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Clan Brown has a wealth of talented and ambitious members. The typical Brown traits of grit, determination, creativity, and boldness have taken the family to the very top of numerous fields including music, politics, and even magic!
Meet the Famous Browns
Gordon Brown
One that we think you will have heard of is former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. Born in Renfrewshire in 1951, his great intellect was recognised early in childhood, and he was selected for a fast stream education programme that took him to high school 2 years early. He went on to enrol at Edinburgh University to study history at the age of just 16, making him the youngest fresher there since the war.
He graduated with a first-class degree in 1972 and embarked on several different career paths before finding his calling in politics. From 1976 until 1980, he worked as a lecturer at Glasgow College of Technology, and from 1980, he worked as a journalist for Scottish Television, taking the role of current affairs editor.
In 1983, he began his political journey in earnest, becoming MP for Dunfermline East with a majority of 11,000. He was appointed Shadow Chancellor and backed Tony Blair for leadership of the Labour Party, helping him win the landslide majority in 1997.
He worked hard for the party, supporting numerous significant policies, showing a particular passion for global justice, announcing an agreement to support the world’s poorest countries deal with climate change at the 2005 Gleneagles Summit. He also negotiated to cancel the debts of poor nations and tripled the development budget.
Brown became Prime Minister on the 27th of June 2007 and quickly introduced various impactful changes, such as neighbourhood policing in every area, the right to early cancer screening and treatment, and the world’s first ever Climate Change Act, implemented in the autumn of 2008.
He also continued to show a great dedication to international affairs, becoming one of few Prime Ministers to stay in an active war zone when he visited Kandahar, Afghanistan. Under his government, UK combat operations in Iraq came to an end, and British forces withdrew in April 2009.
What’s more, he worked with Brian Cowen to arrange the devolution of policing in Northern Ireland, reaching an agreement in February 2010.
Brown resigned as Leader of the Labour Party in 2010, but his political service has been recognised and honoured by many. He has honorary degrees from Brunel University, Robert Gordon University, New York University, Newcastle University, the University of Delphi and the University of Glasgow.
He has also been recognised in the Scottish Politician of the Year awards 6 times, even winning ‘Best of the Best’ in 2020.
Melanie Janine Brown
Our next famous face for today has arguably touched just as many lives, though taking a very different route to do so!
Melanie Janine Brown was born in Harehill, Leeds, on the 29th of May 1975. You might know her better as the iconic Mel B, or ‘Scary Spice,’ member of beloved pop group the Spice Girls.
Brown developed her love for performing at a young age, training in performing arts at Intake High School. Her talent was obvious, and it seemed given that she would get her big break before long. The moment came after she responded to an advert in The Stage magazine, calling for girls to try out for an all-female pop act. She sang ‘Greatest Love of All,’ and wowed the judges, being chosen along with Geri Halliwell, Victoria Beckham, Emma Bunton, and Melanie Chisholm to form the Spice Girls.
They signed with Virgin Records in 1995, and released their debut song, ‘Wannabe’ in 1996, which hit no.1 in more than 30 countries and catapulted them to world-wide fame. They released their debut album, Spice, in the same year and sold over 23 million copies.
Brown also pursued a solo career. Her first single, ‘I want you,’ a collaboration with Missy Elliot, sold 80,000 copies in the first week, giving her a solo no.1 on the UK singles chart. Her debut solo album, released in 2000 also produced 3 top 5 singles.
Not content to master only one area of the performing arts, Brown has also ventured into acting, starring as Mimi in the Broadway musical ‘Rent’, and taking key roles in films ‘LD 50 Lethal Dose’ and ‘The Seat Filler.’ As well as the big screen, she has made a splash on TV, hosting a number of programmes including ‘Top of the Pops,’ ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ and ‘American’s Got Talent.’
Brown has even made it as a best-selling author, releasing a hit autobiography in 2002, letting readers in to the behind-the-scenes of her glittering career.
Perhaps most admirably, however, is her dedication to giving back. In 2018, she became a patron of the charity Women’s Aid and was made an MBE for services to charitable causes and vulnerable women.
We’re sure you’ll agree that Mel B is a testament to Clan Brown’s excellence.
Derren Brown
Our final famous face is also a performer, specialising in magic and illusions.
Derren Brown was born in London on the 27th of February 1971. He studied law and German at the University of Bristol, and while there was inspired to pursue an unusual career! As a student, he watched a hypnotist show by Martin S. Taylor and became determined to develop the same awe-inspiring skills. He started working as a conjuror, performing magic shows in bars and restaurants, before starting to perform stage shows in 1992.
He made his TV debut in 2000 with the show ‘Mind Control,’ which became one of Objective Production’s most successful programmes. He made his name and built his reputation to the point where he was able to set up his own company, Vaudeville Productions, to produce his own shows as well as serve as a platform to other performers.
Brown became legendary within the industry and has been honoured in several ways. One of the most memorable and special occasions was Channel 4’s ‘Derren Brown Night,’ hosted in January 2011 to celebrate 10 years since his first TV appearance. They re-ran ‘The Heist,’ and ‘Engima,’ as well as screening a documentary called ‘Derren Brown: Behind the Mischief.’ This provided a fascinating and personal look into Brown’s life and career, and included a visit to his old school, university, and the pubs where he began performing. It also included contributions from celebrity fans, including Matt Lucas, Jo Wiley, Stephen Merchant, and Simon Pegg.
That brings us to the end of this month’s Famous Faces of Clan Brown blog. We have had a great time discovering the brilliant talents of the Brown family and hope you have, too!
If you would like to learn more about this mighty clan, head over to our Clan Brown page, and make sure you keep an eye out for the rest of our content to come.
Image Sources:
Gordon Brown in 2018 by Foreign and Commonwealth Office - This file has been extracted from another file, CC BY 2.0
Scary Spice the gorgeous MelB! NYC Dec ‘16 by Greg2600 - Mel B, CC BY-SA 2.0
Derren Brown gave a talk and answered questons about his street photography, and about his new book, "Meet the People With Love". by Garry Knight - https://www.flickr.com/photos/garryknight/43852965515/in/album-72157614084409384/, CC BY 2.0
