[2] Although Molko was brought up in a strict household that disapproved of artistic expression (his father wanted him to become a banker), he rebelled by assuming an androgynous image, wearing nail polish, lipstick, and eyeliner, and listening to punk music.

[3] He completed his secondary education at the American International School of Luxembourg (AISL),[4][5] before studying drama at Goldsmiths College in London.

[6] Although Molko and Placebo co-founder Stefan Olsdal had both attended the American International School of Luxembourg (AISL), they had not been friends.

[7] When Molko was living in London, he ran into Olsdal at South Kensington tube station and invited him to one of his gigs he played with Steve Hewitt in a group called Ashtray Heart.

[7] Along with Hewitt and Olsdal, Molko had a role in the 1998 film Velvet Goldmine,[8] for which Placebo performed the T. Rex song "20th Century Boy".

Molko admitted in 2003 that many of his initial excesses were due to his mental health issues; he was officially diagnosed with major depressive disorder in his late twenties.

[19] In August 2023, Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni sued Molko for defamation after he called her a "fascist racist" while performing at the Sonic Park Festival in Stupinigi in July.

[25] Through the Meds tour, he used Gretsch Duo Jets ("Infra-Red", "Because I Want You", "Song to Say Goodbye", "One of a Kind", "The Bitter End", "Running Up that Hill", "Special K"), Gibson SGs ("Special Needs", "Every You Every Me", "Black-Eyed", "Without You I'm Nothing"), a Fender Jaguar ("Drag", "Nancy Boy", "I Know"), a Fender Thinline Telecaster ("Twenty Years", "Taste in Men"), and a Gibson Chet Atkins SST ("Meds").