Debra Byrne Biography
Debra Byrne is an Australian pop singer, variety performer, theatre and television actor, cabaret writer, director, and choreographer. In March 1974, she launched her solo career with a cover version of “He’s a Rebel,” which reached at No. 25 on the Go-Set Australian Singles chart. She received Best Teenage Personality at the 1974 Logie Awards, followed by the Queen of Pop Award, both sponsored by TV Week. She won both events again the following year.
How old is Debra Byrne? – Age
She is 66 years old as of 30 March 2023. She was born in 1957 in Melbourne, Australia. Her real name is Debra Anne Byrne.
Debra Byrne Family
She is the daughter of Norman Owen Byrne and Verna Alice née Reid gave birth to Byrne. She was the fifth of six siblings, the others being Lynda, Cheryl, Sandra, Peter, and Robyn. Rebecca, her younger half-sister, is also present. Norman was an engineering foreman who grew aggressive when he was inebriated. According to Byrne, her maternal grandpa, Ken Reid, sexually molested her from the age of three until she was thirteen. Byrne discontinued the use of “Debbie” as her first name in 1993.
Debra Byrne Husband – Children
By the end of 1978, Byrne had married David John Dudley and the pair were living in Elwood. The couple was exonerated of drug charges the following month, and Byrne stated that “she knew of some entertainers who had ‘come to grief’ by being associated with drugs.” They have a daughter named Arja. Her marriage to Dudley ended in divorce in 1980, and her mother died in the same year. Debra gave birth to Lauren, her second child, who was fathered by filmmaker Chris Webb.
Debra Byrne Sunset Boulevard
From October 1996 until June 1997, Byrne’s appearances as Norma Desmond on Sunset Boulevard were disrupted by “her frequent and sudden absences from the show [which] were partially blamed for the show’s lack of success” despite “great critical notices.”
Debra Byrne Concert
Since 1972, Byrne has been a frequent performer at Melbourne’s Sidney Myer Music Bowl’s Christmas Eve Carols by Candlelight program. She sang a duet of Silent Night with her five-year-old daughter, Lucille, who was making her professional stage and broadcast debut at the 2005 show. Not Quite Ripe: A Memoir, her autobiography, was released by Pan Macmillan in late 2006. “On and off,” she said, she worked on the book for four years. I wrote and I didn’t write.” In late October 2007, Byrne reprised her role as Grizabella in an ExitLeft production of Cats at the Derwent Entertainment Centre in Hobart.
In 2016, she played Carlotta Campion in a concert version of Follies at Melbourne Recital Hall for three nights in May. She collaborated with Vika Bull on their Carole King tribute concert, Tapestry, in August. Byrne starred in the third season of the ABC sitcom Upper Middle Bogan in late 2016.
Debra Byrne Heroin
Between 1980 and 1985, Byrne’s career was delayed owing to her heroin addiction, for which she sought treatment at Odyssey House. A sex tape of her and a past lover was stolen and distributed to the public, which added to her problems.