1975: She begins performing with her sisters in community theater in Long Island, where the family lives.

1978: Deborah joins the children's chorus at the Metropolitan Opera House.

1982: At age 12, Deborah begins acting on Broadway.

1986: She is signed to Atlantic records as Debbie Gibson. Her first single, "Only in My Dreams," tops the charts in the summer of 1987.

1988: Gibson earns the distinction of being the youngest artist ever to write and produce a No. 1 single ("Foolish Beat"). She racks up several top five hits, and her debut album, "Out of the Blue," sells more than 5 million copies. The follow-up, "Electric Youth," above, goes triple platinum, and Gibson markets a perfume of the same name.

1989: Punk-folk satirist Mojo Nixon releases his song "Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant With My Two-Headed Love Child." She wasn't, actually.

1992: Gibson returns to Broadway, playing Eponine in "Les Miserables." Over the next 13 years, her stage roles will include Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl," Gypsy Rose Lee in "Gypsy," Rizzo in "Grease," above, and Sally Bowles in "Cabaret."

1995: She signs with a division of EMI. The producer of her only album for the label, "Think With Your Heart," introduces her to legendary L.A. hard-core punk band The Circle Jerks. She records background vocals for the band's version of Robyn Hitchcock's "I Wanna Destroy You" and performs with them at New York's CBGB's.

2005: Gibson poses for Playboy and releases the CD single "Naked" on her own Golden Egg label.

2006: Gibson appears on Fox's "Skating With Celebrities," right, and hosts VH1's "100 Greatest Teen Stars." She is No. 20 on the list.