widely considered one of the most controversial figures in heavy metal. In addition to the Columbine tragedy, his lyrics have been criticized by American politicians and examined in congressional hearings, with several U.S. states creating legislation specifically banning the group from performing in state-operated venues. His paintings and films appeared as evidence in a murder trial, and he has been accused of inspiring several other murders and school shootings. Outside of music, he made his film debut as an actor in David Lynch's Lost Highway (1997), and has since appeared in a variety of minor roles and cameos. In 2002, his first art show, The Golden Age of Grotesque, was held at the Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions center. In 2021, former partner Evan Rachel Wood accused Manson of psychological and sexual abuse, allegations which Manson denied. Other women followed with similar accusations, with five women suing him in civil court. One of these lawsuits was withdrawn after the accuser recanted her allegations and alleged Wood pressured her to accuse Manson. He sued Wood for defamation, but later dropped the lawsuit after substantial portions of the suit were dismissed by Wood's anti-SLAPP motions, agreeing to pay her legal fees. A four-year criminal investigation of the abuse allegations by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department concluded in 2025, which resulted in no charges filed against Manson due to the expiration of the statute of limitations and a lack of evidence.