Andrew Lloyd Webber facts: wife, children, musicals and the composer’s most famous songs

14 July 2023, 10:15 | Updated: 15 September 2023, 15:21

Andrew Lloyd Webber plays piano to his cat in adorable Instagram post

By Classic FM

@ClassicFM

Andrew Lloyd Webber is one of today’s most successful composers, whose works range from a Latin Requiem Mass to a string of multiple award-winning musicals.

Andrew Lloyd Webber is the King of memorable tunes and catchy choruses, who owns one of the largest theatre operators in London.

Over his lifetime, Andrew has won 45 awards, including seven Oliviers, seven Tony Awards, four Grammys, two Emmys, one Oscar, one Golden Globe, one BRIT and 14 Ivor Novellos, for his multiple award-winning musicals including Cats, Evita and The Phantom of the Opera.

The composer’s theatre company, Really Useful Theatre Group, owns a number of successful West End and London theatres, including the London Palladium, Her Majesty’s Theatre and Theatre Royal Drury Lane.

Here’s all you need to know about the British composer, from his family to his most successful stage musicals.

Read more: Definitively the best songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals

1. How old is Andrew Lloyd Webber?

   Andrew Lloyd Webber was born on 22 March 1948 – incidentally, the same day as musicals great Stephen Sondheim was born, 18 years earlier.

   Fascinated by music from the off, young Andrew first picked up the violin and piano aged three, before taking up the French horn and starting to write his own music at the age of six. He also appeared on Nursery World magazine with a violin aged five.

   Read more: 10 best musicals by Andrew Lloyd Webber – ranked

   

2. Who is Andrew Lloyd Webber’s wife?

   In 1991, Lloyd Webber married the former equestrian sportswoman Madeleine Gurdon, and the couple have been happily married ever since.

   The composer has been married three times. He was married to his first wife, Sarah Hugill, from 1971 to 1983. His second wife, English soprano Sarah Brightman, he met in 1981 when she joined the cast of Cats. In 1986, he wrote the role of Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera for her. They married in 1984, but were separated by 1990.

   Read more: Busker shocked as real-life West End Christine joins him for stunning ‘Phantom of the Opera’ duet

   

3. Who are Andrew Lloyd Webber’s children?

   Andrew Lloyd Webber has two children with his first wife, Sarah – Imogen and Nicholas Lloyd Webber. He has a further three children with his wife Madeleine Gurdon – Alastair, William and Isabella Lloyd Webber.

   In March 2023, Lloyd Webber announced that his eldest son, Nicholas, had died from gastric cancer after being ill for 18 months. “I am shattered to have to announce that my beloved elder son Nick died a few hours ago in Basingstoke Hospital. His whole family is gathered together and we are all totally bereft,” the composer wrote on Twitter.

   Imogen is a four-time Emmy nominee who has worked for MSNBC and Fox News. Nicholas followed in his father’s footsteps, writing The Little Prince in 2011 and the recent Fat Friends The Musical.

   

   Fat Friends The Musical

4. Who is Andrew Lloyd Webber’s family?

   Andrew’s brother, Julian Lloyd Webber, is a music education ambassador, former concert cellist and broadcaster. To date, he has presented three episodes of Classic FM’s Rising Stars, a Sky Arts TV programme celebrating upcoming classical talent.

   Andrew’s late father, William, was a composer and director of the London College of Music. His mother, Jean, was a piano teacher.

   

5. What are Andrew Lloyd Webber’s most famous musicals?

   Andrew Lloyd Webber has a staggering 22 musicals to his name, the most popular of which is The Phantom of the Opera – the second highest grossing musical of all time, second only to The Lion King.

   The first musical Lloyd Webber ever wrote, as a teenager, was called Cinderella Up The Beanstalk And Most Everywhere Else. In a full-circle moment, Lloyd Webber’s most recent musical is also called Cinderella – or Bad Cinderella, as it was known on Broadway before it closed.

   The composer’s stage musical credits include Jesus Christ Superstar, Phantom of the Opera, Evita, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Cats, Starlight Express, School of Rock – The Musical, Sunset Boulevard, The Women In White and Cinderella.

   Lloyd Webber has also composed the music for Love Never Dies, The Likes Of Us, Jeeves, Tell Me On A Sunday, Song And Dance, Cricket, Aspects Of Love, Whistle Down The Wind, The Beautiful Game, Stephen Ward The Musical, and a musical version of The Wizard Of Oz.

   

6. What is Andrew Lloyd Webber’s net worth?

   Lloyd Webber’s net worth is estimated at a huge £800 million. He came first in The Sunday Times Rich List in 2020 for UK musicians, behind Sir Paul McCartney.

   After being awarded a knighthood in 1992, Lloyd Webber was also made a life peer in the New Year Honours list in 1997, making him a Baron.

   

7. What are Andrew Lloyd Webber’s film and TV credits?

   Lloyd Webber has earned a huge number of on-screen credits, following film adaptations of The Phantom Of The Opera, Evita (famously starring Madonna), Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Love Never Dies and Cats, plus anniversary performances of The Phantom Of The Opera and Jesus Christ Superstar.

   He has also dabbled in film composing, writing the score for Gumshoe and The Odessa File. His music has appeared in a total of 210 films and TV shows.

   

   Madonna - Don't Cry For Me Argentina (Official Video)