Cherie Ann Currie (born November 30, 1959) is an American singer, musician, actress and artist. Currie was the lead vocalist of

The Runaways The Runaways were an all-female American rock band who recorded and performed from 1975 to 1979. The band released four studio albums and one live album during its run. Among their best-known songs are " Cherry Bomb", " Hollywood", " Queens o ...

, a rock band from Los Angeles, in the mid-to-late 1970s. After The Runaways, she became a solo artist. Then she teamed up with her identical twin sister, Marie Currie, and released an album with her. Their duet " Since You've Been Gone" reached number 95 on US charts. Their band was called Cherie and Marie Currie. She is also well known for her role in the movie ''

Foxes Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

''.

Early life

Currie was born to Don Currie and actress Marie Harmon. She was raised in Encino,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, with three siblings, an identical twin sister, Marie Currie, an elder sister, actress Sondra Currie, and a brother, Don Currie Jr. Currie and her twin sister were given a role on an episode of ''

My Three Sons ''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seasons. ''My Three Sons'' chroni ...

'' at the age of two. They were going to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" with

Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series, in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...

but they froze during filming and their part was cut from the show. Before Currie and her twin sister rose to fame, they danced on ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pr ...

''. They appeared on the show as background dancers.

Career

Runaways

Currie was the teenage lead vocalist for the all-female rock band

with bandmates

Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...

Lita Ford Lita Rossana Ford (born 19 September 1958) is an English-born American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the lead guitarist for the all-female rock band the Runaways in the late 1970s, before embarking on a successful glam metal solo ...

, Sandy West, Jackie Fox and Vicki Blue. She joined the band in 1975, at age 15''. Bomp!'' magazine described her as "the lost daughter of

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the " Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band The Stooges, who w ...

and

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...

Solo

After three albums with the Runaways (''

'', '' Queens of Noise'' and ''

Live in Japan ''Live in Japan'' can refer to one of the following albums or videos: Albums * ''Live in Japan'' (21st Century Schizoid Band album) * ''Live in Japan'' (22-20s album) * ''Live in Japan'' (B.B. King album) * ''Live in Japan'' (Beck, Bogert & Appice ...

''), Currie went on to be a solo artist. She signed a contract with Mercury saying she would record four records, but she left the Runaways after the third album, thus she was obligated to record another album. She recorded it solo and the result was '' Beauty's Only Skin Deep'' for Polygram Records. Marie Currie did a duet with Cherie on her solo record "Love at First Sight".

Cherie and Marie Currie

Cherie and Marie went on a US tour in 1977, and when Marie would join Cherie on stage to sing the encores the audience would go wild. Then they went on a Japan tour in 1978. While in Japan, the twins performed on many TV shows. So Cherie ran with the idea of two blonds are better than one, and changed the band name from Cherie Currie to ''Cherie and Marie Currie''. With Marie Currie, she recorded '' Messin' with the Boys'' for Capitol Records and '' Young and Wild'' for Raven. ''Messin' with the Boys'' was released in 1980. ''Messin' with the Boys'' received more radio play than ''Beauty's Only Skin Deep'' and, the song " Since You Been Gone" off ''Messin' with the Boys'' charted number 95 on U.S. charts. Both the single "This Time" and the album ''Messin' with the Boys'' made the top 200 on U.S. charts. Cherie and Marie performed on television shows in the 1980s including ''

Sha Na Na Sha Na Na was an American rock and roll doo-wop group. Formed in 1969, but performing a song-and-dance repertoire based on 1950s hit songs, it simultaneously revived and parodied the music and the New York street culture of the 1950s. After ga ...

'',

The Mike Douglas Show ''The Mike Douglas Show'' was an American daytime television talk show that was hosted by Mike Douglas. It began as a local program in Cleveland before being carried on other stations owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting. The show went into natio ...

,''

The Merv Griffin Show ''The Merv Griffin Show'' is an American television talk show starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, May 10, 1965 to July 4, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 197 ...

