Moby

Once the king of electronica, Moby is better known these days for selling his tunes to the highest bidder, hanging out with socialites, and spouting liberal political views.

Born Richard Melville Hall, Moby was raised in preppy Darien, Conn. where he played in a punk band called the Vatican Commandos. He briefly studied philosophy at UConn before dropping out in the late '80s to move to the city, where he DJ'd at clubs and caught a big break with a dance remix of the theme song from Twin Peaks. After the track "Go" became a top 10 hit in the UK, Moby remixed songs for Michael Jackson, Pet Shop Boys, Brian Eno, Depeche Mode, and Erasure; he released his first album in 1992 and scored a major-label contract with Elektra two years later. It was 1999's Play, though, that really put him on the map: The album went platinum and reached number one on the U.K. charts. In what turned into a financial windfall (and, in hindsight, a brilliant marketing move), Moby also licensed his music to companies and film soundtracks (for gems like Freddy Got Fingered), making Play the first album in history to be licensed in its entirety. The deals made Moby a fortune—and the songs' (annoying) ubiquity on TV helped him sell more than 10 million copies.

In recent years Moby has been less visible on the music front, but he's certainly kept busy. In 2002 the longtime vegan opened Teany, a vegan tea shop/cafe on the Lower East Side, with ex-girlfriend Kelly Tisdale. He now occupies himself with small DJ gigs on the Lower East Side, working on the occasional film soundtrack, and posting political missives on his oft-updated blog.

Though the scrawny, cue-ball bald Moby may not be much to look at, he's never had any difficulty with the ladies. In addition to his ex-girlfriend Tisdale, he's squired actresses Natalie Portman and Christina Ricci, writer Deborah Schoeneman, and many, many others. [Image via Getty]