British singer Boy George is celebrating his milestone 50th birthday on Tuesday (14Jun11).
The star, real name George O'Dowd, rose to fame in the 1980s as frontman of Culture Club, making headlines with his iconic androgynous look.
The band went on to release hit records including Karma Chameleon and Do You Really Want To Hurt Me, before breaking up in the late 1980s.
With a few hurdles along the way, including a heroin addiction, an ongoing battle with depression and more recently a stint behind bars for falsely imprisoning a male escort, O'Dowd has never kept out of the public eye.
He's now a successful DJ and has worked alongside the likes of Mark Ronson to make his chart comeback - and WENN has compiled a list of 10 fascinating facts to mark the star's big day.

- He previously worked as a cloakroom attendant in trendy London nightclub The Blitz along with his friend and fellow singer Marilyn.
- Before settling on the name Culture Club, the band was originally called In Praise Of Lemmings, before the title Sex Gang Children was also scrapped.
- George has a love of body art and has several tattoos - including a large star of David on top of his head, as well as a lotus flower, the letter G behind his right ear and a cross on his right shoulder.
- In 2008 the singer started up his own market stall in London's East End to sell budget clothing.
- He once cameoed as himself in action TV series The A-Team in 1986, in an episode titled Cowboy George.
- The singer has previously run his own clothing label, B-Rude, and the line was debuted at fashion shows in London, New York and Moscow.
- When he first broke in to his solo career, George formed his own record label, More Protein, recording under the name Jesus Loves You with the pseudonym Angel Dust.
- He has written songs for other artists including the Beach Boys, Charlotte Church and Mica Paris.
- While in prison in 2009 George worked in the jail canteen, serving food to his inmates.
- Earlier this year (11) George announced a 30th anniversary reunion with Culture Club and the group will release new material in 2012.