Marilyn Manson was born on January 5th, 1969 in Canton, Ohio, and was named Brian Hugh Warner.
His father, Hugh Warner, is of German and Polish decent, and is Catholic.
His Episcopalian mother, Barb Wyer raised him.
He attended a Christian school for while before he graduated in 1987 from Cardinal Gibbons High School.
Thereafter, he studied journalism at Broward Community College and even wrote for a magazine called 25th Parallel.
The band he formed was originally called Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids but it was shortened to Marilyn Manson in 1992.
There are many people who feel that Manson's music is evil and that it promotes suicide, drugs, violence, and hatred.
This is because of his outrageous appearance, controversial behavior when performing on stage and when he is not on stage, as well as the often macabre lyrics in his songs.
Without a doubt, Marilyn Manson is most definitely what one would call a shock rocker.
Even the name Marilyn Manson is designed to shock.
Marilyn is from Marilyn Monroe and Manson he took from Charles Manson, convicted killer and cult leader.
Others say that he is a passing craze and falls into the same category as the controversial rock groups of before, such as KISS, Twisted Sister and Iron Maiden.
They might well be correct in their assumption.
Over recent years Manson's record sales have been on a marked and steady decline, which some insiders in the music industry say is a clear sign that Manson's fame is passing.
Manson himself stated, in an interview back in 2000, that there is a thin line between entertainers like himself and mass murderers.
He claims to identify with "dark forces" and with Satan.
According to him, it was the organized religion that he experienced while growing up that ultimately made him want to rebel.
Marilyn Manson merchandise takes on many forms including video games.
In Area 51, the Grey Alien, Edgar, is based on him.
He also wrote a song called Cruci-Fiction in Space and this was used in a commercial for another game called The Darkness.
He also is the basis for a character in Celebrity Deathmatch, and he recorded a song for that game.
Marilyn Manson also launched a Swiss brand of absinthe that is called Mansinthe.
While it has received very negative reviews by some, it has also won a gold medal at the World Spirits Competition held in San Francisco in 2008.
On a personal note, Marilyn Manson was involved with Michele Greenberg before he got engaged to Charmed actress, Rose McGowan.
That relationship ended and then he was linked to Evan Rachel Wood while married to Dita Von Teese.
He married Von Teese in November 2005.
The wedding ceremony was non-denominational and took place in the couple's home.
A year later, on December 30th, 2006, Von Teese filed for divorce listing irreconcilable differences.
However, it was around this time that the relationship between Manson and Evan Rachel Wood was made public.
Von Teese later confirmed the affair in an interview.
The divorce was finalized in 2007.
It is ironic that for someone who has based his career on being controversial and shocking, Manson has enjoyed tremendous success.
Whether holding exhibitions of his art, performing or dealing with a rather long list of lawsuits, some brought against him by his fellow band members, Manson can still attract attention.
His record sales might be on the decline but he has a solid fan base.
They just might be what he needs to keep himself in the public eye.
His star might have faded somewhat, but it has not gone just yet.
Let us not forget, Brian Warner, aka Marilyn Manson, is after-all, an award-winning artist.