Russell Mael Siblings: Getting to Know Ron Mael
Russell Mael PHOTO/Guardian
Russell Craig Mael, born on October 5, 1948, in Los Angeles, California, is an American singer, songwriter, and performer.
Growing up in the affluent beachside neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, Mael was immersed in a creative household; his father, Meyer Mael, worked as a graphic designer and caricaturist for the Hollywood Citizen-News, while his mother, Miriam, served as a librarian.
This artistic environment, coupled with the cultural upheavals of the 1960s, shaped Mael’s early interests in theater, film, and music.
After graduating from Palisades High School, where he excelled in sports like football and even recited Shakespeare sonnets at festivals, Mael pursued studies in theater arts and filmmaking at UCLA from 1966 to 1968.
Siblings
Russell has an older brother, Ron Mael, born Ronald David Mael on August 12, 1945, in Culver City, California.
The two brothers, just three years apart, shared a close-knit upbringing in Pacific Palisades, navigating the loss of their father at a young age.
Meyer passed away when Russell was eight and Ron was eleven.
Ron, the more reserved and intellectual counterpart, studied cinema and graphic arts at UCLA starting in 1963, and together, the brothers channeled their shared influences, from French New Wave cinema and absurdist theater to the vibrant rock scene of the era, into a groundbreaking musical partnership that began in the late 1960s.
Career
Mael’s professional journey is inextricably linked to Sparks, the avant-garde pop-rock duo he co-founded with Ron in 1971, initially under the name Halfnelson before adopting the moniker Sparks as a nod to the Marx Brothers.
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As the band’s lead vocalist and occasional songwriter, Mael brought an animated, operatic energy to their sound, contrasting sharply with Ron’s deadpan keyboard work and quirky lyricism.
Their debut self-titled album in 1971 marked the start of an eclectic evolution, from the glam-rock exuberance of Kimono My House (1974), which spawned the UK chart-topping hit “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us,” to disco-infused experiments like No. 1 in Heaven (1979) produced with Giorgio Moroder.
Over the decades, Sparks released more than 25 studio albums, constantly reinventing themselves—from the orchestral grandeur of Lil’ Beethoven (2002) to the conceptual Hippopotamus (2017) and their 28th effort, MAD! (2025), under Transgressive Records.
Beyond Sparks, Mael ventured into supergroups like FFS with Franz Ferdinand in 2015 and co-wrote the screenplay and score for the 2021 musical film Annette, directed by Leos Carax and starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard.
His UCLA-honed filmmaking sensibilities also shone through in multimedia projects, including the rock opera The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman (2009), blending music with narrative innovation.
Accolades
In 2021, the brothers received the Cannes Soundtrack Award for Best Composer for Annette, followed by a César Award for Best Original Music at France’s national film awards in 2022, where they also performed.
Their legacy was further celebrated with a Critics’ Choice Documentary Award for Most Innovative Documentary for Edgar Wright’s The Sparks Brothers (2021), which won the NME Award for Best Music Film in 2022.
In October 2024, Sparks were honored with the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award at the AIM Independent Music Awards in London, coinciding with the announcement of their latest album.
Though nominations like the 2006 Mojo Inspiration Award eluded them, Mael’s contributions have solidified Sparks’ status as indie trailblazers, with their work continuing to inspire and evolve into 2025.