Who is the oldest NSYNC member? Why did NSYNC split up?

The oldest NSYNC member

American singer-songwriter, dancer and actor Christopher Alan Kirkpatrick was born under the zodiac sign Libra on 17 October 1971, in Clarion, Pennsylvania USA. He’s perhaps known best for being the oldest founding member of the vocal boy band NSYNC, which is one of the most popular boy bands of all-time, while Chris is also known for his work as an actor, especially for voicing Chip Skylark in the American animated show “The Fairly OddParents”.

Chris has also appeared in various reality shows, including “Gone Country”, “The Masked Singer” and “Celebrity Big Brother”.

Chris’ early life and education

Chris was raised in Clarion alongside his four younger half-sisters Taylor, Emily, Kate and Molly, solely by their mother Beverly Eustice who struggled to put food on the table for all six of them; the children grew up on welfare, and occasionally lived in their car.

The family moved a lot, as they travelled in their car around California, South Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania; Chris thus attended various schools and changed friends numerous times. They once lived in a trailer with no electricity during winter, and Chris has revealed that that year was one of the hardest for the family; he rarely had clean clothes, and had to sleep in a pile of dirty clothes to keep himself warm.

Chris was 13 when he began working at a farm to help his mother financially, so he struggled at school and had poor grades. He found comfort in music, and has revealed that his family was always musical; his uncles and aunts were in bands, his grandfather was a country singer, and his grandmother an opera singer. While attending a local high school in Oil City, Pennsylvania, Chris was cast to star as Oliver Twist in a school’s production of “Oliver!” He was 17 when he moved to Dalton, Ohio and enrolled at Dalton High School, where he learned to play various instruments, and further honed his singing skills; Chris was also passionate about sports, and played baseball, basketball and football.

Upon matriculating in 1990, Chris met up with his father in Orlando, Florida who offered to pay his tuition at Valencia College; he initially studied acting, but switched to music after a year, and graduated with an Associate’s degree in 1993. Chris continued his education at Rollins College as he was offered a scholarship, and during his time there worked three jobs: at Outback Steakhouse waiting tables, at Sea World as a photographer, and as a member of the music group The Hollywood Hi-Tones at Universal Studios Florida.

NSYNC

The late American talent manager Lou Pearlman promised to Chris in 1994 that he would finance him and his future band if he were to find other young singers to join the band; it took Chris more than a year to recruit Joshua Scott ‘JC’ Chasez and Justin Randall Timberlake, while he then also recruited Joey Fatone and Lance Bass.

The band went on to sell more than 70 million albums in the second half of the ‘90s and the first half of the 2000s; their debut album “NSYNC” came out in 1997, and sold over 11 million copies, and spawned hit singles “Thinking of You (I Drive Myself Crazy)”, “Tearin’ Up My Heart” and “I Want You Back”, amongst several others. Their holiday album “Home for Christmas” followed on 10 November 1998, peaked at #7 on Billboard Top 10, and sold over two million copies. Having become dissatisfied with Lou Pearlman, the boys stopped working with him, and in 1999 signed with Jive Records.

Their second studio album, “No Strings Attached” came out on 21 March 2000, and sold nearly 2.5 million copies in only a week; it spawned hit singles “This I Promise You, “It’s Gonna be Me” and “Bye Bye Bye”.

In July 2001, the boys released their third studio album “Celebrity”, spawning hit singles “Girlfriend”, “Gone” and “Pop”. Following their 2002 Celebrity Tour, NSYNC revealed that they would be taking an indefinite hiatus, and that most of them would be pursuing solo careers; the five men only reunited in 2018, after having been honored with their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

They performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival without Justin Timberlake in April 2019, and on 29 September 2023, they released their new song “Better Place”, which served as a soundtrack for the movie “Trolls Band Together”.

Always heard being in the middle is best… no?! Tomorrow’s the day! -Also a J pic.twitter.com/IAbusXqMJr

— *NSYNC (@NSYNC) March 18, 2020

Solo career

In 2007, Chris founded his own alternative rock ‘n’ roll band Nigel’s 11; their debut album “Clandestine Operation” was released in 2010, and some of its most popular songs were “Crazy Girl”, “Get Out” and “Mr. Jealousy”.

The band stopped performing together in 2012, and Chris has since been focused on producing music for other artists.

He’s played supporting characters in a couple of movies, including the 2015 science fiction action “Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!”, and the 2016 zombie horror western “Dead 7”.

Love life and relationships

Chris was quite secretive about his love life until 2010, when he revealed that he’d begun dating Karlyn M. Skladany, a non-celebrity American woman.

Chris proposed to Karlyn in October 2012 while they were vacationing in Italy; they exchanged vows in Orlando, Florida on 2 November 2013 and the ceremony was attended by all NSYNC members. Karlyn gave birth to their son on 10 October 2017.

There are no other women whom Chris has perhaps been with, that we know about; he’s living with his wife Karlyn M. Skladany and son in Nashville, Tennessee as of October 2023.

Interesting facts and hobbies

Close to 300,000 people are following Chris on Instagram today and he’s posted over 450 pictures and videos, with most featuring him during his everyday life, whether he’s travelling around the world, spending time with his friends or playing the guitar.

He was name dropped in Eminem’s 2002 song “Without Me”.

Chris launched his own clothing line, FuMan Skeeto in 1999, but it was discontinued in 2002.

He launched his charity organization Chris Kirkpatrick Foundation in 2004, and it’s since helped numerous underprivileged children.

Clint Eastwood’s one of Chris’ favorite actors and directors, and some of his favorite films are “Play Misty for Me”, “Letters from Iwo Jima”, and “Sully: Miracle on the Hudson”.

Height, age and net worth

Chris’ age is 52. He has brown eyes and hair, weighs around 175lbs (80kgs) and is 5ft 9ins (1.75m) tall.

Chris’ net worth’s been estimated at over $10 million, as of October 2023.