What was Patsy Cline’s birth name before she became a country music star?

Patsy Cline was born Virginia Patterson Hensley on September 8, 1932.

She was born in Winchester, Virginia, to Sam and Hilda Hensley. As a child, she sang in church and developed an interest in performing. The name “Patsy” came from her middle name, Patterson, while “Cline” came from her first marriage to Gerald Cline. She later used the stage name professionally as her recording career developed.

Cline became one of country music’s most influential vocalists through recordings such as “Crazy,” “I Fall to Pieces,” and “Sweet Dreams.” Her career was brief: she died in a plane crash near Camden, Tennessee, on March 5, 1963, aged 30. Her birth name is sometimes confused with the names of other pioneering female country singers, including Kitty Wells, whose birth name was Ellen Muriel Deason, and Brenda Lee, whose birth name was Brenda Mae Tarpley.