The Hutchence family eventually returned to Sydney, and it was there that Hutchence joined Andrew Farriss and Garry Gary Beers in forming a group which would ultimately become INXS. In 1980, the group put out their first single, Simple Simon. With the 1983 release of their third album, Shabooh Shoobah, the band became international stars.
In 1987, following several more successful INXS albums, Hutchence appeared in the Australian movie Dogs in Space. In 1990, he played Percy Shelley in Roger Corman's Frankenstein Unbound.
INXS spent the mid-1990s trying to develop a successful new album after a series of less-than-spectacular releases. During this time, Hutchence had an affair with British TV host Paula Yates, who was then the wife of singer Bob Geldof. The tabloid newspapers made them front-page news. Hutchence and Yates have a daughter, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily.
A new INXS release, 1997's Elegantly Wasted, had barely come out when Hutchence was found dead in a hotel room, the victim of an apparent hanging, which the New South Wales coroner has determined was suicide but many believe was a terrible accident. His self-titled solo album was finally released in 1999, as was his third movie, Limp.