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Christine Joy Amphlett (; 25 October 1959 – 21 April 2013) was an Australian singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the frontwoman of the rock band Divinyls. She was notable for her brash, overtly sexual persona and subversive humour in lyrics, performances and media interviews.
Amphlett, Jeremy Paul and guitarist Mark McEntee formed Divinyls in Sydney in 1980. With Amphlett and McEntee as its core members, the band underwent various lineup changes before dissolving in 1996. The band's biggest-selling single, "I Touch Myself" (1990), achieved a No. 1 ranking in Australia, No. 4 in the United States and No. 10 in the United Kingdom (UK). The band was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 2006.
On the stage, Amphlett, who was 17 years old, played Linda Lips in the R-rated adults only musical comedy Let My People Come (1976), starred in the musical Blood Brothers (1988) and portrayed Judy Garland in multiple productions of The Boy from Oz. On the screen, she played a supporting role in Monkey Grip (1982).
She worked as a child model from the age of three until 12, and later said, "I didn't come from a very wealthy family so that actually clothed me and allowed me to have things".
Amphlett attended Belmont High School.
Divinyls consisted of an ever-changing line-up formed around Amphlett and McEntee, whose relationship was always volatile. Nevertheless, the band released six albums between 1982 and 1996, peaking in 1991 with the success of their single "I Touch Myself", which reached #1 in Australia, #4 in the US and #10 in the UK. The band, which underwent various lineup changes, broke up in 1996.
The band was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 2006.
Amphlett and McEntee barely spoke after the band broke up, but resumed contact when they were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame and eventually announced a new tour and album. The band recorded and released a single, "Don't Wanna Do This", and toured Australia, but the proposed reunion album was never made.
In 2011, she released the single "Summer Song" under the name The Tulips, a band consisting of Amphlett, Charley Drayton and Kraig Jarret Johnson. It was used in the soundtrack for the film The Music Never Stopped.
In 1988, she starred opposite Russell Crowe in the first Australian production of Willy Russell's stage musical Blood Brothers.
Amphlett played Judy Garland in the original touring production of The Boy from Oz, with Todd McKenney playing the role of Peter Allen. When the highly successful show transferred to Broadway in the year 2000, Garland was played by American performer Isabel Keating and Allen by Hugh Jackman. On its return to Australia as an arena spectacular, Amphlett resumed playing the role.
On 27 July 1999, Amphlett married American drummer Charley Drayton,"Amphlett (Chrissy) Christina", Who's Who in Australia, Crown Content, 2010. who played drums on the Divinyls' eponymous album and was the drummer in the reformed group.
In an interview on the Nine Network program A Current Affair, on 7 December 2007, Amphlett revealed that she had multiple sclerosis. On 20 October 2010, she announced that she had breast cancer and was being treated in New York, where she lived with her husband. She also said that her sister was a breast cancer survivor. On 24 January 2011, she stated she was free of cancer.
A Melbourne central city laneway has been named "Amphlett Lane" in Amphlett's honour, complete with a commemorative plaque and two artworks. In November 2018, Amphlett was posthumously inducted into the Music Victoria Hall of Fame.
Cancer Council NSW stated, "Through this campaign we are encouraging women to get to know their breasts better, to know what is normal for them and to participate in breast screening if they're in the right age range."
|- | ARIA Music Awards of 2006 | Divinyls (Chrissy Amphlett) | ARIA Hall of Fame |
|- | 1982 | Chrissy Amphlett (Divinyls) | Most Popular Female | |- | 1984 | Christina Amphlett – "In My Life" (Divinyls) | Best Female Performance in a Video | |-
! |- | 2001 | Chrissy Amphlett – The Boy from Oz | Helpmann Award for Best Female Actor in a Musical | | |-
(wins only)
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| 2000
| Chrissy Amphlett
| Supporting Musical Theatrical Performer of the Year
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|- | 2018 ||Chrissy Amphlett|| Hall of Fame || |-
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