'' among others. Along with the album recordings with Marie, Cherie and Marie sang, wrote, and produced songs for ''

The Rosebud Beach Hotel ''The Rosebud Beach Hotel'' is a 1984 American comedy film directed by Harry Hurwitz and starring Colleen Camp, Peter Scolari, Christopher Lee, and Fran Drescher. Plot After taking over a failing Miami hotel with her workaholic fiancé Elliot ( ...

'' and its soundtrack called, '' The Rosebud Beach Hotel Soundtrack''. In the film, they acted and sang together. In 1991, Cherie and Marie Currie performed a tribute concert to Paula Pierce, a member of

The Pandoras The Pandoras is an all-female garage punk band from Los Angeles, California with a run from 1982 to 1991. The band is among the first handful of all-female rock bands to ever be signed. From the beginning, the band found a strong following in th ...

, at the Coconut Teaser. For the final performance, the remaining Pandoras backed the Curries. Currie performed at the Runaways' reunion in 1994 with other Runaways Fox and West. Her sister Marie joined the three Runaways on stage and performed with the band. In 1998, Cherie and Marie held a concert at the Golden Apple, in support of their re-released version of ''Messin' with the Boys''. Cherie's ex-bandmate West joined Cherie on stage to perform some of the Runaways songs. The Curries and West signed autographs after the show. ''Young and Wild'' was released in 1998. It was Cherie and Marie's first compilation album. It contains tracks from ''Beauty's Only Skin Deep'', ''Messin with the Boys'', ''Flaming School Girls'' (the Runaways' compilation album), and one new track co-written by Marie. In 1999 Rocket City Records released Currie's studio album ''The 80's Collection''. The album contains guest work by Marie Currie.

Film

Cherie starred in the film ''

'' in 1980 with

Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the hon ...

. She received strong reviews for her acting debut, and because of this film she received many roles in other films. Along with starring in ''Foxes'' (her best-known film), she starred in ''

Parasite Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted structurally to this way of lif ...

'', ''

Wavelength In physics, the wavelength is the spatial period of a periodic wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats. It is the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase on the wave, such as two adjacent crests, tr ...

'', '' Twilight Zone: The Movie'', ''

'' (with Marie Currie), '' Rich Girl'', and others, as well as numerous guest spots on television series (''Matlock'' and ''Murder, She Wrote'', among others). In 1984 Currie was cast as Brenda in '' Savage Streets'', but was replaced by Linda Blair. In the same year Currie was cast as the lead singer of the fictional band the Dose in the film ''

This Is Spinal Tap ''This Is Spinal Tap'' (also known as ''This Is Spınal Tap: A Rockumentary by Martin Di Bergi'') is a 1984 American mockumentary film co-written and directed by Rob Reiner (in his feature directorial debut). The film stars Christopher Guest, M ...

'', but her character was cut out of the film. Cherie was considered for a part in the 1985 film '' Explorers'' but, according to her autobiography, she was in the throes of drug dependency and couldn't even make it to a meeting.

Later years

Currie was a guest vocalist on Shameless's 2013 album, ''Beautiful Disaster''. Currie released singles with ex-bandmate,

and

Glenn Danzig Glenn Allen Anzalone (born June 23, 1955), better known by his stage name Glenn Danzig, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, film director, and record producer. He is the founder of the rock bands Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig. He owns ...

the same year. On October 19, 2013, Currie won the Rock Legend Award at the sixth annual Malibu Music Awards. The reward was presented to her by ex-bandmate, Lita Ford. That night Currie and Ford played on stage together for the first time in 37 years. Currie released another studio album, ''Reverie'', in 2015. The album features guest work from ex-bandmate, Lita Ford, Currie's son, Jake Hays, and Currie's ex-manager,

Kim Fowley Kim Vincent Fowley (July 21, 1939 – January 15, 2015) was the American record producer, songwriter and musician who was behind a string of novelty and cult pop rock singles in the 1960s, and managed The Runaways in the 1970s. He has been ...

