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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Entertainment
Clare McCarthy

Inside Boy George's private life - Real name, Irish roots and romances as he enters I'm A Celebrity

Boy George is an androgynous music icon, best known for being the frontman of 80s pop legends Culture Club.

But the talented pop star, 61, who is of Irish descent, famed for hits such as Karma Chameleon has also forged a successful career on TV thanks to his expertise when it comes to all things music.

He was previously a judge on the Irish talent show The Big Deal as well as The Voice UK and even made an appearance on The Real Housewives Of Beverley Hills.

READ MORE: I'm A Celebrity 2022: Matt Hancock joins line-up as bombshell late arrival

And now Boy George will join a bunch of celebs on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, becoming the highest-paid star ever to appear in the show's 20-year history as he is reportedly set to pocket a €580,000 appearance fee.

Here is everything you need to know about the Karma Chameleon hitmaker's private life and music career as he enters the jungle in Australia.

Irish roots

Boy George was born in Eltham, London on June 14, 1961 however, he has strong Irish roots on both his mother and father's side.

Boy George arrived at Brisbane Airport on Saturday wearing a lion mask ahead of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here (Tim Merry / Daily Star)

His father was born in England of Irish descent and his mother is from Dublin. During his childhood, he often went back to Ireland on trips during the school holidays to visit family in both Dublin and Tipperary.

On an episode of RTE's Who Do You Think You Are? Boy George discovered that his great-uncle Thomas Bryan was executed by the British in 1921 during the Irish War of Independence for his role in a rising of arms.

Real name

He is known around the world as Boy George but his real name is George Alan O'Dowd. He adopted the stage name Boy George when he formed Culture Club in the early 1980s and went on to become one of the biggest stars in music.

Boy George wasn't his first stage name - he had previously worked under Lieutenant Lush when he was with the group Bow Wow Wow.

Relationship status and children

Not much is known about Boy George's current relationship status however, he is not married and doesn't have any children.

(ITV)

In 2015, he revealed on Instagram that he was single in a caption posted "#freedom".

There was much speculation about his sexuality during the 80s, and when asked about his sexual orientation in an interview at the time he said he was bisexual and had both girlfriends and boyfriends.

However, in his 1995 autobiography Take It Like A Man, George stated that he was in fact gay, not bisexual. He also claimed to have had secret relationships with punk rock singer Kirk Brandon and fellow band member Culture Club drummer, Jon Moss.

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