Entertainment Theater Andrew Lloyd Webber's Life in Pictures Andrew Lloyd Webber is the musical theater mastermind behind hit musicals such as The Phantom of the Opera, Cats and Evita, and has won countless awards, including an EGOT. Look back at his life in pictures By Kelsie Gibson Kelsie Gibson Twitter Kelsie Gibson is the SEO Editor of PEOPLE Digital. Since joining the brand in 2021, she has contributed to a number of different verticals, writing and editing SEO content ranging from relationship timelines to TV and movie explainers. Prior to joining PEOPLE, Kelsie worked at POPSUGAR as the Celebrity and Entertainment editor, where she wrote and edited content and conducted various interviews for online and video at press junkets, red carpets, and events such as Tribeca Film Festival. She was also formerly at Bustle, Tiger Beat, and Her Campus and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. People Editorial Guidelines Published on March 22, 2022 08:30 AM Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos 01 of 15 Andrew Lloyd Webber's Early Life Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Born on March, 22, 1948, Andrew Lloyd Webber was raised in a very musical family. His father, William Lloyd Webber, was a composer and organist and his mother, Jean Hermione Johnstone, was a violinist and pianist. His younger brother, Julian Lloyd Webber, was also a cellist. Growing up in London, Webber developed an interest in music at a young age, including writing his own songs and putting on productions for his family. In 1965, Webber briefly studied history at Magdalen College, Oxford, though he later abandoned the course to study at the Royal College of Music and pursue a career in music. 02 of 15 Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Partnership McCarthy/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty While studying at Magdalen College, Oxford, Webber met Tim Rice, with whom he would later collaborate on numerous musical productions, including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Evita. Following their decades-long partnership, the two parted ways as collaborators, with Rice telling the Sunday Telegraph in 2012 that they likely wouldn't work together again. "I don't think it would be any good. You've got to have a young element in any show," he said. "The two of us trying to write something wouldn't work. We're not relevant as a team any more." 03 of 15 Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Musical Fiona Hanson/PA Images/Getty Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, based on based on Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis, was Webber and Rice's first musical to be performed publicly. It hit the West End in 1973 before moving to Broadway in 1982. Since then, it has had several different revivals, national tours, and a 1999 film which starred Donny Osmond. In addition to Osmond, many different celebrities have starred in the production, including David Cassidy and Jason Donovan (pictured with Webber in 1991). 04 of 15 Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar Musical Ron Henbury/Evening Standard/Getty Following the success of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Webber and Rice created Jesus Christ Superstar, loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion. The songs were originally released as an album musical before the musical was created. Jesus Christ Superstar hit Broadway in 1971 before heading to the West End the following year. Just like Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, the musical has taken on many different forms including several revivals, national tours, a 1973 film adaptation, and an NBC live concert special starring John Legend. 05 of 15 Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita Musical Michael Putland/Getty Evita was originally released as a rock opera concept album in 1976, before it eventually hit the West End in 1978. The Broadway production the following year starred Patti LuPone in the titular role. In this photo from 1979, Webber and LuPone can be seen working on the original Broadway cast recording of the musical. Evita received critical acclaim during its run on the West End and Broadway, including winning the Laurence Olivier Award for best musical and the Tony Award for best musical, making it the first British musical to receive the honor. The musical has lived on with several revivals, national tours, and a 1996 film adaptation starring Madonna (much to LuPone's dismay). 