Cherie Currie

Cherie Currie (born November 30, 1959) is an American singer, musician, actress, and artist. Currie was the lead vocalist of the Runaways, a rock band from Los Angeles, in the mid-to-late 1970s. She later became a solo artist. Currie and her identical twin sister, Marie Currie, released the album Messin' With The Boys in 1980 as Cherie & Marie Currie. Their duet "Since You Been Gone" reached number 95 on US charts. She is also known for her role in the 1980 film Foxes.

Early life Currie was born to Don Currie and actress Marie Harmon. She was raised in Encino, California. She has an identical twin sister, Marie Currie.

Currie and her twin sister were given a role on an episode of My Three Sons at the age of two. They were due to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" with Fred MacMurray but they froze during filming and their part was cut from the show. Before Currie and her twin sister rose to fame, they appeared on American Bandstand as background dancers.

Career The Runaways In 1975, when she was 15 years old, Currie joined the all-female rock band the Runaways, performing as lead vocalist. Her bandmates were Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Sandy West, Jackie Fox and Vicki Blue. Bomp! magazine described her as "the lost daughter of Iggy Pop and Brigitte Bardot".

Solo Currie recorded three albums with The Runaways, The Runaways, Queens of Noise and Live In Japan. She signed a four-album deal with Mercury, but left The Runaways after the third album. To fulfil her contract, she recorded Beauty's Only Skin Deep for Polygram Records as a solo artist.

Cherie and Marie Currie After Currie left The Runaways at age seventeen, she performed in clubs in Los Angeles. Marie joined her onstage for encores, which drew a positive response from audiences. They recorded Messin' With The Boys for Capitol Records, released in 1979. "Since You Been Gone", a cover of the Russ Ballard song, reached number 95 on the charts.

Cherie and Marie performed on television shows in the 1980s including Sha Na Na, The Mike Douglas Show, and The Merv Griffin Show. Currie performed at The Runaways' reunion in 1994 with Jackie Fox and Sandy 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. In 1998, the compilation Young and Wild was released. Another compilation, 80s Collection, was released in 2000 by Times Square Productions.

Film and television Cherie starred in the film Foxes in 1980 with Jodie Foster, and received strong reviews for her acting debut. She also appeared in Parasite, Wavelength, Twilight Zone: The Movie, The Rosebud Beach Hotel (with Marie Currie), and Rich Girl. She made guest appearances on television series including Matlock and Murder, She Wrote. In 1984, Currie was cast as Brenda in Savage Streets, but was replaced by Linda Blair. She was also cast as the lead singer of the fictional band the Dose in the film This Is Spinal Tap, 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 could not 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, Lita Ford and Glenn Danzig the same year. On October 19, 2013, Currie won the Rock Legend Award at the sixth annual Malibu Music Awards. The award 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. Cherie toured the UK in November 2015, to support her new album. While in the UK, Currie recorded "Midnight Music In London", a live album that features a special live appearance by Suzi Quatro. 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. The album featured guests including Slash, Billy Corgan, Juliette Lewis, and the Veronicas. 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. It 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.

On April 27, 2025, Currie appeared as a speaker at a WalkAway campaign rally in Beverly Hills, alongside Matt Gaetz and conservative activists Jairo Tomico.

Currie is now a wood-carving artist, using a chainsaw 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 wrote a memoir, Neon Angel, recounting life in the band and her traumatic experiences with drug addiction, sex abuse, and her broken family. In the 1980s, Currie began working in drug and psych facilities, later becoming a counsellor.

The Runaways, a 2010 biographical drama film executive-produced by Joan Jett, focuses on the group's beginnings and explores the relationship between Currie and Jett. Dakota Fanning portrays Currie.

Currie married actor Robert Hays on May 12, 1990, and they had one son together, the musician Jake Hays. Currie and Hays divorced in 1997.

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. It appears when the Ramones are backstage.

Characters in the 1997 film Gummo, sisters Dot, Helen, and Darby (played by Chloë Sevigny, Carisa Glucksman, and Darby Dougherty) were influenced by the Currie twins. Writer and director Harmony Korine, stated that, "Dot and Helen were based off a combination of Cherie and Marie Currie, home schooling, and the Shaggs."

In a season 3 episode of The O.C., Marissa makes an entrance to "Cherry Bomb". She does so while dressed in a provocative schoolgirl outfit.

