George Michael's Real Name: Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou

Quick answer: George Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou on June 25, 1963, in East Finchley, London. He took the name George Michael as a teenager. He became famous with Wham! and then as a solo star with Faith (1987). He died on December 25, 2016, in Goring, Oxfordshire, at age 53 (Britannica; Library of Congress).

Real name and early life

Britannica's quick facts call George Michael a "byname" of Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou. The Library of Congress name authority lists "Panayiotou, Georgios Kyriacos, 1963-2016" as a variant. It quotes an obituary: "b. Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, June 25, 1963, East Finchley, London; found dead Sunday [Dec. 25, 2016], Goring, Oxfordshire, aged 53." Another LOC citation simply says "real name: Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou."

Britannica says he was the youngest of three children in a family of English and Greek Cypriot heritage. His mother, Lesley (née Harrison), had been a dancer. His father, Kyriacos "Jack" Panayiotou, was a restaurateur who came to England from Cyprus in the 1950s and disapproved of a music career. When the family moved to Radlett, he befriended classmate Andrew Ridgeley. After their short-lived ska band, the Executive, he changed his name to George Michael.

Career highlights

Michael and Ridgeley formed Wham! in 1981. Michael wrote and sang "Young Guns (Go for It!)" (1982). Fantastic (1983) reached No. 1 in Britain, and Make It Big (1984) topped the U.S. chart with "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" and "Careless Whisper." In 1985 he sang with Elton John at Live Aid and, at 21, became the youngest winner of the Ivor Novello songwriter of the year award. "Last Christmas" appeared on Wham!'s final album before the 1986 split.

His duet with Aretha Franklin, "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)," won a Grammy. Faith (1987) sold 10 million U.S. copies, produced four No. 1 singles, and won album of the year at the 1989 Grammys. Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 (1990) followed, and he sued Sony over his contract; the court ruled for Sony in 1994. Older (1996) included "Jesus to a Child" and "Fastlove."

He publicly acknowledged that he was gay in 1998, and Britannica calls him a trailblazer for LGBTQ+ artists. Britannica also records later drug-related arrests and a four-week jail sentence after a 2010 crash. It attributes his 2016 death to liver and heart disease. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.

Name notes for searchers

Georgios is the Greek form of George. Michael is not a family surname; his family name was Panayiotou. Britannica also spells his first name "Giorgios" in one passage, but LOC records give Georgios.