Happy birthday, Debbie Harry! The legendary rocker, the frontwoman for Blondie, celebrates her 80th birthday on Tuesday, July 1.
The singer, real name Angela Trimble, has been in the entertainment business for over five decades, first working as a dancer and even a Playboy Bunny before co-forming Blondie in 1974.
On the eve of her milestone birthday, she sat down with Vanity Fair to look back on her illustrious career and especially all the scrutiny that has come with it, from being a female in a male-oriented genre of music to her exploits in the world of Hollywood.
© Getty ImagesDebbie also got candid about keeping up appearances as the lead of one of the world's most popular groups in the '70s and '80s, and whether she felt any "pressure" to "look good" during that time.
She confirmed that she had indulged in cosmetic surgery, which she has been open about in the past, and affirmed that it served as a confidence booster of sorts for her. "It's always been a tool for me," Debbie explained.
"It's not like I started having cosmetic surgery as a kid in school — I think nowadays a lot of girls are getting cosmetic surgery when they're 10, 11 years old. God bless if it improves their lives and they feel happy."
© Getty ImagesThe "One Way or Another" hitmaker continued: "But as far as me having cosmetic surgery, it made me feel better about myself. Maybe it made me feel happy, or more confident."
She explained that she found such procedures a "necessary" evil of sorts to lengthen a female musician's tenure in the industry, at least at that point in her career. "It was just something that I felt necessary at the time."
"I wanted to work, and so much of women being attractive, and being a selling point, is clearly showbiz. If you're going to be in the business, be in it."
© Getty ImagesDebbie also confronted the idea that people at the time saw her as not being so "smart" because of her persona, eschewing any androgynous or masculine styles in the rock space for traditionally feminine attire like dresses, jumpsuits and sequins.
"I was always sort of the pop tart," she joked. "Whatever it took. We were ready to take what came along. And that's one of the things I really like about live music."
© Getty ImagesIn her 2019 memoir, Face It, the "Heart of Glass" singer openly spoke about being pro-cosmetic surgery, writing: "I think it's the same as having a flu shot basically, another way of looking after yourself."
Saying she had a facelift for "business reasons," she added: "If it makes you feel better and look better and work better, that's what it's all about."
© Getty ImagesDebbie continued: "Getting older is hard on your looks. Like everybody else, I have good days and bad days and those, '[expletive], I hope nobody sees me today' days." On all the coverage of her looks over the years, she even mused: "It's sometimes made me wonder if I've ever accomplished anything beyond my image."
