David Bowie
Acting
David Robert Jones, known professionally as David Bowie, was an English singer, songwriter and actor. He was a figure in popular music for over five decades, regarded by critics and musicians as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s. His career was marked by reinvention and visual presentation, his music and stagecraft significantly influencing popular music. During his lifetime, his record sales, estimated at 140 million worldwide, made him one of the world's best-selling music artists. In the UK, he was awarded nine platinum album certifications, eleven gold and eight silver, releasing eleven number-one albums. In the US, he received five platinum and seven gold certifications. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Born and raised in South London, Bowie developed an interest in music as a child, eventually studying art, music and design before embarking on a professional career as a musician in 1963. “Space Oddity” became his first top-five entry on the UK Singles Chart after its release in July 1969. After a period of experimentation, he re-emerged in 1972 during the glam rock era with his flamboyant and androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust. The character was spearheaded by the success of his single “Starman” and album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, which won him widespread popularity. In 1975, Bowie's style shifted radically towards a sound he characterized as “plastic soul,” initially alienating many of his UK devotees but garnering him his first major US crossover success with the number-one single “Fame” and the album Young Americans. In 1976, Bowie starred in the cult film The Man Who Fell to Earth and released Station to Station. The following year, he further confounded musical expectations with the electronic-inflected album Low (1977), the first of three collaborations with Brian Eno that would come to be known as the Berlin Trilogy. Heroes (1977) and Lodger (1979) followed; each album reached the UK top five and received lasting critical praise. After uneven commercial success in the late 1970s, Bowie had UK number ones with the 1980 single “Ashes to Ashes,” its parent album Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), and “Under Pressure,” a 1981 collaboration with Queen. He then reached his commercial peak in 1983 with Let's Dance, with its title track topping both UK and US charts. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Bowie continued to experiment with musical styles, including industrial and jungle. Bowie also continued acting; his roles included Major Celliers in Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), the Goblin King Jareth in Labyrinth (1986), Pontius Pilate in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), and Nikola Tesla in The Prestige (2006), among other film and television appearances and cameos. He stopped concert touring after 2004 and his last live performance was at a charity event in 2006. In 2013, Bowie returned from a decade-long recording hiatus with the release of The Next Day. He remained musically active until he died of liver cancer two days after the release of his final album, Blackstar (2016).
Media of
David Bowie
Photos (21)
Filmography of
David Bowie
(archival footage)
... 2025
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
... 2025
Self (archive footage)
... 2024
Guitar, Saxophone, Vocals
... 2024
Narrator (voice)
... 2024
... 2024
David Bowie
... 2023
Self (archive footage)
... 2023
Self (archive footage)
... 2023
Self (archive footage)
... 2023
Self (archive footage)
... 2023
Self - Singer (archive footage)
... 2023
Self (archive footage)
... 2023
Self (archive footage)
... 2022
Self (archive footage)
... 2022
Self (archive footage)
... 2022
... 2021
Self (voice)
... 2021
Self
... 2021
Self (archive footage)
... 2021
... 2021
... 2021
Self (archive footage)
... 2020
Self (archive footage)
... 2020
... 2020
Self (archive footage)
... 2020
Self (archive footage)
... 2019
Self (archive footage)
... 2019
... 2019
Self (archive footage)
... 2019
Self (Archival/Voice)
... 2019
Self - Vocals
... 2018
Self
... 2018
... 2018
Self (archive footage)
... 2017
Jack Celliers (archive footage)
... 2017
Self (archive footage)
... 2017
Self - Musician (archive footage)
... 2017
Self - Narrator (voice)
... 2017
Self (archive footage)
... 2017
Self (archive footage)
... 2017
... 2016
Self (archive footage)
... 2016
Self (archive footage)
... 2016
Self (archive footage)
... 2016
... 2016
Self (archive footage)
... 2016
Self
... 2016
... 2016
... 2016
Self
... 2016
Self (archive footage)
... 2015
... 2015
... 2015
... 2015
... 2015
Self (archive footage)
... 2014
Self (archive footage)
... 2014
Phillip Jeffries
... 2014
Self (archive footage)
... 2013
Self (archive footage)
... 2013
... 2013
Self - Singer, songwriter
... 2012
Self (archive footage)
... 2012
... 2012
Self / Ziggy Stardust (archive footage)
... 2012
Self - Performer (archive footage)
... 2012
Self
... 2011
Self
... 2011
Self (archive footage)
... 2010
... 2010
Self (archive footage)
... 2009
David Bowie
... 2009
... 2009
Self (archive footage)
... 2008
Cyrus Ogilvie
... 2008
... 2007
Self - Guest Artist
... 2007
Self - Singer, Songwriter
... 2007
Self - Singer, Songwriter
... 2007
Lord Royal Highness
... 2007
... 2007
Self - Singer, Songwriter
... 2007
Maltazard (voice)
... 2006
Tesla
... 2006
... 2006
Self - Singer, Songwriter
... 2006
... 2006
... 2006
Self (archive footage)
... 2005
Self
... 2005
... 2005
... 2005
Self
... 2005
Self
... 2004
Self (archive footage)
... 2004
... 2004
... 2004
Self (archive footage)
... 2004
Self
... 2004
... 2003
... 2003
... 2003
... 2003
Self - Interviewee
... 2003
... 2003
... 2003
Self
... 2002
Self - Narrator (voice)
... 2002
... 2002
... 2002
... 2002
Self (archive footage)
... 2002
... 2002
... 2001
... 2001
David Bowie
... 2001
Mr. William Rice
... 2000
Self - Vocals
... 2000
... 2000
Self (archive footage)
... 2000
... 2000
... 1999
... 1999
Bernie
... 1999
Jack Sikora
... 1998
... 1998
... 1998
... 1998
Self (archive footage)
... 1998
Self (uncredited)
... 1997
... 1997
... 1997
... 1997
Self - Interviewee
... 1997
... 1996
Andy Warhol
... 1996
... 1996
... 1996
... 1995
... 1995
... 1995
Jareth (archive footage)
... 1994
... 1993
Phillip Jeffries
... 1992
... 1992
Self (archive footage)
... 1991
Monte
... 1991
... 1990
... 1989
Self
... 1988
Pontius Pilatus
... 1988
... 1988
Self
... 1986
Jareth
... 1986
Vendice Partners
... 1986
... 1986
Self
... 1985
... 1985
... 1985
Celliers (archive footage)
... 1985
Colin Morris
... 1985
Self
... 1985
Older James (re-released version) (uncredited)
... 1984
Vic / Screaming Lord Byron
... 1984
Self
... 1984
... 1984
Self - Lead Vocals / Guitar
... 1984
Self
... 1983
Self / Ziggy Stardust
... 1983
... 1983
The Shark (uncredited)
... 1983
Self
... 1983
Celliers
... 1983
John Blaylock
... 1983
Self (archive footage)
... 1983
Baal
... 1982
David Bowie
... 1981
... 1980
... 1978
Paul Ambrosius von Przygodski
... 1978
Self - Keyboard, Vocals
... 1978
... 1978
Self - Keyboard, Vocals
... 1978
... 1977
Himself (voice)
... 1976
Thomas Jerome Newton
... 1976
Self
... 1975
... 1975
Self / Harpie
... 1974
Self
... 1973
... 1970
Soldier
... 1969
... 1969
The Boy
... 1969
... 1967
Self (archive footage)
Self - Vocals, Saxophone