Hynde was born in Akron, Ohio, on September 7, 1951. Her mother worked part-time as a secretary for Yellow Pages, the company that produces phone books, and her father was a manager there. She attended Firestone High School but has stated that she wasn’t active in any extracurricular activities there because her main passions were music and the rock and roll culture. She nevertheless went to Firestone High School.
She enrolled in the Kent State University Art School after graduating high school. She became intrigued by Eastern mysticism, vegetarianism, and the hippie counterculture.
In 1970, the year of the Kent State Massacre, she was a student at Kent State University and had a close relationship with one of the four victims. While attending Kent State, she became a member of the band Sat. Sun. Mat. The band Sat. Sun. Mat. also included Mark Mothersbaugh, who would eventually join the popular group Devo.
Chrissie Hynde Early Career
Hynde moved to London in 1973 after spending three years in an art school. She landed a job at an architectural firm because of her earlier expertise in the art world, but she left after just eight months.
Following that, she met rock journalist Nick Kent, who helped her get a job at the music magazine “NME.” She did not hold the position at the magazine for very long before finding employment with the clothing company SEX, which Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren owned.
After failing in this endeavor, she tried to start a band in France but was compelled to return to Cleveland in the middle of the 1970s. Soon after, she, fortunately, managed to return to London and began seeking opportunities to join bands or start her own.
She briefly played with the bands that would later become Culture Club and the Damned, but she struggled to break through until she sent a demo to take to Dave Hill, the owner of Real Records, in 1978. Hill then opted to handle her career. The person who agreed to oversee her career was Dave Hill.
Chrissie Hynde Net Worth
American singer-songwriter-guitarist Chrissie Hynde was a founding member of the Pretenders rock group. Her work with the band Pretenders is what made her most famous. At this time, her net worth is believed to be $12 million.
Chrissie Hynde The Pretenders
Hill instructed her to take her time putting together a band. She quickly became friends with bassist Pete Farndon, and they decided to use Martin Chambers on drums and vocals, James Honeyman-Scott on guitar and lead vocals, and Chris Hynde on the keyboard. The Pretenders is their self-name.
The Pretenders’ first performance was at a club in Paris, and in January 1979, their debut song was made available. In July, they released a second single, reaching the UK charts. The band launched the music “Brass in Pocket” in November 1979, and it got the UK’s top spot in January 1980, the same day their debut album, “Pretenders,” was published.
Following the album’s global success, “Extended Play” and “Pretenders II” were quickly released. However, internal tragedy struck in 1982, just days after Farndon was let go from the band when Honeyman-Scott overdosed and passed away. The following year, Farndon himself would pass away from an overdose. With the addition of Malcolm Foster on bass and Robert McIntosh on guitar, this was the first of several lineup changes for the group. Though Hynde remained the only steady and original band member throughout its history, these members would soon change.
The Pretenders have had many international singles throughout their lengthy career, some of which include “Brass in Pocket,” “Talk of the Town,” “Back on the Chain Gang,” “2000 Miles,” “Don’t Get Me Wrong,” and “I’ll Stand by You.” Between 1979 and 2020, the group put out 11 albums, and in 2005, they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Chrissie Hynde Personal Life
Hynde and Ray Davies of the Kings welcomed Natalie into the world in 1983. The following year, she married Simple Minds’ lead singer Jim Kerr. After getting married and relocating to Scotland, they had a daughter named Yasmin.
They got divorced in 1990. Following that, Hynde began dating the Colombian artist and sculptor Lucho Brieva. They got married in 1997 and got divorced in 2002.
Hynde is an adherent of the Hinduism sect known as Vaishnavism. Once a year, she travels to India to further her studies there. She is also a vegetarian and has been an animal rights activist for a long time. She backs Viva!, an animal rights group, and PETA. She was contracted to participate in an ad for the group Respect for Animals, which works to end the wearing of fur.
Hynde currently resides in the city of London but also owns a property in her hometown of Akron.
