Background:

“I’ve sinned so many ways it’s unbelievable. I‘ve robbed stores. I’ve had plenty of sex. I’ve lied terribly. I‘ve cheated. I’ve been greedy. I’ve lusted. Everything; I’ve done it all. I need some support and help from above now.” Fred Durst

“I grew up as a rebellious kid who was always locked up in his room. When I got out, I wasn’t bad; I just didn’t know what was right or wrong. My dad was an adoptive dad. We didn't get along that killer. I have another brother that’s his son. My mom and I were always confronting. It was real easy for me to snap on my mom and for her to snap on me. It was just a weird thing.” Fred Durst

A self-confessed “freak,” Fred Durst, born William Frederick Durst, rose to fame with the success of the rap metal band Limp Bizkit. Formed in Florida in 1994, the band was a phenomenon with their triumphant albums Three Dollar Bill Y’all$ (1997), Significant Other (1999) and Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water. With Limp Bizkit, Durst also created numerous modern hits like “Faith,” “Nookie,” “Break Stuff,” “Take A Look Around,” “Rollin,” “Behind Blue Eyes” and “My Generation.”

Off screen, notorious Durst is known for creating controversies. In 2005, Durst raised eyebrows with a three-minute composite video of him having sex with an ex-girlfriend, which was leaked to the Internet after being stolen from his computer’s hard disk. A few months later, he sued a number of websites for a total of $77.9 million for broadcasting it. Two years before, St. Paul-based security company Azzone Security-Investigation Agency Inc. took legal action against Durst for kicking one of their guards in the head during a 1999 concert in the Twin Cities. He was also engaged in controversy after the death of Aussie adolescent Jessica Michalik, who was crushed to death at the Sydney Big Day Out concert where Limp Bizkit played in 2001. The owner of a dog named Bizkit, Durst is also infamous for his love life. The former husband of Rachel Tergesen, Durst has either dated or has been rumored to have had relationships with numerous Playboy playmates and big names such as Geri Halliwell, Christina Aguilera, Pamela Anderson, Halle Berry, Avril Lavigne, Alyssa Milano, Naomi Campbell, Paris Hilton, Thora Birch and Summer Altice. In early 2003, he stunned the media and his fans for criticizing his relationship with Britney Spears.


Troubled Fred

Childhood and Family:

William Frederick Durst, who would later be famous as Fred Durst, was born on August 20, 1970, to a retired police officer. Durst’ mother worked at a church. Born and raised in Gastonia, North Carolina, Fred grew up as a rebel and was not a good student at school. He once stated that he graduated because the teachers couldn’t stand him. After high school graduation, Fred moved to Jacksonville where he briefly joined the United States Navy. Commenting about his brief stay in the Navy, Durst said, “Being in the Navy was like being in prison. I made the biggest mistake of my life.”

“I was living in San Francisco and I was married and I found out that my wife cheated on me. I got into a fight with the guy and her and I went to jail over it. I just spent a lot of time thinking in jail; it was the first time I had ever been in jail. It was terrible.” Fred Durst

At age 20, Durst married Rachel Tergesen, but the marriage ended in divorce after Fred discovered that his wife had an affair. He was later jailed for a month for attacking his wife’s lover. Fred has two children, son Dallas and daughter Adriana Durst.


Significant Other

Career:

After spending four weeks in prison for assaulting his wife’s boyfriend, Fred Durst returned to North Carolina where he worked as a sponsored skate-boarder. Soon after, he moved to Florida to start a new life and took a job as a tattoo artist before eventually beginning a music career in 1994. During that time, Durst teamed up with his friends, bassist Sam Rivers, guitarist Wes Borland and drummer John Otto (Rivers’ cousin) to form a band called Limp Bizkit.

In 1995, after the band Korn played in the Jacksonville area, the bassist Fieldy got a number of tattoos from Durst and they became friends. Korn later picked up demo tapes of Limp Bizkit and was impressed. Korn immediately introduced Durst and his band-mates to their producer Ross Robinson. With Durst as vocalist, Limp Bizkit first performed in front of the public when they were recruited to tour with House of Pain and later, the Deftones. Limp Bizkit did so well in the performances that label contracts began pouring in.

After penning a recording deal with Flip/Interscope, Limp Bizkit launched their debut album Three Dollar Bill Y’all$ in 1997, a record that continued to mark up sales in a surplus of 1.5 million. Limp Bizkit promoted the album by staging tours, this time with such famous bands as Primus and Faith No More. They also performed live shows, complete with break dancers and garish backdrops. They were also seen on MTV’s Spring Break ‘98 fashion show and in the Family Values Tour.

During this period, Durst went on to gain stardom and publicity by making guest appearances on Korn and Soulfly albums. Additionally, he served as an A&R executive for his record label, Flip. In 1999, he rejoined Limp Bizkit and released the much-anticipated sophomore album titled Significant Other. It premiered at No. 1 on the American album chart and had sold over four millions copies by the end of the year. Significant Other and the complementary video for “Nookie” made Limp Bizkit superstars. The band was further cemented in their position as one of the leading alternative acts in the U.S with the big transatlantic hit “Take A Look Around,” a soundtrack for the Tom Cruise movie Mission: Impossible 2.

Controversy plagued the band following their performance at the infamous festival-closing Woodstock ’99 and Durst was deeply criticized for egging on the already rowdy crowd. Limp Bizkit, undisturbed by the issue, headlined the 1999‘s Family Values Tour.
They again attracted public attention with the release of their third album, Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water, which skyrocketed to No. 1 on the US chart. With the UK chart-topping single “Rollin,” Limp Bizkit also fronted the “nu-metal” breakthrough in Europe. Wes Borland, the guitarist of the band, left Limp Bizkit after the release of Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water.

After three years away from their recording studio, Limp Bizkit returned with an ill-received record, Results May Vary. Borland returned after its release and the band headlined The Unquestionable Truth, Pt 1, in 2005. It was followed by Greatest Hitz, a 17-track album that included hits from their earlier days.

Already popular as the vocalist of the fame rap-metal outfit Limp Bizkit, Durst tried his hand in acting in 2005 in the miseries Revelations, where he played the small role of Ogden. Moving on to the big screen, he will soon star opposite David Ames and Cory Cassidy in the horror/thriller Population 436 (2006) for director Michelle Maxwell MacLaren.

Additionally, Durst heads his own record label named Flawless Records, a division of Geffen Records. It has signed several bands, including The Revolution Smile, Puddle of Mudd, Ringside, and Staind.


Awards:
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