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 ''Duck Dynasty'' is an American reality television series that aired on A&E from 2012 to 2017. The series portrays the lives of the Robertson family, who became successful from their family-operated business, Duck Commander. The West Monroe, L ...

'' on A&E, and is the current CEO of the company

Duck Commander Duck Commander is an American hunting and outdoor recreation company in West Monroe, Louisiana. Founded by Phil Robertson, a football quarterback at Louisiana Tech University, he developed and patented the company's namesake duck call the ''Du ...

. Robertson lives in

West Monroe, Louisiana West Monroe is a city in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is situated on the Ouachita River, across from the neighboring city of Monroe. The two cities are often referred to as the Twin Cities of northeast Louisiana. Its population ...

with his wife Korie and his children: John Luke, Sadie, Will, Rowdy, Bella, and Rebecca.

Childhood

Robertson was born at Tri-Ward General Hospital in

Bernice, Louisiana Bernice is a town in Union Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,689 at the 2010 census, a decrease from 1,809 in 2000. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The area was part of the Louisiana frontier ...

, in

Union Parish Union Parish (French: ''Paroisse de l'Union'') is a parish located in the north central section of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,107. The parish seat is Farmerville. The parish was created on ...

, to Phil and Marsha Kay Robertson. 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.

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 Harding University is a private university with its main campus in Searcy, Arkansas. It is the largest private university in Arkansas. Established in 1924, the institution offers undergraduate, graduate, and pre-professional programs. The un ...

and graduated from Northeast Louisiana University. In 2014, Harding declared Willie and Korie Howard Robertson jointly as Outstanding Young Alumni. His business degree helped take Duck Commander from a family business to a multimillion-dollar empire. 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 ''

''. 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 Outdoor Channel is an American pay television channel focused on the outdoors, offering programming that includes hunting, fishing, Western lifestyle, off-road motorsports and adventure. The network can be viewed on multiple platforms including ...

. 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. 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 ''God's Not Dead 2'' is a 2016 American Christian drama film, directed by Harold Cronk, and starring Melissa Joan Hart, Jesse Metcalfe, David A. R. White, Hayley Orrantia and Sadie Robertson. It is a sequel to '' God's Not Dead'' (2014), and ...

'' as high school student Marlene.

Willie Robertson was the guest of

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Vance McAllister at the

2014 State of the Union Address The 2014 State of the Union Address was given by the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama, on January 28, 2014, at 9:00 p.m. EST, in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives to the 113th United States Congress. It w ...

by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

. In 2021, Robertson competed in season six of ''

The Masked Singer ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' as "Mallard". He was eliminated alongside Bobby Berk as "Caterpillar".

Personal life

Robertson is known for his

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

faith and often preaches about it to others. He is a member of the

Churches of Christ The Churches of Christ is a loose association of autonomous Christian congregations based on the ''sola scriptura'' doctrine. Their practices are based on Bible texts and draw on the early Christian church as described in the New Testament. Th ...

. 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, though the jacket has drawn comparisons to ''

The Dukes of Hazzard ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy TV series that was aired on CBS from January 26, 1979 to February 8, 1985. The show aired for 147 episodes spanning seven seasons. It was consistently among the top-rated television series ...

'' character Boss Hogg (Willie's Twitter handle is "williebosshog"). Robertson, like many of his family members featured on ''Duck Dynasty'', is known for his

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sound ...

-style beard. On April 25, 2020, Robertson's house was shot up in a

drive-by shooting A drive-by shooting is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrator(s) to quickly strike their target and flee the scene before ...

. 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 bedroom where his son John-Luke and his wife and infant son were sleeping. No one was hurt, and eventually the perpetrator was caught.

Filmography

Billy the Exterminator ''Billy the Exterminator'' (formerly ''The Exterminators'') is an American reality television series which aired on the A&E network. The show followed the professional life of William "Billy" Bretherton, an entomologist, pest control technicia ...

(2010) *''

'' (2012–2017) *'' Last Man Standing'' (2013) *'' God's Not Dead'' (2014) – Cameo appearance *''

Whose Line Is It Anyway? ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' is a short-form improvisational comedy show originating as a British radio programme, before moving to British television in 1988. Following the conclusion of the British run in 1999, ABC began airing an American ...

'' (2015) *'' Buck Commander'' (2010–2019) *''

'' (2009–2011) *''

'' (2021)

Awards

Louisiana Governor

Bobby Jindal Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (born June 10, 1971) is an American politician who served as the 55th Governor of Louisiana from 2008 to 2016. The only living former Louisiana governor, Jindal also served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives a ...

presented Willie Robertson with the inaugural Governor's Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence in March 2014, at the Duck Commander warehouse in West Monroe.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Willie 1972 births Living people 20th-century Christians 21st-century Christians American chief executives of manufacturing companies American hunters American members of the Churches of Christ Harding University alumni Howard family (Louisiana) Louisiana Republicans Participants in American reality television series People from Bernice, Louisiana People from West Monroe, Louisiana Robertson family University of Louisiana at Monroe alumni Christians from Louisiana