Robert Peter Maximilian Williams was born in February 1974, and found initial fame as part of iconic boy band Take That. After leaving Take That, he kicked off his solo career in 1996 by covering George Michael's "Freedom", reaching number 2 on the UK Singles chart (26 places higher than the original). Recordings for a debut solo album began at London's Maison Rouge studios, the first single from which was “Old Before I Die”, co-written by Williams, Eric Bazilian and Desmond Child, and released in April 1997. It made number 2 on the UK charts, and second single "Lazy Days" made number 8. Debut album, “Life Thru A Lens”, was released in September 1997, initially making number 11 on the UK Album charts, selling over 33,000 copies. Third single "South Of The Border" reached number 14 in the UK, but it was fourth single "Angels" which became his best seller in the UK, certified twice platinum and selling over 2 million copies worldwide. The success of “Angels” caused “Life Thru A Lens” to reach number 1 on its 28th week on the UK Album chart, remaining inside the Top 10 for 40 weeks, selling over 2.4 million copies in the UK, and 4 million worldwide.

"Millennium" was the first single from Williams’ second album, and it became his first solo UK number 1 on release in September 1998, going on to sell over 400,000 copies in the UK, and becoming a Top 20 hit in many European countries, as well as Latin America and Australia. The following month the album “I've Been Expecting You” was released, debuting at number 1 on the UK Album chart, becoming the UK’s best selling album for 1998. "No Regrets" was the second single, a collaboration with The Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant and The Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon, reaching number 4 on the UK Singles chart. Third single "Strong" also got to number 4 in the UK, and number 9 in New Zealand, and fourth single "She's the One", a cover of a track from World Party's album “Egyptology”, became his second UK number 1, winning a BRIT Award for “Single of the Year”, and entering the Top 3 in New Zealand. ”I've Been Expecting You” has sold over 3 million copies in the UK, 15 million worldwide, has been certified 10 times platinum, and is the 30th best selling album in UK history.

Williams’ first US single, "Millennium", made number 72 on the Billboard Hot 100, and second single "Angels" charted at number 41, and made number 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The album “The Ego Has Landed”, a combination of his first 2 albums tailored for the US market, released in July 1999, peaked at number 63 on the Billboard Album chart, and went on to sell 600,000 copies in the US. “The Ego Has Landed” also made number 1 in New Zealand, selling 140,000 copies, and was certified platinum in Australia.

“Rock DJ”, the first single from Williams’ third studio album, hit number 1 in the UK (selling over 600,000 copies), Ireland, New Zealand, Mexico, Nepal, and Argentina, although it failed to break the US charts, making number 24 on the Dance Club Play chart instead. It also won "Best Song” at the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards, "Best Single of the Year" at the BRIT Awards and an MTV Video Music Award for ”Best Special Effects”. The album “Sing When You're Winning” was released in August 2000, debuting at number 1 in the UK (achieving a twice platinum certification in its first week), topping the charts in New Zealand, Ireland and Germany, and making the Top 10 in Argentina, Austria, Australia, Finland, Mexico, Sweden, and Switzerland. However, it only peaked at number 110 on the US Billboard 200. Second single “Kids”, a collaboration with Kylie Minogue, released in October 2000, made number 2 in the UK (selling over 200,000 copies) and the Top 10 in Australia, New Zealand, Latvia and Mexico. "Eternity", a track that was not featured on the album, was released in the summer of 2001 backed with "The Road to Mandalay", and it became his fourth UK number 1 single, selling over 70,000 copies in its first week in the UK, and also making the Top 10 all over Europe. “Sing When You’re Winning” spent 91 weeks on the UK chart, going on to sell 2.4 million copies in the UK and over 6 million copies worldwide.

Williams had always dreamed of making a big band album, and his fourth studio album was just that. Following the success of "Have You Met Miss Jones?", recorded for the film “Bridget Jones's Diary” in early 2001, the album was recorded at the Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, with Williams duetting with long-time friend Jonathan Wilkes, “Little Voice”’s Jane Horrocks, “Saturday Night Live”’s Jon Lovitz, Rupert Everett and Nicole Kidman. The first single from the album was the duet with Kidman, "Somethin' Stupid", originally a hit for Frank and Nancy Sinatra. It went to number 1 in the UK, selling almost 100,000 copies in its first week (and over 200,000 all up), and topped the charts in Argentina, New Zealand and Latvia. The album itself, “Swing When You're Winning”, went to number 1 in the UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, and has sold over 2.1 million copies in the UK, and over 7 million worldwide. Another single from the album, “Beyond the Sea", was used in the 2003 film “Finding Nemo”, and was included on the film's Academy Award nominated soundtrack. A DVD called “Robbie Williams Live at the Albert Hall” followed the album in December, which became one of the best selling music DVDs in Europe, certified 6 times platinum in the UK and twice platinum in Germany.

