David Bowie, born David Robert Jones on January 8, 1947 in London, England, rose to superstardom in a career that has spanned more than four decades. Known for his eccentric style and unique voice, he has recorded scores of chart-topping singles. Here, he is pictured in a studio portrait in 1970. Many of Bowie's early recordings were commercial failures. Moving in and out of a series of bands (as well as releasing an eponymous debut album), he wasn't able to gain any popular or critical traction until the release of his 1969 single, "Space Oddity." Bowie was influenced from an early age by rock and roll music; he formed his first band at age 15, and recalls being impressed by the power of music while watching a cousin dance to Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog." He took up ukelele, bass and, as he got older, piano, guitar and saxophone. Bowie met his wife Angela Barnett in April 1969, just as his career began to take off, and they married a year later. Bowie wrote "The Prettiest Star" and "Golden Years," about Barnett, and the two had a son (Duncan, now a film director) before splitting in 1980. Here, the pair pose at a train station in 1973. Bowie performs here in 1973 as Ziggy Stardust, perhaps his most famous stage persona, in London. Bowie developed the character, which helped popularize "glam rock," while touring the U.S. after experimenting with his androgynous appearance and observing rockers Lou Reed and Iggy Pop. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars would remain on the Billboard charts for two years and spur sales of the less successful albums that had preceded it. As the tour wore on, Bowie found it difficult to separate himself from the character; he broke up his band and retired Ziggy in 1973. In 1974, Bowie moved to the U.S., and the influence of American soul and funk contributed to 1974's Diamond Dogs. This photo was shot as part of the album's artwork. While not as eccentric as "Ziggy," the tour featured elaborate special effects - and the beginning of an addiction to cocaine for the rising musical star. Bowie, wife Angie and son "Zowie" (his full name is Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones) appear at a press conference on 7th February 1974 in Amsterdam. Bowie wears an eyepatch, a prop which he wore periodically, most famously in the video for his song "Rebel Rebel." Bowie performs in November 1974, with another, more vintage, change in appearance. David Bowie appears with Art Garfunkel, Paul Simon, Yoko Ono and John Lennon backstage at the 17th Annual Grammy Awards in 1975. He has been nominated ten times for the award throughout his career, and won the Lifetime Achievement award in 2006. Bowie performs on stage as the Thin White Duke, loosely based on his character from the film The Man Who Fell To Earth on his Station To Station tour in May 1976. Bowie is pictured as Thomas Jerome Newton, his character in 1976's The Man Who Fell To Earth. The movie, about an extraterrestrial who crash lands on Earth hoping to bring water back to his drought-ravaged home planet, has gained a cult following. Bowie poses for a studio portrait, circa 1977. Bowie's next major movie appearance was his role as John, one half of a vampire couple (shown here in 1983 with his movie-role partner, Ann Magnuson) involved in a love triangle with a human doctor, in The Hunger. One of Bowie's more memorable movie roles was as Jareth, the Goblin King, in 1986's Labyrinth. Produced by George Lucas, and written and directed by Jim Henson, Bowie stars alongside a young Jennifer Connelly; the movie involves Connelly trying to rescue her baby brother from Bowie's character. In this picture, Bowie performs during 1983's "Serious Moonlight Tour." It was, at the time, his most successful and longest tour; he sold over 2.5 million tickets for the 96-performance run. The musician who penned "Andy Warhol" for his 1971 album Hunky Dory, played the artist himself in a 1996 biopic about artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, directed by Julian Schnabel. Bowie walks down a New York City street in 1997. Bowie is pictured with his current wife, Somalian supermodel Iman. The two married in 1992, shortly after Bowie's appearance at a tribute concert for Freddie Mercury, with whom he recored the hit duet "Under Pressure." Bowie performs on stage at the Isle of Wight Festival on June 13, 2004. His four decades as a musician have left an impression on rock music history; biographer Thomas Forget has written that because of his musical variety, "it is almost impossible to find a popular artist today that has not been influenced by David Bowie."