Harry, Deborah "Debbie"
Ann (1st July 1945-Present)
She is a singer-songwriter and actress born in Miami,
Florida, and adopted when she was three months old by a family from
Hawthorne, New Jersey.She
graduated from high school in 1963 and a few years later went to work as a
secretary in New York City at the offices for BBC Radio New York.Changing her career direction she
would be seen waitressing, dancing, being a Playboy Bunny and singing in
the folk group the Wind in the Willows.The early '70s saw her furthering her chosen profession
of singing when she became a member of The Stilettos and it was here that
she would meet her future boyfriend, the guitarist Chris Stein.It came to 1974 and they decided to
form Angel and the Snake, which would soon become the popular and
internationally successful New Wave band, Blondie.She was catapulted into the
limelight with her individual punk style of dress, stage presence and, of
course, the dyed blonde hair.The group were a huge hit and were constantly in the charts with
many of her co-written hits such as "Heart of Glass" throughout the last
years of the 1970s, and up until 1981 when they took a hiatus.At this point she recorded her
first solo album, Koo Koo, before regrouping with the band in 1982
to record their sixth album, but this would be their last before they split
up when Christ Stein became ill with a potentially fatal and rare disease.She stepped out of the public eye
for several years, but in 1986 and 1989 released two further solo albums that
produced hits such as "French Kissin' in the USA" and "In Love With Love". The 1990s came around and
suddenly there was a renewed interest in Blondie and many remixed singles and
albums were released.At the
same time this was all happening she was a member of the group The Jazz
Passengers who made their last European tour in 1998 when she left to
rejoin Blondie.This led to the
group coming together again after 15 years and achieving hit status in 1999
with "Maria", which made her the oldest female artist to have a UK No. 1 at
age 53. Still currently touring
and recording with Blondie, she is also very involved in her solo singing
career and working with a trio that she has formed.As an actress she has appeared on
Broadway in Teaneck Tanzi, in films that include Videodrome, Union
City, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, Cop Land, and Spun, and
in TV shows such as Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, Absolutely Fabulous,
Wiseguy and Saturday Night Live.She is also involved in the MAC AIDS campaign that helps
HIV and AIDS sufferers worldwide.In 2006 she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a
member of Blondie.
