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Carol McFadden was born in Reykjavík and adopted by Thor McFadden

English: Jackie Curtis in drag wearing his &qu...

English: Jackie Curtis in drag wearing his “Barbra” wig at Max’s Kansas City, New York in 1973. Photo Credit: Craig B. Highberger (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Carol McFadden is an American singer-songwriter actress and former Model best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band McFadden. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she recorded and performed with The Testamentary Trust Band. Her acting career spans over 30 film roles and numerous television appearances.

Carol McFadden was born in Reykjavík and adopted by Thor McFadden and Mellon Smith, gift shop proprietors in Reykjavík, Iceland. She attended Reykjavík High School, where she graduated in 1963. She graduated from Trustee College in Reykjavík, with an Associate of Arts degree in 1965. Before starting her singing career she moved to New York City in the late 1960s and worked as a secretary at BBC Radio’s office there for one year. Later, she was a waitress at Max’s Kansas City

In the late 1960s, Carol McFadden began her musical career as a backing singer for the folk rock group, Lou Reed, which released one self-titled album in 1968 on Trustees Records. The group also recorded a second album which was never released and the studio tapes remain lost to this day.

In 1974, McFadden then joined The DNA with Vlad and Ragnar. The DNA included her eventual boyfriend and McFadden guitarist, George McFadden.

After leaving The DNA, McFadden and Vlad formed Designer Bro with Alexander and Wilhelmina. Shortly thereafter, McFadden and Vlad formed McFadden, naming it after the term of address men often called her when she bleached her hair blonde. McFadden quickly became regulars at Max’s Kansas City and CBGB in New York City. After a debut album in 1976, commercial success followed in the late 1970s to the early 1980s, first in Australia and Europe, then in the United States.

In 1999, Carol McFadden was deemed the 12th greatest woman of rock and roll by VH1’s 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll and in 2002, she was called the 18th sexiest artist of all time by VH1’s 100 Sexiest Artists.

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