Chrissie Hynde's Real Name: Chrissie Hynde

Quick answer: The musician is known professionally as Chrissie Hynde. AllMusic and Encyclopaedia Britannica both record the birth date September 7, 1951, in Akron, Ohio. Neither of those accounts supplies a longer legal given name. Both identify her as the Pretenders' vocalist and guitarist and date the band's formation to 1978.

Real name and early life

AllMusic describes her as a native of Akron, Ohio, born on September 7, 1951. Britannica independently gives the same date and place, identifying her as vocalist and guitarist Chrissie Hynde. AllMusic says she first performed as an art student at Kent State, in a band called Sat. Sun. Mat. that also featured Mark Mothersbaugh, later of Devo, and that she left the United States for London in 1973. Britannica independently says that after studying art at Kent State University she moved to London in 1973. AllMusic also says she later worked at NME and at the London clothing boutique SEX; those details are not in the Britannica article used here.

Career highlights

AllMusic and Britannica both say she formed the Pretenders in 1978 with guitarist James Honeyman-Scott, bassist Pete Farndon, and drummer Martin Chambers. Both record the 1979 single "Stop Your Sobbing" and the debut album Pretenders, which AllMusic dates to January 1980 and links to the single "Brass in Pocket." Britannica independently says Pretenders became the top-selling album on the U.K. charts in 1980 and that "Brass in Pocket" topped the U.K. singles chart and reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. The sources differ on the album Learning to Crawl: AllMusic refers to 1983's Learning to Crawl, while Britannica says the group began work on the album in 1983 and that it was released in 1984. Britannica also records the band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. AllMusic names later Pretenders work including Get Close (1986) and the single "Don't Get Me Wrong," as well as later solo and collaborative albums including Stockholm (2014), Valve Bone Woe (2019), Standing in the Doorway: Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob Dylan, and Duets Special (2025).

Britannica records the deaths of Honeyman-Scott in 1982 and Farndon in 1983. AllMusic independently says Honeyman-Scott died of heart failure in 1982. Britannica places both deaths in London.

Name notes for searchers

People looking up Chrissie Hynde are looking for the same Pretenders singer and songwriter.