LeAnn Rimes: Snapshot

LeAnn Rimes: Five Fun Facts

1. At 8, LeAnn Rimes went to her first concert. "Reba McEntire came through town when I lived in Texas. She had this amazing theatrical show with, like, 13 different wardrobe changes," she told Time Out. "I was eight and I was like, 'Wow, I wanna do that!'"
2. LeAnn Rimes recorded the heart-wrenching ballad "Blue" before she'd ever been on a date.
3. At 6, LeAnn Rimes competed against girls twice her age for the lead role in the Broadway sequel to Annie. She made it to the finals, but was deemed too young for the role. Instead, she wound up on stage as Tiny Tim in a Dallas production of A Christmas Carol.
4. When fans expressed disbelief that "Blue" had been recorded by a 13-year-old, LeAnn Rimes and her parents went on Entertainment Tonight to show her birth certificate.
5. In the midst of an interview with PEOPLE at the 2008 Country Music Television Awards, rapper Snoop Dogg stopped mid-sentence to gape at LeAnn Rimes. "Wow – damn! Who is that?" he asked. Upon learning her identity, Snoop, who compared Rimes to Marilyn Monroe, gushed, "She is beautiful! Wow, wow, wow."

LeAnn Rimes: Biography

1982

August 28

Mississippi Baby

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Margaret LeAnn Rimes is the only child of Wilbur and Belinda. After little LeAnn demonstrates the ability to sing in perfect pitch at just 18 months, her parents sign her up for vocal and dance class. By age 5, she is determined to be a performer. "I told my mom and dad, 'This is what I want to do,' and I went for it," Rimes tells Interview in 1998. At 6, she wins her first talent contest when she performs "Getting to Know You."

early 1990s

Star-Spangled Girl

At 8, Rimes becomes a finalist on Star Search, and becomes a popular act, performing more than 100 stage dates a year. She adds to her local fan base when she sings the national anthem at Dallas Cowboys football games, where Texas deejay Bill Mack hears her. Mack, who wrote a song titled "Blue" for Patsy Cline, taps Rimes (pictured with her parents) to record the ballad.

1996

July 09

Breakthrough Blues

Just two years after telling the Dallas Morning News, "I'm going to be a huge star," Rimes makes the big time with her breakthrough single and album, Blue. Asked to explain the meaning of "Blue," Rimes giggles: "Something about a man and a girl falling in love or something, I don't know." The 13-year-old's album goes on to sell more than 8 million copies.

Read More on LeAnn Rimes' Life

LeAnn Rimes: Special Feature