early life william harper was born to elizabeth and marcus harper in los angeles, california. at the age of two, he moved with his american mother and english father to south kensington, london. he would spend the entirety of his childhood and early years in the city. as the only child of generally absent parents, william had run of the house from the time he could talk. elizabeth and marcus' demanding careers (as a lawyer and stockbroker respectively) meant that their son was almost always left in the care of a nanny.

william began piano lessons at a very young age, though this was more an attempt to keep him from terrorising his parents' home than it was a stepping stone on a career path. in the eyes of his parents, these lesson would keep their son out of trouble as well as provide an appealing footnote on his resume. in addition to piano, he began lessons in acoustic guitar and later, drums.

his generally horrible behaviour at school and (for the most part) terrible marks ensured that he would not follow his parents' footsteps into a prestigious, well-respected career. despite the disappointment of his parents, william declined to attend university, instead moving to a flat with a group of friends. without university to keep him busy, william spent his time frequenting gigs and clubs across town, developing a penchant for partying.

career it could be said that william fell into his career in music. for the most part, music had been a hobby for him. he enjoyed tinkering with various instruments and sounds but had ever considered that he could make an actual career out of it. much of his late teens and early twenties were spent DJing at various parties, and sometimes clubs, at first almost always at the request of friends. generally shy and anxiety ridden, music provided an outlet for him as well as allowed him a stage on which to present himself as much louder and more confident than he felt.

the enthusiastic response to his work led to the creation of his first album- here comes the fuzz, released in 2003. much of his initial luck had to do with the fact that his parents had money and connections that they were willing to put behind him, and they were most of the reason he had had the opportunity to record in the first place. despite these obvious advantages and positive responses from critics, his debut album received a lukewarm reception and led him to spend the next couple of years focusing on producing.

2007 saw the release of his second album, version. this album, while positively received, would be quickly overshadowed by his continuing career as a producer. in between working on his own material, william sought out other artists with which to collaborate. working as a producer was comfortable in that it allowed him to exercise his knowledge of various genres, helping other artists develop their respective sounds while also avoiding any sort of direct media spotlight.

2010 would see the release of yet another album, record collection, which featured collaborations with artists such as q-tip and boy george.

uptown special, released in 2015, would be william's most successful album yet, with its single "Uptown Funk" becoming an instant hit. a return to the studio was inevitable for 2016, with his focus being on producing for other artists, rather than working on his own material.

personal life William was raised Roman Catholic but began to distance himself from the church as he grew older. in a 2009 interview, he referred to this aspect of his past as "ridiculous and narrow-minded", a comment which went on to draw some criticism.

he has been a dedicated vegetarian since childhood and made several attempts at veganism, the latter of which never stuck.

though generally a quiet media presence, he gained a reputation for often responding to tabloid accusations about his friends and acquaintances.

currently, he spends the majority of his time in london, finding the city to be "more sensible" in comparison to new york or los angeles.