Electric Photos of Debbie Harry Over The Years

Debbie Harry has always felt like more than a rock star to the people who grew up with her. For many Gen X fans, she was the quintessential older sister. The impossibly cool girl you wanted to know, whose beauty made her seem unreal.

Even if you only knew Blondie through the radio, you likely danced to “Heart of Glass.” You sang along to “The Tide Is High.” Or perhaps first encountered her in an unexpected place, such as The Muppet Show.

Born in 1945, adopted and raised in New Jersey, she struggled through 1970s New York, worked as a Playboy Bunny, and built both Blondie and a long partnership with guitarist Chris Stein. Then came the explosion of fame, with albums like Parallel Lines selling tens of millions and turning her into an icon.

Fame, however, did not shield her from hardship either. At the height of Blondie’s success, her partner, Stein, fell gravely ill, money vanished through mismanagement, and the IRS pursued them relentlessly, even stripping away his health insurance while he was hospitalized. Loss followed, including Andy Warhol’s death on the same day she and Stein finally separated.

Debbie Harry helped define an era, teaching generations how to move through the world with style, defiance, and nerve. Now, she stands as proof that the greatest fashion and the greatest artistry are reinvention and survival.