. Cherie toured the UK in November 2015, to support her new album. Her special guest on her UK tour was ''Last Great Dreamers''. While in the UK, Currie recorded a live album entitled "Midnight Music in London" which features a special live appearance by

Suzi Quatro Susan Kay Quatro (born June 3, 1950) is an American singer, bass guitarist, songwriter, and actress. In the 1970s, she scored a string of hit singles that found greater success in Europe and Australia than in her homeland, reaching No. 1 in th ...

. It was released in 2016. In late May and early June 2016 Currie toured Australia and New Zealand. In 2018, Currie and her son were nominated for the Marshall Hawkins Award for Best Original Score for the film ''Take My Hand.'' In 2019, Currie's album ''Blvds of Splendor'' was released on April 13. On August 2, ''The Motivator'', her album with Brie Darling, was released. In 2020 Cherie Currie released an audio version of her memoir, Neon Angel. Her audio version of her book reached number 1 on Amazon's Best Biographies of Punk Rock Musician. In the same year, Currie contributed her vocals to the song "Flatten the Curve" for the band FTC. Currie is now a wood-carving artist, using a

chainsaw A chainsaw (or chain saw) is a portable gasoline-, electric-, or battery-powered saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar. It is used in activities such as tree felling, limbing, Log bucking, bucki ...

to create her works. She has been doing chainsaw art since 2002 and opened her own gallery in 2005 in Chatsworth, California. As a chainsaw artist, Currie has competed in and won awards at three world Chainsaw Art competitions.

Personal life

Currie struggled with drug addiction for much of her younger life, a major factor in the abrupt ending of her career. She later wrote a memoir, ''Neon Angel'', recounting life in the band and her traumatic experiences with drug addiction, sex abuse, and her broken family. ''

'', a 2010 biographical drama film executive-produced by

, focuses on the group's beginnings and explores the relationship between Currie and Jett.

Dakota Fanning Hannah Dakota Fanning (born February 23, 1994) is an American actress. She rose to prominence at the age of seven for her performance as Lucy Dawson in the drama film '' I Am Sam'' (2001), for which she received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomin ...

portrays Currie. Currie married actor

Robert Hays Robert Hays (born July 24, 1947) is an American actor, known for a variety of television and film roles since the 1970s. He came to prominence around 1980, co-starring in the two-season domestic sitcom '' Angie'', and playing the central role of ...

on May 12, 1990, and they had one son together, Jake Hays. The marriage ended in a divorce in 1997. Jake Hays learned to play guitar well enough to be included in recent recording sessions, and as a member of Currie's new touring band.

Influence on pop culture

In 1979 an alternative cover photo of Currie's album ''Beauty's only Skin Deep'' appears in the background of the feature film ''

Rock 'n' Roll High School ''Rock 'n' Roll High School'' is a 1979 American musical comedy film directed by Allan Arkush, produced by Michael Finnell, and starring P. J. Soles, Vince Van Patten, Clint Howard, and Dey Young. The film featured the punk rock group Ra ...

''. It appears when

the Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

are backstage. The sisters Dot, Helen, and Darby (played by

Chloë Sevigny Chloë Stevens Sevigny (, born November 18, 1974) is an American actress, model, filmmaker and fashion designer. Known for her work in independent films, often appearing in controversial or experimental features, Sevigny is the recipient of se ...

, Carisa Glucksman, and Darby Dougherty) are characters in the 1997 film '' Gummo'', written and directed by

Harmony Korine Harmony Korine (born January 4, 1973, some sources report September 1, 1974)
" Retrieved on 2009-10-26. is an Ame ...

, who has mentioned that "Dot and Helen were a combination of Cherie and Marie Currie, home schooling, and ''

The Shaggs The Shaggs were an American rock band formed in Fremont, New Hampshire, in 1965. The band was composed of the sisters Dorothy "Dot" Wiggin (vocals and lead guitar), Betty Wiggin (vocals and rhythm guitar), Helen Wiggin (drums) and, later, Rach ...

