Chester Bennington biography, wife and children, age and cause of death

Biography of Chester Bennington

Chester Charles Bennington was an American musician who rose to fame as the powerhouse lead vocalist of Linkin Park. He won two Grammy Awards.

Linkin Park Lead Singer Chester Bennington

Childhood

The future rock star was born on March 20, 1976, in Phoenix, Arizona. His father was a police officer who investigated cases of child sexual abuse, and his mother was a nurse. Chester's passion for music kicked in early; his first idols were Depeche Mode and Stone Temple Pilots.

His parents divorced shortly after he turned 11. Chester took the news hard, started skipping school, and got involved with drugs. In an eerie coincidence, Bennington's story closely mirrors that of musician Chris Cornell, his close friend, who also struggled with his parents' divorce and became addicted to cocaine, eventually taking his own life in 2017.

Before his parents' divorce, Chester Bennington was a very ordinary child

While attending middle school (first in Phoenix, then in Washington, where he moved with his mother after the divorce), Chester abused marijuana, alcohol, and LSD. Seen as thin and weird by his peers, he was constantly bullied: "They beat me up like a rag doll because I was skinny and different."

In one interview, the musician admitted that at age 7, he was raped by a friend who was several years older. This continued until he was 13. Chester didn't seek help because he feared being labeled as gay or, even worse, not being believed. Later, he revealed the abuser's name to his father but insisted on keeping it quiet.

The tense home environment and constant bullying pushed him to the edge. He felt like he was close to killing someone and running away. To cope with his emotions, he began drawing and writing poetry. Many of these poems later became the foundation for songs by his future world-famous band.

A puny teenager with glasses was mercilessly bullied

When Bennington turned seventeen, his mother caught him doing drugs, and he left home. To pay rent for his new place, he got a job at Burger King.

Chester graduated from high school in 1994 (photo from the graduation album)

First Steps

Despite his drug struggles, Bennington never forgot his childhood dream of becoming a rock star. In 1993, he became the lead singer of Gray Daze, which soon gained popularity in Phoenix. However, Bennington felt out of place and left the band in the late '90s due to creative differences.

Young Chester Bennington as part of Gray Daze

In 1996, Chester moved to Los Angeles, where he joined the rock band Xero, founded by Mike Shinoda and Brad Delson. Shortly after Bennington became the lead vocalist, the band was renamed Hybrid Theory. However, they faced issues with another band named Hybrid, which accused them of plagiarism.

Chester came up with a new name — Lincoln Park (after a park in Santa Monica he often visited), but since the domain was taken, the band became known as Linkin Park.

Linkin Park

After facing multiple studio rejections but building a massive fan following, Linkin Park finally landed a deal with Warner Bros and dropped their debut album "Hybrid Theory" in 2000. The album was a massive hit, going multi-platinum and becoming the best-selling debut album of the decade.

Their unique blend of rock, rap, and electronic music made Linkin Park one of the hottest bands as the new millennium kicked off. Chester Bennington's piercing vocals became the band's signature.

Linkin Park – Numb

Beyond Linkin Park, Bennington launched a side project called Dead by Sunrise in 2005, teaming up with musicians Amir Derakh and Ryan Shuck. The group's first album, "Out Of Ashes," was released in 2009.

In 2013, Stone Temple Pilots' vocalist left the band - and Chester had been a huge fan since childhood. The band invited Bennington to step in as their new frontman. He spent six months performing with his idols, putting his own spin on their classic tracks. He also participated in recording their new album "High Rise."

Movies

In 2006, Chester made a cameo as himself in "Crank" starring Jason Statham, then appeared again in the 2009 sequel. In the first film, he played a pharmacy customer, while in the sequel, you can catch him in the crowd at the racetrack.

Chester Bennington Crank cameo

In the horror film "Saw 3D" (2010), he played an unfortunate racist, Evan, who, along with his friend and girlfriend, faced death at a scrap yard.

Chester Bennington's Personal Life

From 1994 to 1995, Chester Bennington, fresh out of high school, dated Elka Brand. After their breakup, she gave birth to his son, Jamie (born in 1996). In 2006, he adopted her younger son, Isaiah.

In October 1996, he married Samantha Olit. This was during a tough period when Chester worked at Burger King, barely scraping by on minimum wage. The newlyweds couldn't afford wedding rings, so they tattooed them on their ring fingers instead.

Chester Bennington and Samantha were married for almost 10 years

In 2002, the couple had a son named Draven. Three years later, their relationship—which had survived poverty and Chester's drug addiction—couldn't handle the fame that suddenly overwhelmed the musician. The couple constantly argued, but the final straw was Bennington's relationship with Playboy model Talinda Bentley. After meeting her, he went straight to Samantha and asked for a divorce.

Pictured: Chester Bennington with his second wife, Talinda Bentley

In 2005, six months after his divorce, Chester married Talinda, who gave birth to three children: son Tyler (born in 2006) and twins Lily and Lila (born in 2011).

Although Chester overcame his drug addiction, another destructive habit took its place—he began abusing alcohol. In 2011, he quit drinking, saying he couldn't stand the person he'd become.

Chester Bennington's Death

On July 20, 2017, Chester Bennington took his own life on the 53rd birthday of his friend Chris Cornell, the Soundgarden frontman who had died by suicide two months earlier. Chester was found in his Los Angeles home. "It's shocking, heartbreaking, but it's true," Mike Shinoda tweeted. Nine days later, Chester was laid to rest in California at the South Coast Botanic Garden.

On July 20, 2017, Chester Bennington passed away

In January 2019, Lamb of God guitarist Mark Morton released the song "Cross Off," which he had worked on with Chester a few months before the Linkin Park frontman's suicide.

Mark Morton - Cross Off ft. Chester Bennington

Photos: Chester Bennington