10 Intriguing Details About Debbie Harry of Blondie

Angela Trimble, born on July 1, 1945, in Miami, Florida, might not ring a bell, but Debbie Harry certainly does. As the co-founder and lead vocalist of the legendary New Wave and punk rock group Blondie, Harry revealed much about her life in her 2019 memoir Face It: A Memoir. However, here are some lesser-known facts about the iconic blonde and her band.

1. Debbie Harry’s natural hair color is red.

In a 2017 piece for InStyle, Debbie Harry shared that her natural hair has a reddish tint. “My hair was naturally strawberry blonde with strong red undertones,” she explained. “During summer, the highlights would become more pronounced. I spent time with older girls at the municipal pool in Hawthorne, New Jersey, where I was raised. One girl, whose blonde hair I admired, had a mother who was a beautician. I asked her about speeding up the highlighting process.” She was advised to mix two-thirds peroxide with one-third ammonia and apply it through her hair—essentially a DIY version of Sun-In.

“It worked,” Harry recalled. As she grew older, she transitioned to increasingly platinum shades, often using at-home box dyes and mastering the art of achieving ultra-light tones.

Even today, Harry prefers bleaching her hair at home. “I’ve always enjoyed coloring my hair myself because it allows me to multitask,” she said. “I used to take baths while the bleach processed, and at the end, I’d simply dunk my head underwater. It might not have been the most professional approach, but it was efficient. I find sitting in a salon chair too tedious."

2. As a child, Debbie Harry often fantasized that Marilyn Monroe was her real mother.

Deborah Ann Harry was adopted at three months by Richard and Catherine Harry, who owned a gift shop in New Jersey. She discovered she was adopted at the age of four, which she said instilled a sense of freedom in her. "They explained it to me in a very positive way," Harry shared with the Independent in 2014. "It made me feel unique in a way. I often link my adventurous spirit to that experience ... I’m open-minded and don’t feel confined by boundaries."

3. The name “Blondie” originated from truck drivers who would call out to Debbie Harry as she walked down the street.

“The name came from what people shouted at Debbie,” Blondie guitarist Chris Stein explained to Boston radio station WBUR in 2017. “Debbie came home one day after dyeing her hair blonde, and within a week, truck drivers were constantly yelling, 'Hey, Blondie!' at her.”

A persistent rumor suggests the band was named after Adolf Hitler’s dog, but Stein dismissed this claim. “The Hitler’s dog story? I’m not sure if I was aware of that back then,” Stein said. “Hitler’s dog was spelled B-l-o-n-d-i, without an 'e.'”

Originally, the band was called Angel and the Snake. They rebranded as Blondie in late 1975. Early on, many fans and the media mistakenly thought “Blondie” referred solely to Debbie Harry. To clarify, the band produced buttons stating, “BLONDIE IS A GROUP.”

4. Debbie Harry had another childhood nickname that wasn’t as complimentary.

As a child, Harry was called 'Moon.' "A round face wasn’t considered attractive back then, unlike my broad, round face, which earned me the nickname Moon,” Harry shared in the book Making Tracks: The Rise of Blondie. Over time, her features became iconic, with Vogue even naming her among the ‘Best Cheekbones of All Time.’

5. Debbie Harry once held a job as a Playboy bunny.

In the early 1970s, Harry worked at New York City’s Playboy Club, sporting long, reddish-brown hair. "I suppose I wanted to take on the challenge," she said in a Radio 4 interview when asked about her decision to become a Playboy bunny. "I think it was partly influenced by a friend of my parents who was a Playboy Club member and always made it sound glamorous and thrilling,” she explained. “Plus, I thought it would be a good way to earn money, which it was. I gave it a shot and stayed there for about eight or nine months.” She also noted that, despite any modern controversy, her time at Playboy was positive. "We were like performers," she added. "We were valued and well taken care of because we were essential to the business.”

6. “Rapture” became the first Number 1 song in the U.S. to include rap vocals.

Harry remains grounded, acknowledging that this doesn’t make her a rapper. “Artistically, it achieved something unique: it was the first rap song with original music. Commercially, it helped make rap mainstream,” Harry explained to Rolling Stone in 2004. “I don’t think it had a massive influence, though. I’m far from being a rapper and have immense respect for great ones.” Among her favorites are Missy Elliot, Lil’ Kim, Ludacris, and 50 Cent.

7. She has a fondness for a good bottle of Chardonnay.

In fact, it’s a must-have for Harry backstage during tours. In 2017, she told Bon Appétit that Cakebread Cellars is her usual choice. However, one unforgettable bottle stands out. “At a European festival—I can’t recall where—the promoter, a wine enthusiast, brought out a Chardonnay so exquisite that I joked I would have slept with it if it were a person. It was that delicious.”

8. For years, Harry thought she might have narrowly escaped an encounter with serial killer Ted Bundy.

In 1972, when hitchhiking was still common, Harry got into a stranger's car on Avenue C in New York’s East Village after failing to find a taxi. The driver was an attractive, well-dressed young man with dark curly hair. As reported by Interview magazine, Harry’s account of the incident appeared in an unnamed 1989 newspaper. “I got in the car, and it was summer, so the windows were barely open,” Harry recalled. “He wasn’t talking to me, and when I tried to roll down the window, I noticed there were no handles or cranks—the interior was completely stripped.”

To escape, Harry managed to slide her arm through the narrow window opening and unlock the door from the outside. “As soon as he saw what I was doing, he sped up to turn a corner, and I was thrown out into the street,” Harry said. Years later, after reading about Ted Bundy’s execution, she connected the dots: “The details of his methods, appearance, car, and timeline matched perfectly,” she said. “I thought, ‘My God, it must have been him.’”

However, her theory was later disproven, as Bundy wasn’t known to be in New York City at the time, and his abductions didn’t begin until 1974. Harry also admitted the car didn’t match Bundy’s Volkswagen. On RuPaul’s podcast, she said, “I’m pretty sure it wasn’t his car. The dashboard was different—more square.” Still, a chilling experience!

9. The hit song “Call Me” was initially intended for Stevie Nicks.

Penned by songwriter Giorgio Moroder, “Call Me” held the top spot for six weeks, making it the best-selling single of 1980. However, the song nearly didn’t reach Harry; Moroder initially offered it to Stevie Nicks. She reportedly adored the demo but couldn’t record it due to label conflicts (she had recently signed with a new label, complicating collaboration with Moroder).

10. Debbie Harry is celebrated as a fashion icon.

Early in Blondie’s rise, Debbie Harry started working with fashion designer and artist Stephen Sprouse on her stage outfits. Sprouse, then collaborating with Halston, dressed Harry in slip dresses, chic berets, trench coats, and boots. As she recalled to W magazine, they also incorporated found objects into her looks. “There was a playful creativity,” she said. “New York City was bankrupt, and the streets were filled with discarded treasures. People were being evicted, and landlords would toss their belongings onto the sidewalks, offering unexpected inspiration.”

Dazed & Confused magazine highlighted some of the singer’s most memorable outfits, including a dress made from a zebra-print pillowcase, which she wore during a legendary 1978 ZigZag magazine photoshoot. Other standout looks featured an “Andy Warhol’s BAD” T-shirt (Harry was famously depicted in several of Warhol’s works); a petite leather motorcycle jacket (“I was quite small back then,” Harry noted); and a DIY screen-printed T-shirt paired with a black beret and stylish pants. She revealed the latter ensemble was inspired by Patty Hearst and Faye Dunaway’s looks in Bonnie and Clyde.

This article was originally published in 2019 and has been updated for 2022.