Country Stars’ Real Names: Patsy Cline

Real Name: Virginia Patterson Hensley

Patsy Cline got her stage name from a marriage to Gerald Cline (they later divorced) and from the recommendation of a manager who suggested going by Patsy, a derivation of her middle name and her mother's maiden name. It was the voice -- and Cline's confidence -- that made her perhaps the most influential female country artist of all time, however. One has to believe that Virginia Hensley could have become just as famous.