Listen to Leann Rimes on Batanga

With her phenomenal early success, LeAnn Rimes has gone from being the little girl from Garland, Texas with the big voice to a contemporary, cosmopolitan young woman. Possessing one of the most spectacular voices in the business, as well as an incredible gift for performing, LeAnn made her motion picture debut in 2000 in the film "Coyote Ugly," stunning audiences with a fresh look and sound that are reflective of her growth as a young adult.

LeAnn Rimes was born on Aug. 28, 1982, in Jackson, Miss., with the first name Margaret. Raised in Garland, Texas, she won her first talent show in 1987 and sang the national anthem at various sporting events. Her parents recorded an album to sell

 at gigs when she was 7, and four years later she recorded the album All That produced by her father Wilbur at Norman Petty's studio in Clovis, N.M. One track, an aching ballad, "Blue," had been written by disc jockey Bill Mack for Patsy Cline who died before it could be recorded. Roy Drusky and Kenny Roberts subsequently cut the song, but Mack felt that it was ideal for Rimes.

While listening to tapes on holiday, record executive Mike Curb heard Rimes' voice, rushed to a phone and offered her a contract with his nationally distributed label. On her debut album for Curb, she reworked "Blue." (Its B-side was a yodeling duet of "Cattle Call" with 78-year-old Eddy Arnold.) In 1996, the new version of "Blue" peaked at No. 10, but its retro musical approach and girlish charm propelled the 13-year-old to instant stardom. She won the Grammy for best new artist and the CMA Horizon award in 1997. The album sold more than 8 million copies and also included the peppy No. 1 hit, "One Way Ticket."

A remake of "Unchained Melody" boosted sales for her album of early recordings in 1997. That same year, she released You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs, containing the smash "How Do I Live." The single stayed on the charts for more than a year, at the time becoming the best-selling single in history. Rimes recorded the song for the film Con Air, but her version was rejected in favor of Trisha Yearwood's more mature rendition. Yearwood took the song to No. 2 on the country charts.

As the close of the '90s, Rimes scored three more Top 10 country hits: "Commitment," "Nothin' New Under the Moon" and "Big Deal." She did find success with soundtracks in 2000, contributing "I Need You" to the TV movie Jesus and "Can't Fight the Moonlight" to Coyote Ugly. (She also appeared in the latter film.) However, she publicly disowned the 2002 album I Need You, which was cobbled together from studio outtakes. Her career was also scarred when she sued her father and Curb Records, claiming underpaid royalties and an unfair recording contract. Her father countersued. However, the disputes were ultimately settled, and Wilbur gave LeAnn away at her 2002 wedding to dancer Dean Sheremet.

Following the underperforming and sexually-charged Twisted Angel in 2002, she released Greatest Hits in 2003, a Christmas album in 2004 and the studio album This Woman in early 2005. She has also published a children's book, Jag.