''." In 2006 the teen drama ''

The O.C. ''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seasons. "O.C." is an initialis ...

'', in the

season 3 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

episode "The Man of the Year", Marissa makes an entrance to "Cherry Bomb", while dressed in a provocative schoolgirl outfit, to Kaitlyn's boarding school. She pays tribute to Currie because when Currie sang "Cherry Bomb" live she wore a provocative outfit.

Discography

With the Runaways

Studio albums

* 1976 – ''

'' * 1977 – '' Queens of Noise''

Live albums

* 1977 – ''

Solo

Studio albums

* 1978 – '' Beauty's Only Skin Deep'' * 1980 – '' Messin' with the Boys'' (with Marie Currie) * 1998 – '' Young and Wild'' (with Marie Currie) * 1999 – ''80's Collection'' (with Marie Currie) * 2015 – '' Reverie'' * 2019 – '' The Motivator'' * 2020 – '' Blvds of Splendor''

Live albums

* 2013 – ''Live in Los Angeles 8/30/13'' * 2016 – ''

Midnight Music in London Midnight is the transition time from one day to the next – the moment when the date changes, on the local official clock time for any particular jurisdiction. By clock time, midnight is the opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours ...

EPs

* 2007 – ''Cherry Bomb''

Guest appearances

* 1978 – Yesterday & Today – Struck Down * 1981 –

707 707 may refer to: * 707 (number), a number * 707 (band), an American rock band * AD 707, a year in the 8th century * 707 BC, a year in the 8th century BC * The 7 July 2005 London bombings, a terrorist attack * 707th Special Mission Unit, a military ...

– The Second Album * 1984 – various artist – '' The Rosebud Beach Hotel Soundtrack'' (with Marie Currie) * 1991 – various artist – ''Rich Girl Soundtrack'' * 1990 – Tater Totz – '' Stereo: Sgt. Shonen's Exploding Plastic Eastman Band Request'' * 1993 – Atsushi Yokozeki Project – ''Raid'' * 1998 –

Precious Metal Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high economic value. Chemically, the precious metals tend to be less reactive than most elements (see noble metal). They are usually ductile and have a high lu ...

– What You See Is What You Get: The Very Best of Precious Metal * 2001 – Katt Lowe & the Othersyde – Katt Lowe & the Othersyde * 2004 – Texas Terri Bomb! – Your Lips... * 2006 –

Rick Derringer Rick Derringer (born Richard Dean Zehringer; August 5, 1947) is an American guitarist, vocalist, producer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the 1960s as founding member of his band, the McCoys. Their debut single, " Hang on Sloopy", was ...

– Rock 'n' Roll Hoochie Coo: The Best of Rick Derringer * 2007 – Dee Dee Ramone / Johnny Ramone / Marky Ramone – Ramones Solo Performances * 2008 –

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

– '' The Family Tree'' * 2003 – The Streetwalkin' Cheetahs – Maximum Overdrive * 2013 – Shameless – Beautiful ''Disaster'' * 2013 – '' Warehouse 13 – Runaway'' * 2013 –

– ''"Some Velvet Morning"'' * 2018 – Fanny Walked The Earth – ''"When We Need Her"'' * 2020 – FTC – ''"Flatten the Curve"'' * 2020 - Cherie Currie and Dave Schulz - "What The World Needs Now Is Love" * 2020 - Ryan Cassidy - "Small Price (featuring Cherie Currie)"

Singles

Album charts

Filmography

Bibliography

References

External links

Cherie Currie's Chainsaw Art site
*
All Music

2016 Interview – Australian Rock Show Podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Currie, Cherie Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Los Angeles Musicians from Los Angeles American feminists American identical twins Identical twin females Twin musicians American punk rock singers American film actresses American television actresses American women sculptors American woodcarvers Women punk rock singers Feminist artists Feminist musicians The Runaways members Sex-positive feminists 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers American women heavy metal singers American women rock singers Women rock singers 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American women artists Chainsaw sculptors Women woodcarvers 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers 1959 births