Pat Benatar was born Patricia Mae Andrzejewski in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, to an Irish-Polish family. Andrzejewski initially studied voice and opera, following in the footsteps of her mother while growing up in Lindenhurst, New York, on Long Island. After graduating in 1971 from Lindenhurst High School, Andrzejewski married her high school sweetheart Dennis Benatar that same year and took his name.

Once in New York, Benatar began to pursue her singing career in earnest. She was discovered at an amateur-night contest in 1977 at the New York City comedy club Catch a Rising Star. After performing successfully several times at the club, Benatar finally found her on-stage persona in the form of a wild Halloween costume, Catwoman, which she had worn as a joke. Because of that performance, she was signed to Chrysalis Records by its founder Terry Ellis.

Benatar divorced in 1979 and married band leader/lead guitarist Neil Giraldo February 20, 1982. The Giraldos have two daughters: Haley Egeana and Hana Juliana.

Pat Benatar won an unprecedented four consecutive Grammy Awards for "Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female" from 1980 to 1983 for Crimes of Passion, "Fire And Ice," "Shadows Of The Night," and "Love Is A Battlefield," and was nominated four more times: "Invincible" in 1985, "Sex As A Weapon" in 1986, "All Fired Up" in 1988 and in 1989 for "Let's Stay Together." Benatar also earned Grammy Award nominations in 1985 for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female with "We Belong" and in 1986 for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Duo or Group as a member of Artists United Against Apartheid for their single "Sun City." Benatar is also the winner of three American Music Awards: Favorite Female Pop/Rock Vocalist of 1981 and 1983, and Favorite Female Pop/Rock Video Artist of 1985. She was twice named Rolling Stone magazine's Favorite Female Vocalist, and Billboard magazine ranks her as the most successful female rock vocalist of all time based on overall record sales and the number of hit songs and their charted positions. Benatar was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2007.