Portrait of Rufus Wainwright

Birthday profile

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus Wainwright, American-Canadian singer-songwriter

Born
July 22, 1973
Age in 2026
53
Zodiac sign
Cancer
Birth year
1973

About Rufus Wainwright

Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded eleven studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and set Shakespeare's sonnets to music for a theatre piece by Robert Wilson. Wainwright's self-titled debut album was released through DreamWorks Records in May 1998. His second album, Poses, was released in June 2001. Wainwright's third and fourth studio albums, Want One (2003) and Want Two (2004), were repackaged as the double album Want in 2005. In 2007, Wainwright released his fifth studio album, Release the Stars, and his first live album, Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall. His second live album, Milwaukee at Last!!!, was released in 2009, followed by the studio albums All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu (2010) and Out of the Game (2012). The double album Prima Donna (2015) was a recording of his opera of the same name. His ninth studio album, Take All My Loves: 9 Shakespeare Sonnets (2016), featured nine adaptions of Shakespeare's sonnets. Rufus' 10th studio album, Unfollow the Rules, was released on July 20, 2020. His eleventh, Folkocracy, was released on June 2, 2023. Wainwright is the son of musicians Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, the older brother of singer Martha Wainwright, the half-brother of singer-songwriter Lucy Wainwright Roche, the nephew of singer-songwriters Sloan Wainwright (paternal) and Anna McGarrigle (maternal), and the grandson of writer Loudon Wainwright Jr.. We never talked about it really." Wainwright became interested in opera during his adolescent years, and the genre strongly influences his music.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Rufus Wainwright timeline

  1. Wainwright's self-titled debut album was released through DreamWorks Records in May 1998.
  2. In 2007, Wainwright released his fifth studio album, Release the Stars, and his first live album, Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall.

The world when Rufus Wainwright was born

Rufus Wainwright was born in 1973. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1973

  • #1 song"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" – Tony Orlando & Dawn
  • Top movieThe Sting
  • Top TV showAll in the Family
  • Best-selling bookGravity's Rainbow – Thomas Pynchon

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentSecretariat wins the Triple Crown with a record Belmont Stakes
  • Top headlineOPEC oil embargo triggers global energy crisis
  • Technology milestoneFirst mobile phone call (Martin Cooper, Motorola)
  • Defining fadPlatform shoes
  • Notable inventionMobile phone (Motorola prototype)
  • World population3.93 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderRichard Nixon
  • Sports championOakland Athletics (World Series)
  • Also wonNew York Knicks (NBA)
  • U.S. population211.9M

1973 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Rufus Wainwright's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19732026
Gas$0.39$3.45/gal
Average home$22,100$435,000
Average income$13,500$67,500
Minimum wage$1.60$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$1.77$11.95
Postage stamp$0.08$0.73
Population211.9M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, MusicBrainz. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.