Alanis Morissette

Alanis Nadine Morissette was born in Ottawa, Canada on June 1, 1974. Her parents are Francophone Canadian Alan Morissette and Georgia Feuerstein, who fled Hungary in 1956. They were looking for a feminine variant of the name Alan and eventually found the Greek name Alanis in a newspaper. She has an older brother, Chad, and a twin brother, Wade. From the age of six she plays piano, and from nine she writes her own songs. Two years later she independently releases the self-written "Fate stay with me" as a single. In early 1986 she becomes nationally known through her participation in several episodes of the Canadian children's program "You can't do that on television". She stands out for her talent and takes part in a talent competition, but is eliminated in the first round. She also sings the national anthem at major sporting events.

Her first album, Alanis, comes out in 1991—a collection of dance pop songs. She is compared to Debbie Gibson and Tiffany. The first single, "Too hot", reaches the top 10 in Canada. The album achieves double platinum status, and in 1992 she wins a Juno Award for Most Promising New Artist. Alanis does not want this album to be released again. It is no longer available except through bootlegs or circulating MP3s. Her second album, Now is the Time, contains songs with a more serious tone, but is not as well received as the first. She loses her record contract and it seems her musical career is over. Still, she wants to continue making music and begins looking for collaborations.

She moves to Toronto and meets several songwriters there, without results. She then tries her luck in Los Angeles. Eventually she clicks with producer Glen Ballard. They immediately start writing, resulting in a number of songs with candid, deeply personal lyrics, including songs about her past relationships—each written and recorded in a single day. With these songs she approaches several record companies. She finally signs with Madonna's new label Maverick, where she becomes the first major artist after Madonna herself. This third album, Jagged Little Pill, brings worldwide recognition in 1995.

With her alternative sound and self-assured songwriting, she quickly becomes a role model for many female artists. Thanks to six successful singles—"You Oughta Know", "Hand in My Pocket", "All I Really Want", "Ironic", "You Learn", and "Head over Feet"—the album becomes the most successful of the '90s, with sales exceeding 30 million copies. Of six Grammy Award nominations, she wins four: Album of the Year, Best Female Vocal Performance, Best Rock Song ("You Oughta Know"), and Best Rock Album. In the Netherlands, the album reaches number one on the sales charts following a successful live broadcast performance at Pinkpop in May 1996. The video "Jagged Little Pill Live" earns her a fifth Grammy Award in 1997. After an exhausting concert tour lasting eighteen months, she decides not to make another album. She takes a backpacking trip through India and there finds inspiration for a new album, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (1998), more versatile and even more personal than the previous one. This album too is a success, with approximately 7 million copies sold.

Thanks to the song "Uninvited", which appears only on the soundtrack to the film City of Angels, that soundtrack also sells well. The song earns her two Grammy Awards that same year. In 1999 she creates one of the most successful albums in the MTV Unplugged series, and plays a small but surprising role as God in Kevin Smith's film Dogma. Her song "Still" appears on the soundtrack. The album Under Rug Swept follows in 2001. After this album, Alanis also releases a DVD with accompanying CD, Feast on Scraps, featuring eight new songs that did not make the cut for Under Rug Swept. In 2004 the album So-Called Chaos comes out. It shows a very different Alanis than before. Her songs sound sweeter and happier, she has cut her long hair, and it seems as if she is smiling genuinely for the first time. She herself claims this is due to her relationship with actor Ryan Reynolds, two years her junior.

Alanis met Ryan at Drew Barrymore's birthday party in 2002 and became engaged to him in 2003. 2005 is a busy year for Alanis. Not only does she release an acoustic version of her hit album Jagged Little Pill to mark its tenth anniversary, but she also releases a compilation album for the first time in her career at the end of the year. The album is titled The Collection, and as a single she chooses to record her first cover, "Crazy" by Seal. The album contains her greatest hits and some of her personal favorites. Alanis writes a soundtrack for the third time.

This time for the film The Chronicles of Narnia. The song is titled "Wunderkind" and earns Alanis a Golden Globe nomination. In 2006 Alanis announces that she is working on an autobiography and a new album. Her relationship with Ryan reportedly experienced a brief break, after which Alanis and Ryan got back together. This rumor was not, however, confirmed by the two stars. In 2008, Alanis performed with her band at the Pinkpop festival on her thirty-fourth birthday, and her new album was released.