Wonder Woman of the Week: Debbie Harry

This week's Wonder Woman is the titular blonde from the world famous 70's band Blondie. While the band earned fame as a team effort, its blonde front-woman Debbie Harry enjoyed success from more than just music, but that success and fame came at a cost. The spotlight attracted dangerous attention to the singer and actress who managed to fend off violent attacks on multiple occasions to pursue a life dedicated to art, activism, and being one serious badass rocker.

Debbie Harry was born Angela Trimble in 1945 and spent the first few years of her post-collegiate life working several jobs including secretary, dancer, and Playboy Bunny. Harry wanted a career as an actress and musician however and got her first major break with a band formed in 1974- Blondie. Her time with the newly formed band was not instant success however- nor was it glamorous. In fact the band's name came from the term male cat-callers would call Harry anytime she walked by. Even more dangerously, an intruder broke into Harry and her boyfriend (fellow Blondie musician Chris Stein)'s New York City apartment and sexually assaulted her at knifepoint. At another point during her time in New York, Harry survived a kidnapping attempt by an alleged, unknown serial killer.

While Blondie's first two albums enjoyed some domestic success in the US, the band's ultimate fame came after their third album- Parallel Lanes- dropped in 1978. The band continued producing smash hit until 1981 when Debbie Harry decided to dissolve the band to enter her acting career. Over the course of the next two decades, Harry acted in underground films- especially body horror films. Her greatest film accolade however came with the cult classic musical Hairspray. In 1999, Blondie reunited as Harry returned to her music career as both the front-woman for her 1970's band and as a solo act. Harry continues to produce albums with Blondie and in 2019 released her memoirs.