Alaskan Bush People Before The Fame

We begin with Billy Bryan Brown, the patriarch of the Brown family and ultimate mastermind behind the Alaskan Bush People. Although he may be roughing it in the wilderness now, Billy was actually born into an upper-middle class family in Texas. Tragedy struck in 1969 when his parents and only sibling were killed in a plane crash. A 16-year-old Billy was left orphaned and destitute.

According to Billy's Discovery Channel bio, he met his second wife, Ami, not long after the loss of his family. Together, they moved to Alaska to raise their children. Billy worked as a commercial fisherman in the North Pacific and considers himself something of an expert outdoorsman. His experiences were reportedly the inspiration for his book One Wave at a Time.

Billy eventually led his family out of Alaska, down to the "lower 48" in pursuit of fame. After about four years of persistence, the Browns got their big break. According to Capital City Weekly, the brood returned to Alaska to film a documentary that would eventually become Alaskan Bush People. Unfortunately for Billy, the foray out of Alaska caused some serious problems for him and his family a few years later. CNN reported that Billy and several members of the Brown family illegally claimed access to Alaska's Permanent Dividend Fund during their time outside the state, receiving thousands of dollars in oil revenue they weren't legally entitled to receive. The alleged fraud played out heavily in Season 5 of the show.

Matt Brown is the oldest and perhaps most sociable of the Brown family. Though he's known for his sunny disposition, Matt had a run-in with police prior to his fame on the show. According to Radar Online, he was arrested on DUI charges in August 2013, following a wild night of partying. Papa Billy reportedly paid the $250 bail to get him out of jail. 

Unfortunately, Matt's drinking problems resurfaced during multiple seasons of Alaskan Bush People and he has been in and out of rehab. In March 2019, Matt's condition made headlines again. According to Radar Online, his loved ones are "concerned about his battle to stay sober after he scored a big show pay day" — about $250,000 — for Season 9. Though his challenges appear to have begun before the fame, let's hope the trappings of reality TV notoriety don't interfere with Matt getting the help he needs.

You probably have no idea who Solomon Freedom Brown is, but that happens to be son "Bear" Brown's real name, though the nickname sounds decidedly more outdoorsy. Still, it must be nice to be able to say Freedom is literally your middle name! According to Bear's pre-series bio on the family's since-deleted web site, he suffered a serious injury when he was only 5 years old, breaking a bone near his hip that put him in a cast from the chest down for about three months. This incident apparently made him more confident and fearless as a child and catalyzed his lifestyle as an "extreme" adult.

You may eventually see Bear spending less time in Browntown and more time in Tinseltown because according to Radar Online, he's working on a "homemade" film. "It is a horror movie and yes, it does involve a lot of death," he told the tab in 2018. Bear is reportedly the star of the flick, but some of his siblings are involved as well. "But not all of them know the plot. The story itself comes from my own twisted mind and I am really enjoying it."

Noah Brown's full name is Noah Darkcloud Brown. Before the show his nickname was "N.D" and his reputation as a romantic Mr. fix-it was already well established. One of the most concerning things about Noah's pre-fame past is the injury that forced him to walk with a cane. The injury reportedly occurred months before the first season began filming and appeared to have lasting effects as time passed. 

Noah wed Rhain Alisha in 2018, and in February 2019, the couple welcomed its first child, a son named Elijah Connor Brown. "Spring is when the birds have their babies, and the deer have their babies, and the bears and the cougars...," he said (via People). "We just fit right in with the animals."

As the baby of the family, there's not much to research about Raindrop "Rainy" Brown's life before Alaskan Bush People, except that she was absolutely adorable. Rainy apparently earned her self-proclaimed title of "Bush Barbie" due to her love of Barbies and all things pinks. One final note: her full name is a mouthful: Merry Christmas Catherine Raindrop Brown. It's a name that screams, "My parents were very into the 1960s," and we sort of resent Alaskan Bush People for not bringing it up every other week.

If you're wondering what she's up to these days, you can find Rainy staying well connected — like any other young person — via social media. That's right, her selfies, motivational messages, and food and animal snaps don't exactly speak to life in the bush, and, well, that's because this brood has, in fact, continued to evolve.