(CNN) — Here is a look at the life of Grammy Award-winner Chris Brown, who pleaded guilty to assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009.
Personal
Birth date: May 5, 1989
Birth place: Tappahannock, Virginia
Birth name: Christopher Maurice Brown
Father: Clinton Brown, corrections officer
Mother: Joyce Hawkins, former day care director
Children: with Nia Guzman: Royalty; with Ammika Harris: Aeko
Other Facts
Signed by Jive Records at age 15.
Has been nominated for 26 Grammy Awards and won two.
Timeline
November 29, 2005 – Jive Records releases Brown’s debut album “Chris Brown.” It peaks at number two on the Billboard 200 chart.
2007 – Film debut in “Stomp the Yard.” He also appears in three episodes of the television series “The O.C.”
December 2008 – Billboard names him “Artist of the Year.”
February 8, 2009 – On the eve of the Grammy Awards, Brown assaults girlfriend Rihanna (Robyn Rihanna Fenty) inside a rented Lamborghini on a Hollywood street, leaving her face bruised and bloody. He is arrested and later released on $50,000 bail.
April 6, 2009 – Pleads not guilty to felony charges of assault and making threats related to the February domestic violence case.
May 27, 2009 – A photographer files a lawsuit against Brown, claiming Brown’s bodyguards roughed him up outside a fitness center when he took a photo of the singer. The lawsuit is settled in 2010.
June 22, 2009 – Enters a guilty plea to one felony count of assault with the intent of doing great bodily injury in connection to the February assault. He is later sentenced to five years’ probation, and must serve 180 days (about 1,400 hours) in labor-oriented service, and undergo a year-long domestic-violence counseling class.
July 2009 – Makes a public apology about the February assault in a video statement posted on his personal website.
September 2, 2009 – Appears on CNN’s “Larry King Live” in his first television interview since his February arrest.
2011 – Wins the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album for “F.A.M.E.”
February 2012 – A woman files a complaint against Brown after he allegedly grabbed her iPhone after she used it to take a photo of him in a car on a Miami street. After an investigation, the Miami-Dade state attorney does not file any charges against Brown.
June 14, 2012 – Brown and rapper Drake get into an altercation at the New York City club W.i.P. Brown is left with a cut on his chin.
September 24, 2012 – A judge orders a probation violation hearing after Brown tests positive for marijuana use. Brown claims that he ingested the marijuana in California, where he has a medical marijuana card. The positive marijuana test is not mentioned at his November hearing.
January 2013 – The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department tells CNN that authorities are investigating allegations that Brown punched an unnamed victim, presumably Frank Ocean, outside a recording studio over a parking spot in West Hollywood.
February 2013 – In a court filing, prosecutors accuse Brown of not completing the 180 days of community labor ordered when he pleaded guilty to felony assault in 2009.
June 23, 2013 – According to the Anaheim Police Department, an assault and battery report is filed by phone regarding an incident in which a woman accuses Brown of shoving her inside a nightclub. Brown’s representative denies the allegations.
June 25, 2013 – Brown is charged for hit-and-run driving and driving without a license for allegedly driving a car that rear-ended another car in Los Angeles in May. In August, a judge drops the charges after the singer reaches a “civil compromise” with his accuser.
July 15, 2013 – A judge revokes Brown’s probation in connection with his 2009 conviction. In August, the probation is reinstated “under the original terms and conditions.” Judge James Brandlin also signs off on 1,000 hours of “community labor.”
August 9, 2013 – Brown suffers a non-epileptic seizure. Brown’s doctor attributes the cause of the seizure to “intense fatigue and extreme emotional stress,” according to a statement from Brown’s rep.
October 27, 2013 – Brown and his bodyguard are arrested and charged with felony assault, after an alleged altercation outside the W Hotel in Washington, DC. The charge is reduced to a misdemeanor (simple assault) in court the next day, and Brown is released from jail without bail.
October 29, 2013 – Brown’s representative releases a statement saying the singer has voluntarily entered into a rehab program to “gain insight into his past and recent behavior.”
November 20, 2013 – According to Brown’s probation officer, Brown is kicked out of the rehab facility after smashing his mother’s car window during a family session. A judge orders him to immediately enter into another rehab program.
December 17, 2013 – A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge revokes Brown’s probation due to his arrest in October.
March 14, 2014 – After being made to leave rehab, Brown is taken into custody by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies.
May 9, 2014 – Brown admits to violating his probation. Judge Brandlin sentences Brown to one year in jail. Brown is given credit for serving 234 days because of the rehab and jail time.
June 2, 2014 – The Los Angeles County Jail releases Brown.
September 2, 2014 – Brown pleads guilty to simple assault stemming from the October 2013 altercation in Washington, DC. The judge sentences Brown to time served, no probation and a $150 fine.
May 6, 2015 – A female fan breaks into Brown’s Agoura Hills home while he is away and vandalizes the property. The 21-year-old intruder is charged with burglary, vandalism and stalking. Brown posts a note on Instagram about the incident, describing how the fan wrote “I love you” on the walls, prepared several meals in the kitchen and painted her name on his vehicles.
July 15, 2015 – One of Brown’s other houses is robbed. A group of gunmen reportedly take cash and valuables from the singer’s Tarzana residence. Brown’s aunt is home alone at the time and the suspects allegedly force her into a closet before searching the house.
July 22, 2015 – Brown is barred from leaving the Philippines after a contract dispute. The Inglesia ni Criso (Church of Christ) in the Philippines accuses Brown and a promoter of fraud. The church claims Brown and the promoter failed to put on a New Year’s Eve concert and that they owe the church one million dollars. Brown is allowed to leave two days later.
December 2015 – A tour of Australia and New Zealand is canceled after immigration officials refuse to grant Brown a work visa due to his assault record.
August 30, 2016 – Responding to a woman’s claim that Brown was threatening her with a gun at his house, police, armed with a search warrant, spend several hours at Brown’s residence. They eventually arrest him on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. He is released on $250,000 bail within hours of being booked. His longtime attorney, Mark Geragos, tells the LA Times, “It has become apparent that the allegations are not just false but fabricated.”
May 9, 2018 – An unnamed woman files a lawsuit against Brown alleging that she was sexually assaulted at Brown’s home by one of his friends in 2017.
July 5, 2018 – Brown is arrested on a felony battery charge after his concert in West Palm Beach, Florida. According to Tampa police spokesperson Stephen Hegarty, the felony battery charge was connected to an April 2017 incident in a Tampa club where Brown allegedly punched a man who photographed him without his permission.
January 22, 2019 – Brown is arrested in Paris on allegations of aggravated rape and drug violations, according to a French judicial source. Brown is later released and the Paris prosecutor’s office states he is not facing charges at this time. Two days later, Brown files a defamation suit in Paris against a woman who claims Brown and two other men raped her in his hotel room.
January 21, 2025 – Brown files a $500 million defamation lawsuit against Warner Bros. Discovery following the airing of “Chris Brown: A History of Violence.” The suit says the sexual assault allegations featured in the documentary are false.
May 15, 2025 – Brown is arrested at a Manchester, England hotel and charged with one count of causing grievous bodily harm to a music producer in 2023 incident at a London nightclub. On May 21, Brown is granted bail on the condition he pay £4 million ($5.4 million) with a further £1 million due in seven days. Brown is also required to surrender his passport, except for when he is traveling for his tour. On July 24, 2026 Brown pleads guilty in a London court.
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