Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Pharrell Williams

Highest Rated: 98% Time Is Illmatic (2014)

Lowest Rated: 60% Dr. Seuss' The Grinch (2018)

Birthday: Apr 5, 1973

Birthplace: Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA

One of the leading figures in modern hip-hop and R&B, Pharrell Williams began making music in grade school and partner Chad Hugo was there from the beginning; they met in seventh grade when both played in a marching band. After graduating high school the two formed the Neptunes, originally as an R&B quartet, and were discovered by hot producer Teddy Riley. Studio gigs with Wreckz-n-Effect and SWV followed, and by 1994 Williams and Hugo had shed the two cofounders and restyled the Neptunes as a production duo. Their trademark sound, incorporating old-school funk, spacey synths and world-music elements, emerged on the 1998 N.O.R.E. hit "Superthug." Over the next five years the duo racked up numerous hits, going mult-platinum with Britney Spears' "I'm a Slave 4U," Nelly's "Hot in Here," Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" and Justin Timberlake's album Justified. In one of their more surprising moves, the Neptunes (with original cofounder Shay Haley re-added to the lineup) then reinvented themselves as N.E.R.D. (an acronym for No-one Ever Really Dies), a band crossing hip-hop with alternative rock. The unusual circumstances of N.E.R.D.'s 2002 debut, In Search Of..., got plenty of attention at the time: After recording the album in electronic Neptunes style and releasing that in Europe, they changed their minds and replaced all the backing tracks with a live rock band (Spymob, who had previously worked with the Neptunes). The lead single "Lapdance" was more subversive than it initially seemed, its sexual humor giving way to the punchline "Politicians sound like strippers to me." Though not as big a chart success as the Neptunes' pop productions, N.E.R.D. won them a new audience and became an ongoing project, After a seven-year break N.E.R.D. Made its fifth album No One Ever Really Dies in 2017, with a round of star guests including Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna and Ed Sheeran. Williams remained a major chart presence through the 2010s, both solo and Neptunes. His 2006 solo debut In My Mind was only a moderate success, though its singles featured collaborations with Snoop Dogg, Kanye West and Gwen Stefani. He branched into soundtracks, scoring the 2010 movie "Despicable Me" and its 2014 sequel. The latter included "Happy" which was the best-selling song of 2014 and a cultural phenomenon, spawning videos throughout the world of fans singing and dancing to it. Williams was also involved as a writer and/or producer with a number of major hits including Daft Punk's "Lucky", Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines," and Miley Cyrus' album Bangerz. Williams' business ventures also proved successful, 2012 brought the launch of I Am Other, a multi-media venture that includes his clothes company the Billionaire Boys Club along with a million-dollar YouTube channel producing original programming. In 2014 Williams made his debut as a coach on NBC-TV's "The Voice" (NBC 2012- ), taking the slot vacated by CeeLo Green.

Show Less Show More

Highest rated movies

98% 82% Time Is Illmatic
Watchlist
96% 86% The Apollo
Watchlist
93% 93% Hidden Figures
Watchlist
92% 91% Michael Jackson's Journey From Motown to Off the Wall
Watchlist
91% 55% Fresh Dressed
Watchlist
88% 83% Dope
Watchlist
83% 90% Piece By Piece Watchlist
80% 83% Despicable Me
Watchlist
78% 89% North Hollywood Watchlist
75% 85% Despicable Me 2
Watchlist

Filmography

Movies

Credit
83% 90% Piece By Piece Self,
Producer
$9.5M 2024
72% 98% Sing 2 Alfonso (Voice) $162.7M 2021
75% 68% A Man Named Scott Self - 2021
No Score Yet No Score Yet Gwen Stefani: Not Just a Girl Self - 2021
78% 89% North Hollywood Producer - 2021
96% 86% The Apollo Self - 2019
60% 53% Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Narrator $270.9M 2018
68% 63% Roxanne Roxanne Producer - 2017
93% 93% Hidden Figures Producer,
Original Music
$169.3M 2016
92% 91% Michael Jackson's Journey From Motown to Off the Wall Unknown (Character) - 2016
91% 55% Fresh Dressed Pharrell Williams (Character) - 2015
88% 83% Dope Original Music $17.5M 2015
98% 82% Time Is Illmatic Unknown (Character) $109.3K 2014
No Score Yet 77% Daft Punk Unchained Self - 2014
75% 85% Despicable Me 2 Original Songs $368.0M 2013
80% 83% Despicable Me Original Music $251.5M 2010

TV

Credit
98% 89% Harlem Executive Producer 2021 2023 2025
No Score Yet 44% The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Music Performer,
Guest
2015-2017 2020 2024
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Graham Norton Show Music Performer,
Guest
2013-2014 2024
No Score Yet 12% The View Guest 2024
No Score Yet No Score Yet RapCaviar Presents Self 2023
No Score Yet 100% From Cradle to Stage Self 2021
No Score Yet No Score Yet Finding Your Roots Guest 2021
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Ellen DeGeneres Show Music Performer,
Guest
2013-2015 2017-2018 2021
No Score Yet 50% Voices of Fire Executive Producer,
Judge
2020
No Score Yet 42% Jimmy Kimmel Live! Music Performer,
Guest
2013-2014 2017-2018 2020
No Score Yet 50% The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Music Performer,
Guest
2019
100% No Score Yet AMC Visionaries: Rap Yearbook Unknown (Character),
Unknown (Guest Star)
2019
No Score Yet No Score Yet Activate: The Global Citizen Movement Unknown (Character) 2019
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Shop Guest 2019
No Score Yet 18% The Late Late Show With James Corden Guest 2017-2018
No Score Yet No Score Yet True: Magical Friends Executive Producer 2018
No Score Yet No Score Yet Sesame Street Unknown (Guest Star) 2016
No Score Yet 58% The Voice Unknown (Guest Star),
Music Performer,
Guest,
Judge
2013-2016
No Score Yet 61% Late Night With Seth Meyers Guest 2015-2016
No Score Yet No Score Yet Saving My Tomorrow Unknown (Character) 2015
85% 76% The Simpsons Himself (Guest Voice) 2015
No Score Yet 57% Saturday Night Live Music Performer 2014
No Score Yet No Score Yet Styled to Rock Self 2013
No Score Yet No Score Yet 106 & Park Guest 2012
No Score Yet No Score Yet Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen Guest 2012
No Score Yet No Score Yet Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Guest 2012
No Score Yet No Score Yet Project Runway All Stars Unknown (Guest Star) 2012
No Score Yet 38% 90210 Unknown (Guest Star) 2009