Musician Rufus Wainwright celebrates his birthday today
Rufus Wainwright has recorded pop songs, operas, folk music and countless interpretations of Judy Garland classics across a long and varied career.
Born into a musical family, his mother, Kate McGarrigle, performed alongside her sister Anna McGarrigle, while his father, folk singer Loudon Wainwright III, also enjoyed a successful career. His sister Martha Wainwright has likewise built a successful music career, and he also has a half-sister, Lucy Wainwright Roche.
His parents divorced when he was three years old and Wainwright was raised by his mother in Montreal, Canada. He began performing alongside family members as a child but did not launch his solo recording career until he was 25.
He performed at a local café in Montreal and began recording songs with producer Pierre Marchand. The demos led to him being signed by a record label, and he began working with Jon Brion on his debut album.
His 1998 self-titled debut reportedly cost US$700,000 to make and saw the young musician record 56 songs, although the final album was trimmed to just 12 tracks. While the record received widespread critical acclaim, it achieved only modest commercial success.
For his follow-up album, Wainwright spent six months living at New York’s famed Chelsea Hotel. Poses was released in 2001 and garnered further acclaim, with fans embracing songs including Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk, Greek Song and One Man Guy. Around the same period, Wainwright also recorded a cover of The Beatles’ Across the Universe.
Following the release of the album, Wainwright developed an addiction to crystal methamphetamine. In 2002 he temporarily lost sight in one eye, an experience later attributed to methamphetamine use. After entering rehabilitation, he returned in 2003 with the companion albums Want One and Want Two.
With each release, Wainwright’s audience continued to grow, and his 2007 album Release the Stars featured one of his most acclaimed songs. Going to a Town has often been interpreted as a commentary on American society and has been covered by performers including George Michael and Lily Allen.
In 2006, Wainwright recreated Judy Garland’s famous 1961 Carnegie Hall performances, later releasing Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall. He subsequently staged a similar production at the London Palladium, which was released on DVD.
His next major project was the opera Prima Donna, which debuted at the Manchester International Festival. A second opera, Hadrian, premiered in 2018. He also created an album based on Shakespeare’s sonnets that featured performances by Helena Bonham Carter, William Shatner, Carrie Fisher and Florence Welch.
Other albums in his catalogue include All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu, Out of the Game, Unfollow the Rules and Rufus Does Judy at Capitol Studios.
Released in June 2023, Folkocracy featured traditional songs, folk standards and a re-recording of one of Wainwright’s own compositions. The guest-heavy album featured Anna McGarrigle, Martha Wainwright, Lucy Wainwright Roche, Sheryl Crow, Susanna Hoffs, Anohni, John Legend, David Byrne, Nicole Scherzinger and Chaka Khan.
Among his most recent major works is Dream Requiem, a classical composition based on a text by Lord Byron and the Requiem Mass. It premiered in Paris in June 2024, and a live recording followed in 2025. He’s also recorded a live album where he sings the songs of German-born American composer Kurt Weill.
Wainwright came out to his family as a teenager. He is married to his partner, Jörn Weisbrodt, the internationally respected arts administrator. Wainwright is also the father of Viva Katherine Wainwright Cohen, whose mother is Lorca Cohen, daughter of legendary singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen.
Read OUTinPerth’s 2020 interview with Rufus Wainwright.
In 2013 Jamaican teenager Dwayne Jones was murdered
Dwayne Jones was 16 years old when he was attacked by a violent mob after attending a party in Montego Bay while wearing women’s clothing. His murder attracted international attention to Jamaica’s laws criminalising sex between men and the broader treatment of LGBTQIA+ people in the country.
Warning: This story contains details of violence and transphobia that may be distressing to some readers. For 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or access its webchat service.
Jones was bullied at school for being perceived as effeminate and was later forced out of home by his father. He experienced homelessness before living with transgender friends in a derelict house in Montego Bay.
He was attacked by a violent group of men after people at the party discovered he was wearing women’s clothing. Jones was beaten, stabbed, shot and run over by a vehicle. He died from his injuries in the early hours of the following morning.
Police investigated the murder, but no one has ever been charged.
His death sparked renewed scrutiny of Jamaica’s laws criminalising sex between men and broader anti-LGBTQIA+ attitudes within Jamaican society.
In the years since his death, some activists, writers and filmmakers have suggested Jones may have been transgender. However, at the time of his death, friends and media reporting generally referred to Jones using male pronouns.
Sex between men remains illegal in Jamaica, with convictions carrying a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
OIP Staff, this article was first published in 2023 and has subsequently been updated.
