Willie Robertson

Willie Robertson
Willie Robertson
	Robertson in 2015
Born	April 22, 1972 (age 52); Bernice, Louisiana, U.S.
Other names	"Boss Hog”
Education	Harding University; Northeast Louisiana University
Occupation(s)	CEO of Duck Commander & buck commander, businessman, television personality, news contributor.
Years active	2002–present
Television	Duck Dynasty
Spouse	Korie Robertson (m. 1992)
Children	6, including Sadie
Parent(s)	Phil Alexander Robertson; Marsha Kay Carroway
Relatives	Jason Robertson (brother); Silas Robertson (uncle)

Willie Jess Robertson (born April 22, 1972) is an American TV personality, businessman, author and news contributor. He is best known for his appearances on the reality TV series Duck Dynasty on A&E, and is the current CEO of the company Duck Commander. Robertson lives in West Monroe, Louisiana, with his wife Korie and his children: John Luke, Sadie, Will, Rowdy, Bella, and Rebecca.^[1]

Childhood

Robertson was born at Tri-Ward General Hospital in Bernice, Louisiana, in Union Parish,^[2] to Phil and Marsha Kay Robertson.^[3] He was born 2 days before his father's 26th birthday. He has two older brothers, Alan and Jase, one younger sister, Phyllis, and one younger brother, Jep. Willie grew up around hunting and the outdoors, and spent considerable time around Duck Commander, a small business run by his father. Willie handled various tasks at the company, including building duck calls and handling business calls.^[4]

Business

Ever since childhood, Robertson and his brothers have been interested in the duck call business started by their father, Phil. Willie attended Harding University and graduated from Northeast Louisiana University. In 2014, Harding declared Willie and Korie Howard Robertson jointly as Outstanding Young Alumni.^[5] His business degree helped take Duck Commander from a family business to a multimillion-dollar empire.^[6] Duck Commander is the company that generated a great portion of the wealth that he has acquired and also generated the interest to start the TV show Duck Dynasty. In 2006, Robertson started another pursuit, the company Buck Commander. This company has also created the Buckmen series of DVDs and the television show Buck Commander Protected by Under Armour on the Outdoor Channel.^[4] Along with Si, he appeared on an episode of Last Man Standing, and made a cameo in the Christian film, God's Not Dead, with his wife. In the movie he is being interviewed by Amy about his show and states that while hunting is his life, his important thing in life is Jesus Christ.^[7] He also appears in the end of the film during a Newsboys concert, where he gives a message to the concert audience to text "God's not dead" to everyone, having heard about the events in college when Josh stood up to Radisson for his beliefs. Willie's daughter, Sadie Robertson would later be featured in its sequel God's Not Dead 2 as high school student Marlene.

Willie Robertson was the guest of United States Representative Vance McAllister at the 2014 State of the Union Address by President Barack Obama.

In 2021, Robertson competed in season six of The Masked Singer as "Mallard". He was eliminated alongside Bobby Berk as "Caterpillar".

Personal life

Robertson is known for his Christian faith and often preaches about it to others. He is a member of the Churches of Christ.^[8] He is also almost always seen wearing a bandana in the pattern of the American flag on his head, and he often wears a white suit jacket to look more professional,^[9] though the jacket has drawn comparisons to The Dukes of Hazzard character Boss Hogg (Willie's Twitter handle is "williebosshog").^[10]

Robertson, like many of his family members featured on Duck Dynasty, is known for his ZZ Top-style beard.

On April 25, 2020, Robertson's house was shot at in a drive-by shooting. While he was shopping at a store, his family were still at home when Daniel King Jr. shot 8 to 10 bullets at the property. He stated that he was "Pretty shook up" when a bullet passed through a window of the home where his son John-Luke and his wife and infant son were living. No one was hurt, and eventually the perpetrator was caught.^[11]

Filmography

Billy the Exterminator (2010)
Duck Dynasty (2012–2017)
Last Man Standing (2013)
God's Not Dead (2014) – Cameo appearance
Whose Line Is It Anyway? (2015)
Buck Commander (2010–present)
Duck Commander (2009–2011)
The Masked Singer (2021)

Awards

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal presented Willie Robertson with the inaugural Governor's Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence in March 2014, at the Duck Commander warehouse in West Monroe.^[12]