06 of 15 Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats Musical Jack Vartoogian/Getty In the late '70s, Webber began setting T. S. Eliot's collection of poems to music, which later resulted in the musical Cats. The musical opened on the West End in 1981 and ran for 21 years before closing. After hitting Broadway in 1982, the musical ran for 18 years, making it the longest-running Broadway show at the time. 07 of 15 Andrew Lloyd Webber's Marriage to Sarah Hugill Stan Meagher/Daily Express/Getty Webber's first marriage was to Sarah Hugill. The two tied the knot in July 1971 and had two children together, a daughter named Imogen Lloyd Webber born in 1977, and a son named Nicholas Lloyd Webber born in 1979. The couple eventually parted ways in November 1983 after Webber fell in love with Sarah Brightman. "It wasn't our fault that Sarah and I fell in love," he told the Daily Express. "We talked and talked about what we should do about it. In the end I drew a line down a piece of paper and put on one side the 'pros' and on the other side the 'cons' of us trying to get free to marry. The 'pros' came out only just ahead, but it was from that moment that I decided to tell my wife." 08 of 15 Andrew Lloyd Webber's Marriage to Sarah Brightman Michael Stephens/PA Images/Getty Following his divorce from Hugill, Webber got married to Brightman in March 1984. The two worked together on various productions, including The Phantom of the Opera, in which Brightman had a starring role. The couple eventually divorced in January 1990 as Webber fell in love with an equestrian named Madeleine Gurdon. "I don't think Sarah was expecting the whole thing to be over," a source close to the couple told PEOPLE in July 1990. "From what I understand, there have been lots of problems, and she thought Andrew would issue a statement acknowledging that. She didn't realize he would publicly humiliate her in the way he did. She's behaving very well, but it is anybody's guess as to what is going on." 09 of 15 Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera Dave Hogan/Hulton Archive/Getty Arguably Webber's most iconic production, The Phantom of the Opera hit the West End in 1986 before heading to Broadway in 1988. Webber wrote the musical during his marriage to Brightman, who played Christine Daaé in the original West End and Broadway productions. The musical received critical acclaim during its release, including the 1986 Olivier Award and the 1988 Tony Award for best musical. It is currently the the longest-running show in Broadway history, celebrated its 10,000th Broadway performance in February 2012. As with many of Webber's productions, The Phantom of the Opera has taken on many forms, including several national tours, a 2004 film adaptation, and a recent revival on the West End in 2021. 10 of 15 Andrew Lloyd Webber's Musical For Queen Elizabeth II Ron Bell/PA Images/Getty In 1986, Prince Edward enlisted Webber and Rice to commission a short musical titled Cricket for Queen Elizabeth II's 60th birthday. The musical reunited Webber and Rice for the first time since ending their partnership and was performed at Windsor Castle. Rice and Webber could be seen posing with the queen and Prince Philip as they attended the Royal Ascot Ball in June 1986. 11 of 15 Andrew Lloyd Webber's Marriage to Madeleine Gurdon Georges De Keerle/Getty A year after his divorce from Brightman, Webber moved on with Madeleine Gurdon. The two tied the knot in Westminster in February 1991 and later had three kids together, a son named Alastair Adam Lloyd Webber born in May 1992, a son named William Richard Lloyd Webber born in August 1993, and a daughter named Isabella Aurora Lloyd Webber born in April 1996. The couple are still together and Gurdon has also accompanied Webber at various events recently, including the reopening of The Phantom Of The Opera on Broadway in October 2021. 12 of 15 Andrew Lloyd Webber's Kennedy Center Honor LESLIE E. KOSSOFF/AFP/Getty In December 2006, Webber was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors for his outstanding contribution to American performing arts. He received the honor alongside Zubin Mehta, Dolly Parton, Steven Spielberg, and Smokey Robinson. 13 of 15 Andrew Lloyd Webber's EGOT Win JC Olivera/WireImage Webber is one of the few stars to achieve EGOT status (receiving awards at the Emmys, the Grammys, the Oscars and the Tonys). Following his Grammy, Oscar, and Tony wins, Webber achieved EGOT status at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards in September 2018 when Jesus Christ Superstar Live won outstanding variety special (live). He won the award alongside John Legend and Tim Rice, who also became EGOT winners. 14 of 15 Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats Movie Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic In 2019, Cats got the movie treatment with a star-studded cast that included Jennifer Hudson, James Corden, Judi Dench, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift, and Rebel Wilson. For the film adaptation, Webber collaborated with Swift for a brand-new song titled "Beautiful Ghosts," which later received nominations for best originalsSong at the Golden Globe Awards and best song written for visual media at Grammy Awards. Though Webber expressed his displeasure with the Cats movie following its release, he revealed that working with Swift was one of the highlights of the process. "It was one of the few enjoyable experiences [on the film]," Lloyd Webber said about working with the Grammy-winning singer. "It was probably the enjoyable experience." 15 of 15 Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella Musical David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Webber is still keeping busy in the musical theater world; in 2021, Webber's new version of Cinderella opened at the Gillian Lynne Theatre in the West End. A Broadway production of the musical is reportedly in the works and slated to begin its New York run in Fall 2022, according to BroadwayWorld.