Melissa Etheridge

Melissa Etheridge is a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and guitarist. Etheridge spent her childhood in Kansas and began learning the guitar at age 8. As a teenager, she joined local country bands and later attended Berklee College of Music. She eventually dropped out to move to Los Angeles and pursue music full time.

The singer was discovered while performing in a bar and landed herself a record deal with Island Records. In 1988, she released her debut album Melissa Etheridge, which produced the Grammy-nominated single “Bring Me Some Water.” Her career took off after this release, and she later went on to release Billboard charting hits such as Brave and Crazy (1989) and Never Enough (1992). The latter won her a Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female.

Throughout her career, she has released a number of influential works, including Yes I Am (1993) and The Awakening (2007). She has also contributed to movie soundtracks, including Brother Bear 2 (2006).

In 2021, she released the album One Way Out, and two years later, she debuted her one woman show Melissa Etheridge: My Window in New York.

Etheridge is also an author and penned her autobiography The Truth Is…: My Life in Love and Music in 2001.

Etheridge came out as a lesbian in 1993. She was in a long term relationship with Julie Cypher, and the pair first welcomed Bailey Jean in 1997. The following year, son Beckett was born. He died at age 22 due to a drug overdose. Etheridge and Cypher split in 2000. From 2003 to 2010, the singer was in a relationship with Tammy Lynn Michaels. The two welcomed twins Johnnie Rose and Miller Steven in 2006.

In 2014, the Grammy winner wed Linda Wallem.