b. Nadine Morissette, 1 June 1974, Ottawa, Toronto, Canada.

Morissette enjoyed considerable critical and public acclaim in her native Canada before that success began to translate to international audiences in the mid-90s. An accomplished singer, dancer and pianist, she began writing her own material at the age of nine. She then achieved her first domestic hit single at the age of 10 ('Faith Stay With Me'). The single led to a publishing deal four years later, but she now dismisses her first two albums where she was pushed very strongly in a pop rock direction.

Worldwide recognition followed her move to Madonna's Maverick Records in 1994, by which time she was based in Los Angeles with musical collaborator Glen Ballard (previously co-writer of Michael Jackson's 'Man In The Mirror'). A tape was passed to Maverick by the mixer Jimmy Boyelle.

Her third album, Jagged Little Pill, was composed almost entirely of those unadulterated demo tracks. It earned rave reviews across America for her confrontational poise and loaded lyrics, reaching number 1in the Billboard album charts. It included an appearance by friends the Red Hot Chili Peppers on 'You Oughta Know', which featured her most quoted lyric: 'Is she perverted like me?/Would she go down on you in a theater?' As Morissette surmised: 'I have a difficult time socially, emotionally and musically because I like to communicate on an overwhelmingly intense level. To get it all out, I write as an overt, aggressive woman.'

Just about every music industry award was won by Morissette in 1995 in what was an extraordinary year. In the USA alone by 1997 Jagged Little Pill was certified as achieving 15 million sales.