Bono

May 10, 2025

Fast Facts
Background
Career Timeline
Why We Love
Surprising Facts
FAQs

Paul David Hewson, popularly known as Bono, was born May 10, 1960. He is the lead singer and songwriter of the popular rock band U2. He is also known for his humanitarian work. Starting in 1976, the band released their first album in 1980 and made a great impact on the music industry. Many of the songs written by Bono spoke out about the world’s social and political issues. Bono independently started charity work with the start-up of his own organizations in 2002 and 2004. Later, he established a clothing line with his wife, Alison Hewson. We celebrate this inspirational pop star and humanitarian here.

Fast Facts

Full Name:

Paul David Hewson

Nickname:

Bono, B-man, Bono Vox, The Mirrorball Man

Birth date:

May 10, 1960

Age:

Zodiac Sign:

Taurus

Height:

5' 5"

Relationship Status:

Married

Net Worth:

$700 million

Background

Bono, born on May 10, 1960, is an Irish singer-songwriter and the frontman of U2. As a teenager, Bono attended the Mount Temple Comprehensive School, where he met his future wife, Alison Stewart, and the U2 band members. The birth of U2 came about in 1976 when Bono and his schoolmates responded to an advertisement at school about musicians needed to form a rock band. Starting off with performing cover songs of other bands, Bono and his band members began writing their own songs.

Bono is also a prominent philanthropist. Passionate about social issues, politics, and religion, many of the songs Bono has written for U2 follow these themes to address and raise more awareness around them. Their hit album “The Joshua Tree,” released in 1987, was known as the most influential and was ranked 26th in “Rolling Stone” magazine’s top 500 albums of all time in 2003. The songs on this album were inspired by Bono’s tour to Nicaragua and El Salvador with a few others to help the victims of violence and poverty in these countries.

Continuing on his philanthropic mission, Bono co-founded Debt AIDS Trade Africa (DATA) in 2002, an organization aimed at eradicating poverty, hunger, and the spread of AIDS in Africa. In 2006, Bono created a project under the ONE campaign called ‘Red,’ which was solely dedicated to partnering with organizations for donations for AIDS prevention in Africa. In 2008, DATA and ONE joined forces. Recognized for his impact on the music industry as well as his philanthropic work, Bono was awarded the Honorary Knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II in 2007, and in the same year, DATA was awarded a Philadelphia Liberty Medal.

In addition to his solo charity work outside the band, Bono has done solo collaborations and recordings with several other popular artists and was also the producer of the soundtracks to the theatrical musical play “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” in 2011. Meeting Alison Stewart in school, the couple got married in 1982 and now are the parents of four children. As a couple, Bono and Alison established a clothing line called EDUN, whose mission is to foster sustainable employment in developing countries, focusing on countries in Africa.

Career timeline

1976

Bono and Friends Start Their Band

Bono and his friends start their rock band under the name Feedback and perform covers of other bands.

1980

First Album is Released

Bono and his friends release their first album called “Boy.”

2002

Bono Starts His First Charity Organization

Bono starts Debt AIDS Trade Africa as part of his mission toward ending poverty, hunger, and the spread of AIDS in Africa.

2004

Bono Starts the ONE Campaign

Bono starts the ONE campaign aiming to fight poverty and diseases worldwide.

2005

Bono is Named ‘Person of the Year’

Sharing the honor with Bill and Melinda Gates, Bono is named Time magazine’s ‘Person of the Year.

2007

His Honorary Knighthood Award

Bono is awarded the Honorary Knighthood award by Queen Elizabeth II for his impact on the music industry and charity work.

2007

Bono’s Organization is Awarded

Bono’s first charity organization is awarded the Philadelphia Liberty Medal.

Why We Love Bono

He raises awareness about social issues
Bono has used his songwriting talent and passion for making a change in society to raise awareness through his music. This has brought the band great fame as their music relates to the world’s real issues.
His humanitarian work
Bono has taken his passion for charity work to the next level by establishing organizations aimed at ending social issues he wants to put an end to. His organizations and projects are all aimed at debt relief and preventing illnesses in Africa.
His incredible voice
Bono is not just an artistic songwriter, but a singer with an incredible voice too! He has certainly touched the hearts of many. There’s no U2 without Bono.

5 Surprising Facts

A Grammy Award winner
Throughout his career with U2, Bono has won 22 Grammy Awards.
‘Bono’ translates to “good voice”
Bono was given the nickname ‘Bonavox’ by his friends in his younger days and after learning that the name is Latin for “good voice,” he decided to use his nickname as his stage name.
An international chess competition
As a child, Bono was an excellent Chess player and competed internationally when he was 12 years old.
His eyes are sensitive to light
Bono shared that the reason he’s always wearing a pair of sunglasses is that his eyes are sensitive to light.
Journalism as an alternative career
Bono shared that if his music career hadn’t worked out, he would have gone into the journalism field.