Julian Casablancas

He was born to business mogul, John Casablancas, the founder of Elite Model Management, and Jeanette Christiansen, a former Danish beauty queen. He is of mixed ancestry.

His parents divorced and his mother later remarried painter Sam Adoquei. His step-father exposed him to different types of music and helped develop his musical taste.

He went to The Dwight School where he met Nick Valensi and Fabrizio Moretti. At the age of 14 his father arranged for him to go to Institut Le Rosey, an elite boarding school in Switzerland. There he met Albert Hammond, Jr.

He attended the Lycee Francais de New York from where he graduated in 1996. During his time at the college he met and befriended Nikolai Fraiture.

Along with his friends Nick Valensi, Fabrizio Moretti, Albert Hammond, Jr. and Nikolai Fraiture, he formed a rock band called The Strokes in 1998. The band released its debut EP ‘The Modern Age’ in 2001. The EP became so popular that record labels started a bidding war to sign the band.

The band signed with RCA and brought out its debut studio album, ‘Is This It’ in 2001. The album debuted at No.2 on the U.K. Albums Chart. It spawned the hit singles ‘Hard to Explain’, ‘Last Nite’ and ‘Someday’.

In 2003, their next album, ‘Room on Fire’ was out. The album had a smoother sound and contained the singles ’12:51’, ‘Reptilia’, and ‘The End Has No End’. The album was reviewed positively and reached No.2 on the U.K. Albums Chart. It went on to be certified Gold.

Julian wrote or co-wrote all the songs on the band’s next album ‘First Impressions of Earth’ which was released in 2006. The lead single of the album was ‘Juicebox’. The album had a Parental Advisory Label—the first Strokes album to have so.

In addition to being a singer, he also plays musical instruments. He played a casio guitar and also sang the backing vocals for the song ‘Sick, Sick, Sick’ by Queens of the Stone Age.

The Strokes’ debut album ‘Is This It’ was a huge commercial as well as critical hit. The album featured a melodic pop-influenced sound and was praised for its rhythm. It was named on the lists of the best albums of the 2000s by several magazines and publications.