Kanye West

Born June 8, 1977, in Atlanta, Georgia, Kanye West and his mother, Donda West, relocated to Chicago, Illinois, when he was 3, following his parents’ divorce. West got his music career start as a producer.

In 2004, West’s debut album The College Dropout was a turning point for him, solidifying his career as a rapper. West has since released six more studio albums, most recently The Life of Pablo in February 2016. Every one of West’s studio albums has gone platinum, and he has received critical acclaim and numerous awards, including 21 Grammys.

Expressing an interest in fashion early on in his career, West premiered his women’s fashion line, DW by Kanye West, at Paris Fashion Week in 2011 and 2012. However, he really broke into the industry when he launched his Yeezy Season 1 line in collaboration with Adidas in early 2015, following up with Season 2 later that year and Season 3 in February 2016. Reviews of his collections have been largely mixed with many fashion critics refusing to take his clothes seriously despite his ability to draw huge crowds at his shows.

West is also notorious for his outlandish temper tantrums, often taking to Twitter to rant about various issues. He has publicly feuded with many celebrities, including Taylor Swift, who he famously interrupted during her acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

West married Kim Kardashian in 2014, and the couple, known as “Kimye,” share three children together, daughter North West (born in June 2013), son Saint West (born in December 2015), and daughter Chicago West (born in January 2018)