Alanis Nadine Morissette (born June 1, 1974) is a Grammy Award-winning Canadian- American singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Her international debut album Jagged Little Pill (1995) became one of the most successful albums of all time, with the total worldwide sales estimated at thirty million copies. Three more studio albums followed – Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (1998), Under Rug Swept (2002), and So-Called Chaos (2004), though none achieved the same degree of success as Jagged Little Pill.
Alanis Morissette was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to school teachers Alan and Georgia Morissette. Her father is French Canadian and her mother is Hungarian. She has an older brother, Chad, and a twin brother named Wade. Between the ages of three and six they lived with their parents in Lahr (Black Forest), Germany.
Morissette showed a love for singing and songwriting at an early age. When she was 9 years old, Morissette wrote her first song. With the money saved from her stint on the children's television show You Can't Do That On Television, Morissette released an indie single Fate Stay With Me with the B-side Find The Right Man.
In New York City, Morissette landed a spot on Star Search, a popular televised American talent competition with her stage name of Alanis Nadinia. Morissette flew to Los Angeles to appear on the show, but lost after one round.
In 1990, Morissette signed with MCA Records Canada and released her full-length debut album, Alanis in 1991 with producer Leslie Howe. At the time, Morissette dropped Nadinia from her name and was credited simply as "Alanis". The dance-pop album, which was only released in Canada, went double platinum and its first single, "Too Hot", reached the Top 10 on the Canadian charts. Subsequent singles included "Feel Your Love", "Walk Away" and "Plastic".
