Chester Charles Bennington was a famous American singer and songwriter who was best known for being the front-man of the popular rock band ‘Linkin Park’. Bennigton rose to prominence in 2000 when the band released their debut album titled ‘Hybrid Theory’ which proved to be a major commercial success. In 2005, RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) certified the album Diamond and it became the decade’s best-selling debut album. Following the success of their debut album, the band released 6 more commercially successful albums.

In 2005, while he was still a member of ‘Linkin Park’, Bennigton formed another band ‘Dead by Sunrise’, of which he was the lead singer and the band debuted in 2009 with the album ‘Out of Ashes’. From 2013-2015, Bennigton served as the front-man of the band ‘Stone Temple Pilots’. American Music Magazine Hit Parader named Bennigton at number 46 in their list of Top 100 American Heavy Metal Vocalists.

Early Life and Education

Bennington was born on 20 March, 1976 in Phoenix, Arizona to nurse Susan Elaine Johnson and police detective Lee Russell Benington, who specialized on child s*x abuse cases. His parents divorced when he was 11 and he acquired two half sisters and a half brother named Brian from his parents’ subsequent marriages. Bennigton’s father won his custody in the divorce but the divorce impacted him negatively and he started abusing drugs.

Bennigton was educated at Centennial High School, Ironwood High School and Greenway High School. At Greenway, Bennigton formed his first band called Grey Daze. He graduated in 1994 from Washington High School. Bennigton was se*ually abused by an older male friend from ages 7-13 but kept it secret in fear of being labelled gay. Upon revealing his abuser’s identity, he learnt that his abuser was also a victim of se*ual abuse and decided not to press charges. Bennigton was also bullied severely in high school.

Career Rise

Bennigton gained international recognition with the release of his band, Linkin Park’s debut album ‘Hybrid Theory’ in 2000, for which he gave vocals. The album proved to be a huge commercial success and even achieved blockbuster status. It entered the Billboard charts of U.S. on number 16 and became the year’s best selling album. The band released their second album ‘Meteora’ in 2003 which featured the hit song ‘Numb’. ‘Meteora’ also became a huge success and reached the number 1 position in both US and UK. Bennigton formed another rock band in 2005 and named it ‘Dead by Sunrise’. He served as the lead vocalist of the band.

‘Linkin Park’ released their third album titled ‘Minutes to Midnight’ in 2007 which sold more than 600,000 copies within its first week and became a billboard chart topper. 2 years later his band ‘Dead by Sunrise’ released their debut album titled ‘Out of Ashes’. In 2010, Linkin Park released their fourth album called ‘A Thousand Suns’. Other successful albums by ‘Linkin Park’ include ‘Living Things’ in 2012 of which he was also lead vocalist, ‘The Hunting Party’ in 2014 and ‘One More Light’ in 2017, all of which proved successful. Bennigton nurtured a lifelong dream of working with the band ‘Stone Temple Pilots’ which he was able to achieve in 2013.

  Personal Life

Bennigton was in a relationship with a woman named Elka Brand and father a son named Jaime with her. He also adopted a boy named Isaiah. Bennigton has been married twice. In 1996, Bennington married Samantha Marie Olit. The couple became parents to a son named Draven Sebastian born in 2002. Bennigton and Olit parted ways in 2005.

Bennigton then got married to former playboy model Talinda Ann Bentley. Together they had three children; son Tyler Lee and twin daughters Lilly and Lila.

 Chester Bennington – Suicide Reason

Bennigton committed suicide by hanging on July 20, 2017. His body was found at his Palos Verdes Estates, California home.     The reason attributed was depression.

Net Worth

Bennigton had an estimated net worth of approximately $30 Million