Amanda Leigh Moore (born April 10, 1984) is an American pop singer and actress.
Moore was born in Nashua, New Hampshire to Don Moore (a pilot for American Airlines) and Stacy (a former newspaper reporter); her maternal grandmother was English and a dancer in the theater district in the West End of London, England, while her maternal grandfather was Jewish. Moore has two brothers, Scott and Kyle; she grew up in Seminole County, Florida, outside of Orlando, moving there shortly after her birth. Moore was raised a Catholic, and attended Bishop Moore Catholic High School and Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs.
Moore's interest in singing grew after seeing the musical Oklahoma!. She subsequently sang the National Anthem at a few athletic events. She was spotted and signed on to a record deal with Sony Records after recording a demo at the age of 14. Throughout 1999, Moore toured with The Backstreet Boys.
Moore, fifteen years-old at the time, released her first album, So Real, on December 7, 1999. The album reached a peak of #31 on the US Billboard 200 album chart. At the time of her album's release, Moore was considered only the latest in a quickly-growing series of heavily-marketed ' pop princesses' akin to Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Jessica Simpson. Moore was the last (and youngest) of the four to reach mainstream radio, and was initially not as successful as her peers. Still, So Real was certified platinum in the US by early 2000, while her debut single, "Candy," peaked at #41 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold. A follow-up single entitled "Walk Me Home" was later released, though it failed to achieve much success. Moore also released another single outside of the States, it was the title track " So Real" none of the song reached "Candy's" success.