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Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached No. 1 on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in Miami, Florida, Harry was adopted as an infant and raised in Hawthorne, New Jersey. After college she worked various jobs—as a dancer, a Playboy Bunny, and a secretary (including at the BBC in New York)—before her breakthrough in the music industry. She co-formed Blondie in 1974 in New York City. The band released its eponymous debut studio album in 1976 and released three more studio albums between then and 1979, including Parallel Lines, which spawned six singles, including "Heart of Glass". Their fifth studio album, Autoamerican (1980), spawned such hits as a cover of "The Tide Is High", and "Rapture", which is considered the first rap song to chart at number one in the United States. Harry released her debut solo studio album, KooKoo, in 1981. During a Blondie hiatus, she embarked on an acting career, appearing in lead roles in the neo-noir Union City (1980) and in David Cronenberg's body horror film Videodrome (1983). She released her second solo studio album, 1986's Rockbird, and starred in John Waters's cult dance film Hairspray (1988). She released two more solo albums between then and 1993, before returning to film with roles in a John Carpenter-directed segment of the horror film Body Bags (1993), and in the drama Heavy (1995). Blondie reunited in the late 1990s, releasing No Exit (1999), followed by The Curse of Blondie (2003). Harry continued to appear in independent films throughout the 2000s, including Deuces Wild (2002), My Life Without Me (2003) and Elegy (2008). With Blondie, she released the group's ninth studio album, Panic of Girls, in 2011, followed by Ghosts of Download (2014). The band's eleventh studio album, 2017's Pollinator, charted at number 4 in the United Kingdom. Life and career 1945–1965: Early life Harry was born Angela Trimble on July 1, 1945, in Miami, Florida. At the age of three months, she was adopted by Catherine (née Peters) and Richard Harry, gift shop proprietors in Hawthorne, New Jersey, and renamed Deborah Ann Harry. Harry learned of her adoption at four years old. At first, she decided against locating her birth parents, but nonetheless, in the late 1980s, located her birth mother, a concert pianist, who chose not to establish a relationship with Harry. In her memoir, she recalls being a tomboy, spending much of her childhood playing in the woods adjacent to her home. Harry attended Hawthorne High School, graduating in 1963. She graduated from Centenary College in Hackettstown, New Jersey, with an Associate of Arts degree in 1965. Before beginning her singing career, she moved to New York City in the late 1960s, and worked there as a secretary at BBC Radio's office for one year. Later, she was a waitress at Max's Kansas City, a go-go dancer in a discothèque in Union City, New Jersey, and a Playboy Bunny. 1966–1975: Early projects; formation of Blondie In the late 1960s, Harry began her musical career as a backing singer for the folk rock group The Wind in the Willows, which released an eponymous album in 1968 on Capitol Records. In 1973, Harry joined The Stilettos with Elda Gentile and Amanda Jones. Shortly thereafter, the band added guitarist Chris Stein, who became her boyfriend. In her memoir, Face It, Harry describes having been raped at knifepoint during a burglary of the home she shared with Stein. In 1974 Harry and Stein left the Stilettos (along with the band's bassist and drummer) and formed Angel and the Snake with Tish Bellomo and Snooky Bellomo. Shortly thereafter, they changed the name of the band to Blondie, named after the catcall men often directed at Harry after she bleached her hair blonde. The band quickly became regulars at Max's Kansas City and CBGB in New York City. 1976–1980: Global success With her beauty, daring choice of clothing, and two-tone bleached-blonde hair, Harry quickly became a punk icon. Blondie released their self-titled debut album in 1976; it peaked at No. 14 in Australia and (later, in 1979) No. 75 in the United Kingdom. Their second album, Plastic Letters, garnered some success outside the United States, but their third album, Parallel Lines (1978), was a worldwide hit and catapulted the group to international success. It included the global hit single "Heart of Glass". Riding the crest of disco's domination, the track made No. 1 in the US and sold nearly two million copies. It also reached No. 1 in the UK and was the second highest-selling single of 1979. In June 1979, Blondie was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone. Harry's persona, combining cool sexuality with streetwise style, became so closely associated with the group's name that many came to believe "Blondie" was the singer's name. The difference between the individual Harry and the band Blondie was emphasized by a "Blondie is a group" button campaign by the band in 1979. The band's success continued with the release of the platinum-selling Eat to the Beat album (UK No. 1, US No. 17) in September. Autoamerican (UK No. 3, US No. 7) was released in 1980. Blondie had further No. 1 hits with "Call Me" (American Gigolo soundtrack) (US and UK No. 1), "Atomic" (Eat to the Beat album) (UK No. 1), "The Tide Is High" (US and UK No. 1), and "Rapture" (US No. 1). During this time, both Harry and Stein befriended graffiti artist Fab Five Freddy, who introduced them to the emerging hip-hop scene in the Bronx. Freddy is mentioned in "Rapture". Through Fab Five Freddy they were also able to connect with Grandmaster Flash who is played by Jean-Michel Basquiat in the video. "Rapture" became the first rap-oriented song to reach No. 1 in the US Billboard charts. Grandmaster Flash said Harry "opened up so many doors for hip hop" by mentioning him in Rapture. Harry was immortalized by Andy Warhol in 1980, who produced a number of artworks of her image from a single photoshoot at the Factory. The artist created a small series of four acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas portraits of the star in different colors, as well as Polaroids and a small number of rare silver gelatin prints from the shoot. Stein was also present that day to capture Warhol photographing Harry in a series of his own photographs, exhibited in 2013 in London. Her collaboration and friendship with Warhol continued and she was his first guest on the MTV show Andy Warhol's Fifteen Minutes. The first episode opened with Harry announcing the theme: "Sex, Vegetables, Brothers and Sisters". Harry said of her relationship with Warhol, "I think the best thing [Andy Warhol] taught me was always to be open to new things, new music, new style, new bands, new technology and just go with it. Never get mired in the past and always accept new things whatever age you are." 1981–1996: Solo work and acting In 1981, Harry issued a press.... Discover the Debbie Burke popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Debbie Burke books.