Jewel

Singer / Songwriter

Name at birth: Jewel Kilcher

Jewel made her mark as a singer and songwriter with her 1995 debut album, Pieces of You, which featured the hit songs "Who Will Save Your Soul" and "You Were Meant For Me." Jewel Kilcher was raised in rural Alaska and moved to southern California in the early 1990s. She lived in a van and sang in coffeehouses, gaining a following and, eventually, a record deal. Her introspective folk-pop songs and vocal talents had critics comparing her to Alanis Morissette and Tori Amos, and her second album, Spirit (1998) was an immediate success. In addition to being a pop star, Jewel published A Night Without Armor in 1998, a collection of poetry that became a best-seller, and she co-starred with Tobey Maguire and Skeet Ulrich in the 1999 film Ride With the Devil (directed by Ang Lee). Her other records include a collection of Christmas songs, Joy: A Holiday Collection (1999), and 2001's This Way.

Extra credit: Jewel's mother and manager, Lenedra Carroll, is the author of The Architecture of All Abundance and a motivational speaker on humanitarian issues.