Chrissie Hynde Net Worth

What is Chrissie Hynde's Net Worth?

Chrissie Hynde is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is one of the founding members of the rock band the Pretenders.

Early Life

Hynde was born on September 7, 1951 in Akron, Ohio. Her mother worked as a part-time secretary, and her father was a manager at Yellow Pages, the phonebook company. She attended Firestone High School but has stated that she was never very involved in any high school activities as she was primarily interested in music and the rock and roll scene.

After high school, she attended Kent State University's Art School. She became interested in Eastern mysticism, vegetarianism, and hippie counterculture. She was a student at Kent State during the 1970 Kent State Massacre and personally knew one of the four victims. While at Kent State, she joined a band called Sat. Sun. Mat., of which Mark Mothersbaugh was also a member, who would later go on to be in the popular band Devo.

Early Career

After three years of art school, Hynde moved to London in 1973. She landed a job at an architectural firm thanks to her art background but left after eight months. She then met rock journalist Nick Kent, who helped her get a job at the music magazine, "NME." Her position with the magazine did not last long, and she got a job at the clothing store SEX, owned by Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood.

Due to her desire to stay in London, she tried to convince two members of the Sex Pistols, whom she had gotten to know due to their management by McLaren, to marry her. This ultimately did not work out, and she then tried to start a band in France but had to move back to Cleveland in the mid-1970s. However, she was able to return to London soon afterward and began trying to join bands or start her own. She had brief stints in bands that would go on to become Culture Club and the Damned but had trouble making anything stick until she sent a demo take to the owner of Real Records, Dave Hill, in 1978, who agreed to manage her career.

The Pretenders

Hill advised her to take her time getting a band together. She soon met bassist Pete Farndon and together they selected James Honeyman-Scott on guitar, vocals, and keyboard and Martin Chambers on drums and vocals, with Hynde on guitar and lead vocals. They called themselves the Pretenders.

The Pretenders played their first gig at a club in Paris and then released their first single in January of 1979. They followed it with a second single in July, both of which charted in the UK. In November of 1979, they released the song "Brass in Pocket," which hit number one in the UK in January of 1980, the same day as their first album was released, "Pretenders."

The album became successful around the world, and they released "Extended Play" and "Pretenders II" shortly afterward. However, internal tragedy struck when Honeyman-Scott died of an overdose in 1982, just days after Farndon was fired from the band. Farndon himself would also die of an overdose the following year. This was the first of many lineup changes in the band, with Robert McIntosh joining on guitar and Malcolm Foster on bass. However, these members would also soon change as well, with Hynde serving as the only constant and founding member of the band throughout its existence.

Throughout their long time as a band, the Pretenders have had numerous worldwide hits, 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." The band has released 11 albums from 1979 to 2020 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.

Outside of The Pretenders

Outside of her work with the Pretenders, Hyne has also collaborated on a number of other musical projects. She has done vocals on tracks for bands and artists like Mick Farren, Chris Spedding, the Specials, INXS, Moodswings, and Morrissey, among many others. Her most popular collaboration outside of work with the Pretenders was with UB40 when they recorded a cover of Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe." The track topped the charts in the UK.

In 2014, Hynde released her debut solo album, "Stockholm." Hynde wrote all the tracks herself, and the album features several guests, such as Neil Young and tennis player John McEnroe, who plays electric guitar on one of the tracks. The album received generally favorable reviews.

Personal Life

In 1983, Hynde had a daughter, Natalie, with Ray Davies of the Kings. The following year, she married Jim Kerr, the lead singer of Simple Minds. They had a daughter, Yasmin, together in 1985 and lived in Scotland. They divorced in 1990. Hynde then had a relationship with Columbian artist and sculptor Lucho Brieva. They married in 1997 and divorced in 2002.

Hynde follows Vaishnavism, a branch of Hinduism. Once a year, she travels to India to further her studies. She has also been a longtime vegetarian and an animal rights activist. She supports PETA and the animal rights group Viva! She also appeared in a commercial for the anti-fur trade organization Respect for Animals.

Hynde resides in London and also maintains a residence in her hometown of Akron.