Robbie Williams has been one of Britain’s biggest pop stars since the 1990s. He joined the boy band Take That at just 16 years old, and went solo in 1996 with an album that included his breakthrough hit “Angels”. By the early 2000s he was scoring smash singles and albums – I’ve Been Expecting You (1998) featured “Millennium” (his first UK #1) and “She’s the One”, and Sing When You’re Winning (2000) gave us “Rock DJ,” which also hit #1 and sold over 1.2 million copies. Robbie even did some movie work; for example, he voiced the lead character in the animated film The Magic Roundabout (2005).
Today Robbie Williams is 51 years old and one of the UK’s most decorated pop stars (with seven UK No.1 singles and a record 18 Brit Awards to his name). Yet lately he’s been in the news not just for music but for warning fans about health side-effects from his recent weight-loss injections. Below we explore his career highlights, personal life, the Better Man film about him, and the controversy over his diabetes-weight-loss jabs.
Rise to Fame and Signature Hits
Robbie Williams’s solo career took off after leaving Take That in 1995. His first album Life thru a Lens (1997) featured “Angels,” which became his signature power ballad. Smooth Radio notes that Angels is “one of the ultimate power ballads” and the song made Robbie the UK’s biggest pop star of the late 1990s. (Robbie later explained that Angels is “not about anybody – it’s about thoughts that loved ones who have passed on come back and take care of you”.) The haunting chorus struck a chord with audiences: though it peaked at only #4 in the UK, Angels lingered on the chart for 27 weeks and eventually sold over a million copies.
Robbie Williams’s hit Angels has endured as his signature ballad – a dramatic love song known worldwide. Williams himself said it’s about guardian angels and lost loved ones. The song spent 27 weeks on the charts and by 2009 had passed the million-sales mark. (The image above, a still from the Angels video, evokes the song’s emotional resonance.)
Other hits followed in quick succession. His song “Millennium” (from his second album I’ve Been Expecting You) became the first Robbie Williams single to reach #1 in the UK. A few years later “Rock DJ” (from Sing When You’re Winning, 2000) also hit #1 and won him two Brit Awards (for Best Single and Best Video). According to Wikipedia, his second album alone spawned his first two UK chart-toppers (Millennium and “She’s the One”). Between these and other hits like “Feel” (2002) and “Let Me Entertain You” (1998), Robbie cemented his status. In total he has seven UK No.1 singles, and virtually all of his 14 solo albums reached #1.
After a decade on his own, Robbie Williams even briefly reunited with Take That. In 2010 he rejoined the group for their album Progress, which became the fastest-selling UK album in years (and second-fastest ever). He left the band again by 2011 to focus on solo projects, but said the split was amicable. Overall, his career has spanned boyband days, solo pop superstardom and even Eurovision-style events – he famously dueted on Angels with Taylor Swift at Wembley Stadium in 2015 – making him one of Britain’s best-known performers.
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Personal Life, Family and Fortune
Offstage, Robbie Williams enjoys a high profile. He married American actress Ayda Field in 2010. Ayda (best known as a panelist on UK television and a one-time X Factor judge alongside Robbie) has been his partner since they met in 2006. They wed in a Beverly Hills ceremony on 7 August 2010 and now have four children: daughters Theodora and Colette, and twin sons Charlton and Beau. Ayda is Ashkenazi Jewish, and Robbie has said they are raising the children with Jewish traditions.
(Image Source: People.com)
Robbie Williams himself is quite tall – around 5 ft 11½ in (about 1.82 m) – which often surprises fans when they meet him. He is also a very wealthy performer. Robbie Williams’s net worth is roughly $300 million (according to CelebrityNetWorth). This fortune comes from 75 million records sold worldwide and many lucrative deals: for example, he once signed an £80 million contract with EMI, and he and Ayda command huge concert fees.
The couple famously sold their Beverly Hills mansion to Drake for $75 million in 2021, and still own several luxury homes (including a £38.9m Beverly Hills estate). He routinely ranks on rich lists; as recently as 2011 he appeared in the UK Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated £90m fortune. Musically, Robbie has 18 Brit Awards to his name – more than any other artist – demonstrating the value of his achievements.
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Better Man: The Biopic and the Monkey Suit
Robbie Williams’s life story has even been told on screen. In December 2024 the film Better Man was released, a musical biopic of his rise, fall and comeback. Directed by Michael Gracey, it premiered on Lionsgate Play in August 2025. The movie weaves Robbie’s hits into a narrative of personal struggles: Times of India explains it “explores Williams’ journey from Take That stardom to solo success, highlighting his personal battles and resilience”. (The film’s title comes from a Robbie song – “Better Man,” a ballad from 2001 – which lends its name to the 2024 biopic.)
