George Michael George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and philanthropist who rose to fame as a member of the music duo Wham! and later embarked on a solo career. He was widely known for his work in the 1980s and 1990s, including hit Wham! singles such as "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" and "Last Christmas" and solo albums such as "Faith" (1987) and "Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1" (1990). Michael achieved seven number one singles in the UK and eight number one songs on the
George Michael 1963. His father, Kyriacos Panayiotou (nicknamed "Jack"), was a Greek Cypriot restaurateur who emigrated to England in the 1950s. His mother, Lesley Angold ("née" Harrison), was an English dancer. In June 2008, Michael told the "Los Angeles Times" that his maternal grandmother was Jewish, but she married a non-Jewish man and raised her children with no knowledge of their Jewish background due to her fear during World War II. Michael spent most of his childhood in Kingsbury, London, in the home his parents bought soon after his birth; he attended Roe Green Junior School and Kingsbury High School. His older