Carrie Underwood

CARRIE UNDERWOOD

Date of Birth: March 10, 1983

American singer and songwriter Carrie Underwood rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol in 2005. She has since become the most successful artist to come out of the franchise, selling millions of albums and earning countless Grammy and Country Music Association Awards.

Born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, Carrie was raised on a farm in the nearby rural town of Checotah by Carole, a teacher, and Steve, a sawmill worker. She has two older sisters, Shanna and Stephanie. "I had a very happy childhood full of the wonderful simple things that children love to do," she wrote on her website. "Growing up in the country, I enjoyed things like playing on dirt roads, climbing trees, catching little woodland creatures and, of course, singing."

Young Carrie began singing at her local church and at local events like Old Settler's Day and the Lion's Club, and eventually attracted the attention of Capitol Records in Nashville. At age 14, she was set to sign a contract with the Tennessee label; however, it was cancelled when the company's management changed. After graduating from Checotah High School, Carrie chose not to pursue singing any longer. "I pretty much gave up on the dream of singing. I had reached a point in my life where I had to be practical and prepare for my future in the 'real world,'" the singer said. She then attended Northeastern State University, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in mass communications, majoring in broadcast journalism.

During her senior year at Northeastern, in the summer of 2004, Carrie renewed her interest in music and decided to audition for the fourth season of the hit show American Idol. Not only did she pass the audition, but she made it onto the live shows. Pegged as an early contender by judge Simon Cowell, Carrie went on to win the entire season, beating out runner-up Bo Bice.

Just 22 at the time, success came quickly for the newcomer, with her first single "Some Hearts" hitting the top of the Billboard charts, and her debut album Some Hearts selling over 3 million copies, becoming the fastest-selling female country album in the history of the Nielsen SoundScan.

Her next single "Jesus, Take the Wheel" proved to be an even bigger success, winning the artist an Academy of Country Music Award for Single of the Year, the Country Music Association Award for Single of the Year, and a Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance, in addition to a Grammy for Best New Artist. She continued this incredible winning streak with the 2007 hit "Before He Cheats," which again earned her a Grammy and a CMA Award.

On May 10, 2008, at just 26 years old, Carrie was inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry by legendary country artist Garth Brooks, becoming the youngest artist ever to become a member. That same year, she hosted the CMA Awards with fellow artist Brad Paisley and won her third award for Female Vocalist of the Year for her next chart topping album Carnival Ride.

Over the next several years, the singer kept churning out number one songs, like "Cowboy Casanova" and "Blown Away," a single which earned her another Grammy, as well as platinum-selling albums, including Play On and Blown Away.

In 2010, Carrie made a markedly different career move, landing a guest appearance on the hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother. She followed that up with a feature film debut in the teen biopic Soul Surfer (2011), and a starring role in the Emmy-nominated NBC live musical reboot The Sound of Music Live! (2013).

To commemorate her decade-long string of hits, the singer released the album Greatest Hits: Decade #1 in the fall of 2014. The following year she dropped her fifth studio album, Storyteller, and then went on tour through to May 2016.

The multi-talented star has also made several movie and television appearances as herself, most notably in the hit shows Nashville and Talking Dead, and most recently in the documentary spoof Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016).

Carrie has sold more than 65 million albums worldwide, won a total of 7 Grammy Awards, 17 Billboard Music Awards, 12 Academy of Country Music Awards, and 9 American Music Awards, and has hosted the CMA Awards a record eight times. In 2014, Time Magazine named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in the world. Also an avid animal lover and vegan, Carrie was voted "World's Sexiest Vegetarian" by PETA twice.

Carrie married her boyfriend of two years, Nashville Predators hockey player Mike Fisher, in July 2010. They have a son, Isaiah, born in February 2015.

Filmography:

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016)
Zendaya: Behind the Scenes (2012)
Soul Surfer (2011)