Facts about singer Chrissie Hynde: Age, husband, children and career of the Pretenders singer explained

July 19, 2024, 4:50 p.m.

She is unique.

As singer and bandleader of The Pretenders, Chrissie Hynde broke open the doors to the male-dominated rock music scene in the late 1970s.

With her androgynous, wild appearance, Hynde resembled the male rock gods of the time, such as Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones or Lemmy of Mötörhead – with a healthy dose of punk attitude – rather than the female pop stars of the time.

But The Pretenders had the right songs to underpin their image, quickly stormed the charts and remained one of the most consistent rock bands in the decades that followed.

They had six UK top ten singles, sold millions of albums worldwide and even performed at Live Aid – all with Hynde at the helm.

In 2005, The Pretenders were recognized as one of the most influential rock groups and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Hynde, a vegetarian, later became an animal rights activist and campaigned against the fur trade for decades, long before the organic concept became the norm.

Chrissie Hynde has never held back when it comes to things that mattered to her and has become a role model for women in music around the world.

Considering that this might not have been the case if the young girl from the American provinces had not moved to London, where she lives today.

Here’s everything you need to know about Chrissie Hynde:

How old is Chrissie Hynde and where was she born?

Christine Ellen Hynde was born on September 7, 1951 in Akron, Ohio in the USA. In 2024 she will be 73 years old.

Her father was the manager of a yellow pages newspaper and her mother worked as a part-time secretary. High school life was a challenge for Hynde as a teenager.

“I was never particularly interested in high school. I mean, I never went dancing, I never dated, I never had a committed relationship. It got pretty awful for me.”

Akron, known as the “rubber capital of the world,” did not have much to offer the young Hynde; she often traveled to Cleveland to meet musicians she admired.

After graduating, she studied art at Kent State University, where she developed an interest in Eastern mysticism and vegetarianism as part of the counterculture movement.

Tragically, her then-boyfriend was among four victims killed by police brutality during the shocking Kent State Massacre in 1970.

How did Chrissie Hynde get into music?

Chrissie Hynde moved to London in 1973, where she quickly got a job as a music journalist for the NME.

This relationship was short-lived, however, although she became friends with future cultural icons such as Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren and began working in their famous punk shop Sex.

There she became involved in the burgeoning punk scene, but was unable to find her own place as bands such as The Damned, The Clash and the Sex Pistols had a major influence on her.

“All the people I knew in town were in bands. And there I was, like the real loser, you know? The real loser,” she later recalled.

That was until she recorded her own demo in 1978 and gave it to Real Records owner Dave Hill, who liked what he heard and encouraged Hynde to form her own band.

The result was The Pretenders, who reached the top of the British charts in early 1980 with “Brass In Pocket”.

What are The Pretenders’ greatest songs?

Pretenders – Brass In Pocket (Official Music Video)

– ‘Brass in the pocket’

– “Do not get me wrong”

– “I’m at your side”

– “Back to the convict column”

– “2000 miles”

– ‘Child’

– “Talk of the town”

– ‘Middle of the Road’

– “My city had disappeared”

– “Message of Love”

Is Chrissie Hynde married and does she have children?

Chrissie Hynde is not currently married, but has been married twice.

From 1984 to 1990 she was married to Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr, and from 1997 to 2002 to Colombian artist Lucho Brieva.

She has a daughter with Kerr, Yasmin, who was born in 1985.

Hynde also has a daughter – Natalie, born in 1983 – with Kinks legend Ray Davies, with whom she dated for several years and almost married.

They almost got married in Guildford, but “the man at the registry office took one look at us and suggested we come back another time,” she later recalled.

What is Chrissie Hynde’s net worth?

Pretenders – Back On The Chain Gang (Live Aid 1985) Translation

Chrissie Hynde’s estimated net worth is $12 million.

When and why did Chrissie Hynde become a vegetarian?

Chrissie Hynde discovered vegetarianism while studying and described her decision as “the best thing that could have happened to me”.

While she initially viewed meat eaters with “dislike, almost contempt,” she learned to “live with them and associate with them, but never respect them,” despite coming under fire from vegans herself.

Because of her values, Hynde became friends with Paul and Linda McCartney, who were arguably the most famous vegetarians in the 1970s and 1980s.

After Linda’s tragic death in 1998, Chrissie was the main instigator in organizing the “Concert For Linda” a year later, where her friends, family and fans came together for a final celebration of the photographer and activist’s life.

Is there anything else we should know about Chrissie Hynde?

Cher – Love Can Build a Bridge (Official Video) ft. Chrissie Hynde, Neneh Cherry, Eric Clapton

Chrissie Hynde has lived permanently in London since moving there in 1973, but has kept an apartment in her hometown of Akron.

She practices a form of Hinduism called Vaishnavism and travels to India once a year to enrich her studies of this practice.

Before becoming a British citizen and obtaining a work visa to work in the United Kingdom, Hynde tried to persuade Johnny Rotten (John Lydon) and Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols to marry her, but both refused.

Strangely enough, despite her outspoken rock’n’roll personality, Chrissie Hynde has recorded duets with Frank Sinatra, UB40 and even Cher throughout her music career.