In London interviews Robbie Williams said he welcomed Better Man telling the “full truth” of his life. MoneyWeek notes that, although the film was an awards contender (earning Oscar nominations for visual effects), it “tanked at the box office” when it hit cinemas. Still, critics and fans have been talking about Better Man. Unusually, Robbie agreed to appear as a CGI chimpanzee in the movie – a creative choice to underscore how the music industry can dehumanize stars.
As Robbie Williams put it in interviews, director Michael Gracey suggested “let’s have you be a monkey,” and Robbie “loved the risk”. He went on to explain, “there is a surrender to the machinery of the industry that requires you to be a robot or a monkey. And I chose a monkey.” In other words, he embraced the surreal metaphor: “I’ve been a cheeky monkey all my life,” as one article quipped. The effect is that Robbie-as-monkey narrates his own story in the film, a unique twist that’s generating buzz (as well as memes) online.
Health and Weight-Loss Journey
Lately Robbie Williams’s health has been under the microscope. In recent years he has battled weight and depression, and he has spoken frankly about it. In 2023 he started using a class of drugs (GLP-1 agonists, like Ozempic and Mounjaro) to lose weight. Robbie says the injections truly worked – he went from around 13st 13lb to 12st 1lb – even joking to a journalist that getting on Ozempic was “like a Christmas miracle”. He quipped that he had been diagnosed with “type 2 self-loathing” driving his need to slim down. The weight loss apparently also helped his mood: he told The Sun that reducing his “constant mental anguish” had been transformative.
(Image Source: Daily Mail)
However, Robbie Williams is now warning fans to be cautious. Earlier in 2025 he revealed that after months of injections, his vision was deteriorating. He told the media he can no longer make out faces in the crowd, only “blobs on the field” at events. He said bluntly: “My eyesight’s not very good… and it’s only getting worse. I don’t believe it’s age – I believe it’s the jabs.”. In one concert he even admitted onstage that he could barely see the woman he was singing to. Worried, Robbie consulted an eye doctor and got new glasses, but the blurriness persisted.
He is now publicly advising people to “do their research” before using these injections. In a Hello interview he warned readers: “I want to warn people reading this… go do your research,” noting that he was an “early adopter” of the jabs and only later connected his vision issues to them. He even half-joked that if his vision completely failed in one eye, he might still stay on the drug – underscoring how dependent he’s become on its weight-loss effect.
His caution is echoed by emerging medical reports. For example, a 2024 U.S. study found that users of semaglutide (a drug similar to Ozempic/Mounjaro) were about seven times more likely to develop a rare optic-nerve disorder than non-users. Similarly, hundreds of vision-related side effects (blurriness, eye pain) have been reported in the UK’s drug registry for GLP-1 drugs. Although a direct cause-and-effect is not proven, Robbie’s doctors are monitoring him closely. The situation has made headlines worldwide, with Robbie urging caution.
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Unfiltered, Unstoppable: Robbie Williams in 2025
In summary, the 51-year-old star continues to share candidly about his life – both the triumphs and the troubles. From chart-topping anthems like “Angels” to his unusual chimpanzee portrayal in Better Man, Robbie Williams has always been a performer willing to take risks. Now he’s using his own experiences (and possibly misadventures with weight-loss drugs) to help fans stay informed. As he put it bluntly, “I’m worried, so I want other people to be aware.” Whether on stage belting out “Feel” or speaking openly about his health, Robbie Williams remains unfiltered – and that honesty is a big part of why he’s endured as a pop-culture icon.
2025 has also seen Robbie fully back in performer mode. His “Robbie Williams Live 2025” tour kicked off on May 31 in Edinburgh and is now sweeping across major European stadiums, including Emirates Stadium in London, Co-op Live in Manchester, RCDE Stadium in Barcelona, and La Défense Arena in Paris. Despite ongoing concerns about his vision, he’s pressing ahead fearlessly. Fans say his shows are a powerful mix of nostalgia, energy, and vulnerability—shifting effortlessly from emotional ballads like “Angels” to arena-shaking hits like “Rock DJ.”
Adding to the excitement, Robbie Williams is also expected to perform songs featured in his Better Man biopic, giving concerts an emotional, cinematic edge. Whether he’s cracking jokes between songs or opening up about his health journey, the energy remains unmistakable: Robbie Williams is vibrant, bold, and completely at home under the spotlight. For many fans, this tour isn’t just a concert—it’s a statement that despite the headlines, Robbie is still one of the world’s most compelling entertainers.
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