Most of his fifth studio album was recorded in Los Angeles - first single "Feel" was released in late 2002 and reached the Top 10 in every single European country, topping the charts in Argentina, Italy, Hungary, Latvia, Portugal, Mexico and The Netherlands. It spent 54 weeks on the Canadian chart, peaking at number 10, and made the Top 40 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart (but didn’t make the Billboard Hot 100). The album, ”Escapology”, quickly followed, hitting number 1 in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland and Austria, but only making number 43 on the Billboard Album chart. Second single "Come Undone" was a global Top 10 hit, and third single "Something Beautiful" (first offered to Tom Jones, but then reworked and included in ”Escapology”), released in summer 2003, made the Top 10 in the UK, New Zealand, Ireland and Denmark. “Escapology” has sold over 2 million copies in the UK, and 7 million copies worldwide.

In October 2003, Williams released “Live at Knebworth”, including tracks from his record-breaking shows recorded in August of that year – it became the fastest selling live album in the UK with 120,000 copies sold in its first week, peaking at number 2 in the UK Album chart (Dido's “Life For Rent” was number 1), number 1 in Germany and Austria, and became a Top 10 album throughout Europe, Australasia and Latin America. It ended up selling over 600,000 copies in the UK, and 3.5 million worldwide.

In 2004, Williams decided to make a retrospective of his career, and also reveal new tracks he had been working on with Stephen Duffy. "Radio", the compilation's first single, was released in October, debuting at number 1 in the UK (selling over 40,000 copies), Denmark and Portugal. Entitled “Greatest Hits”, the compilation was released 2 weeks later, going on to shift 320,000 copies in its first week in the UK, debuting at number 1, and topping the charts in 17 other countries, including France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Argentina, Colombia, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland and Lebanon. Second single "Misunderstood", the soundtrack of the film “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason” hit the Top 10 around the world in December. “Greatest Hits” was the best selling album of 2004 in the UK, selling over 2 million copies, and has sold a little under 7 million worldwide.

In February 2005, 8 years after it’s release, “Angels” was voted the "Best Single of the past 25 Years" at the 2005 BRIT Awards. 2005 also saw a sixth studio album, recorded in his bedroom in the Hollywood Hills and co-written by Stephen Duffy. First single "Tripping", released in October 2005, topped the charts in Germany, The Netherlands, Taiwan, Argentina and Mexico, and also topped the United World Chart. The album “Intensive Care” was released the same month, hitting number 1 in the UK (selling 373,000 copies in its first week), Argentina, Australia, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and New Zealand, selling over 2 million copies in its first 6 weeks. In November, Williams won the MTV Europe Music Award for “Best Male”, and also entered in the The Guinness Book of World Records for selling 1.6 million tickets for his 2006 World Tour in a single day. Second single "Advertising Space" was released in December, reaching the Top 10 in Europe, Australasia and Latin America. Third single “Sin Sin Sin”, released in summer 2006, became Williams’ first single to miss the UK Top 20, charting at number 22, but it did make the Top 10 in Europe and Latin America. “Intensive Care” has sold over 7 million copies worldwide.

Williams’ seventh studio album was announced in early 2006, originally entitled “1974”, then “Rudebox '74”, but was finally called “Rudebox”. It involves collaborations with the Pet Shop Boys, William Orbit, Soul Mekanik, Joey Negro and Mark Ronson. First single “Rudebox”, released in September 2006, reached number 4 on the UK Singles chart, number 1 in Honduras, Argentina, Chile, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Lebanon, Turkey, and number 2 on the Eurochart. The album “Rudebox” was released in October 2006, and despite reaching number 1, sales were far below what was expected by his label, selling a little under 500,000 copies in the UK. However, it made number 1 in 14 other countries including Argentina, Australia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain and Switzerland, and reached number 2 on the United World Chart selling 378,000 copies in its first week. Second single "Lovelight" reached the Top 10 in the UK and many other European countries, was number 2 on the Eurochart and climbed to number 11 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Play chart. Third single, "She's Madonna" reached number 16 in the UK, but entered the Top 10 in most European countries, and also reached number 12 on the US Dance Play chart. "Bongo Bong and Je Ne T'Aime Plus", a collaboration with Lily Allen, was also released in Latin America and other European countries, managing to chart in Mexico and Latvia.

In January 2008 it was announced that Williams had been working on some new songs with former Ian Dury and the Blockheads star Chaz Jankel.

Robbie Williams has sold over 55 million solo albums worldwide, and was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004. He has featured the most times on the “Now That's What I Call Music!” series - in the first 68 “Now!s” he has appeared 29 times (including 4 times with Take That), with his first appearance on Now 22 (with Take That) and his 29th appearance on Now 66 ("She's Madonna").