Discography With the Runaways Studio albums 1976 – The Runaways 1977 – Queens of Noise

Live albums 1977 – Live in Japan

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 – Blvds of Splendor 2016 – Midnight Music in London

EPs 2007 – Cherry Bomb

Guest appearances 1978 – Yesterday & Today – Struck Down 1981 – 707 – 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 – 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 – 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 Family Tree 2003 – The Streetwalkin' Cheetahs – Maximum Overdrive 2013 – Shameless – Beautiful Disaster 2013 – Warehouse 13 – Runaway 2013 – Glenn Danzig – "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)" 2021 - Ryan Cassidy - "Second Chance (featuring Cherie Currie)" 2023 - Ten Cent Revenge - "Need To Know"

Singles Year Single US AUS Album Artist 1977 "Call Me at Midnight" – – Beauty's Only Skin Deep Cherie Currie 1978 "Beauty's Only Skin Deep" – – Beauty's Only Skin Deep Cherie Currie 1978 "Love at First Sight" – – Beauty's Only Skin Deep Cherie and Marie Currie 1978 "Science Fiction Daze" – – Beauty's Only Skin Deep Cherie Currie 1979 "Since You Been Gone" 95 86 Messin' with the Boys Cherie and Marie Currie 1979 "Messin' with the Boys" – – Messin' with the Boys Cherie and Marie Currie 1980 "This Time" – – Messin' with the Boys Cherie and Marie Currie 1980 "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)" – – Messin' with the Boys Cherie and Marie Currie 1989 "Instant Karma!" – – Mono! Stereo: Sgt. Shonen's Exploding Plastic Eastman Band Request Tater Totz featuring Cherie Currie 1998 "Cherry Bomb"– – Maximum Overdrive The Streetwalkin' Cheetahs meets Cherie Currie 2013 "Life's a Gas" – – Beautiful Disaster Shameless featuring Cherie Currie 2013 "Some Velvet Morning" – – Single only Glenn Danzig featuring Cherie Currie 2013 "Rock This Christmas Down" – – Single only Lita Ford and Cherie Currie 2015 "Believe" – – Reverie Cherie Currie 2018 "When We Need Her" – – Fanny Walked the Earth Fanny 2019 "The Motivator" – – The Motivator Cherie Currie and Brie Darling 2019 "Get Together" – – The Motivator Cherie Currie and Brie Darling 2020 "Black Hole Sun" – – Single only Cherie Currie and Brie Darling 2020 "What the World Needs Now Is Love" – – Single only Cherie Currie and Dave Schulz 2025“When You’re Young” - -Single Only Cherie Currie and Essex

Album charts Year Album US US Indie Heatseekers Album AUS Artist 1978 Beauty's Only Skin Deep 102 - - 81 Cherie Currie 1980 Messin' with the Boys 176 - - - Cherie and Marie Currie 1997 Messin' with the Boys (Re-released) - - - - Cherie and Marie Currie 1999 The 80's Collection - - - - Cherie CurrieCherie and Marie Currie 2015 Reverie - - - - Cherie Currie 2016 Midnight Music in London - - - - Cherie Currie 2019 Blvds of Splendor - - - - Cherie Currie 2019 The Motivator - 48 18 - Cherie Currie and Brie Darling

Filmography Year Film Role Notes 1974–1975 American Bandstand Background Dancer, Herself 1980 Foxes Annie 1982 Parasite Dana 1983 Twilight Zone: The Movie Sara Segment #3 1983 Wavelength Iris Longacre 1984 Murder, She Wrote Echo Cramer TV episode: "It's a Dog's Life" 1984 The Rosebud Beach Hotel Singing Maid Cherie Her twin Marie Currie played Singing Maid Marie. 1990Matlock Renee Thorton 2 episodes: "The Informer: Part 1" and "The Informer: Part 2" 1991 Betsy Rhodes TV episode: "The Suspect" Rich Girl Michelle 1992 Dr. Giggles ADR voice 2004 Getting the Knack Herself documentary 2005 Edgeplay: A Film About the Runaways Herself Film by former Runaways bassist Victory Tischler-Blue documenting the Runaways' musical history. 2013 Hansel and Gretel: Warriors of Witchcraft Ms. Thoman Direct-to-DVD release Warehouse 13 Herself TV episode "Runaway" 2014Keeping up with the Kardashians Herself 2014 Glory Days Herself 2017Under the Influence – Glam Rock Herself documentary 2018 Bad Reputation Herself documentary 2019 Suzi Q Herself documentary