Pharrell Williams's Real Name: Pharrell Williams

Quick answer: Pharrell Williams's real name is Pharrell Williams. He is an American musician and producer, born April 5, 1973, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, later known for the Neptunes and the song "Happy."

Real name and early life

He is known professionally as Pharrell Williams. Independent publishers used here record that public name rather than a longer legal form, so the public name is used in the title. Britannica and Biography.com independently date the birth to April 5, 1973, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Biography.com, alone among the sources cited here, names his parents as Pharoah Williams and Caroline Randall Williams.

Britannica says he was a percussionist in his school band as a child and found a kindred spirit in saxophonist Chad Hugo, and that the two began calling themselves the Neptunes in high school. Biography.com independently says he met Hugo at band camp and formed a band called the Neptunes. Britannica says a scout for music producer Teddy Riley heard them at a talent show and brought them to Riley's attention. Biography.com says Riley signed them, and that the Neptunes eventually became a production team.

Career highlights

Britannica says that in 1992 Williams wrote a verse for Wreckx-n-Effect's "Rump Shaker," and that the Neptunes produced "Tonight's the Night" on the 1994 debut album of Riley's group Blackstreet. Biography.com independently dates that Blackstreet production to 1994. Britannica lists later Neptunes-produced hits including Britney Spears's "I'm a Slave 4 U" (2001) and Nelly's "Hot in Herre" (2002), and says Justin Timberlake's Neptunes-produced album Justified won the Grammy Award for best pop vocal album, with the Neptunes named producer of the year (nonclassical). Biography.com, without itemizing those awards, calls him a 13-time Grammy winner.

Biography.com says he co-founded and sang lead vocals for the band N.E.R.D. Britannica independently lists N.E.R.D. albums including In Search of… (2002) and says he cowrote and was featured on Daft Punk's 2013 "Get Lucky," which won Grammys for best pop duo or group performance and record of the year in 2014, when he was again named producer of the year. Both sources highlight "Happy," written for the 2013 film Despicable Me 2. Britannica says it received an Academy Award nomination for best original song, and that his second solo album, G I R L, was released the following day. Biography.com independently says "Happy" spent 10 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for that award.

Britannica says he launched the street-wear lines Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream with producer Nigo, and that in 2023 Louis Vuitton named him creative director of its menswear collection, a post left vacant after Virgil Abloh died in 2021.

Name notes for searchers

People looking up Pharrell Williams are looking for the American musician and producer described here.