Known as an icon for his work as Johnny Rotten, the lead singer of the controversial late-1970s punk rock band the Sex Pistols, John Joseph Lydon was born on January 31, 1956 in London, England. His career with the Sex Pistols started with the group’s formation in 1975, but that career was short-lived as the group only produced one album in 1977, the highly acclaimed and long-influencing Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols. Lydon left the Sex Pistols and Johnny Rotten behind to form the post-punk band Public Image Ltd. in 1978, which has released several albums over a 40-year span.

Lydon is also an outspoken political and social activist who holds British, Irish, and American citizenship. Since 1979, he has been married to German publishing heiress Nora Forster, whose daughter is Ari Up, the lead singer of the post-punk band The Slits. After Ari passed away from cancer in 2010, Lydon and Forster became the legal guardians of Ari’s three sons.

Lydon continues to perform, including occasional performances with the Sex Pistols, who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.