Listen to Sarah Brightman on Batanga

Born August 14, 1960 in Berkhampstead, England, Big stepped into the world of performing arts at the early age of thirteen. She made her theatrical debut by starring in I and Albert at London's Piccadilly Theatre, in 1973. At 16 years of age, she joined the British dance group Pan's People and found herself performing on the television show Top of the Pops.

A mere two years later, Sarah's career was propelled a step further when she landed a spot as lead vocalist with the musical group Hot Gossip. That very same year, they hit it big with the top-5 British hit "I Lost My Heartto a Starship Trooper."

A short while after joining Hot Gossip, Sarah returned to her theatrical roots, when she joined the original cast of Cats. She performed in this ever-popular musical for a year, and then in 1982, she took things to a whole new level by starring in Charles Strouse's opera for children, Nightingale. While her musical/theatrical career was evidently blossoming, Sarah continued to enhance her skills by studying classical voice training at the Royal College of Music.

A few years later, her increasing popularity and talent catapulted her into some very prestigious theatrical roles. She premiered in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem in London and New York, for which she received a Grammy nomination as Best New Classical Artist, and starred in The Merry Widow at New Sadler's Wells Opera that same year. To top things off, Sarah married Andrew Lloyd Webber during this period, however, the marriage eventually ended six years later, in 1990.

While Sarah was married to Lloyd Webber, she created the role of Christine in his theatrical phenomenon, The Phantom of the Opera. It was initially released in 1986 in London and was eventually repeated on Broadway in 1988.

In 1989, Sarah released her first solo CD, The Songs That Got Away. From this point on, she gradually elevated her career to even greater heights. Throughout the '90s, she released a multitude of top-selling albums including 1993's Dive, 1996's Fly, 1997's Time To Say Goodbye, 1998's Eden, and most recently La Luna in 2000.

In addition to her musical compilations over the years, she has also been featured on a number of cast albums for shows in which she appeared, including The Phantom of the Opera, Nightingale and Song and Dance.

At the same time, Sarah has also starred in a variety of stage performances over the past decade, including Trelawny of the Wells, Relative Values, Dangerous Obsession, and The Innocents.

As for Sarah's future endeavors, she is scheduled to release her new album, entitled Classics, just in time for the Christmas season of 2001. The album will contain newly recorded songs as well as classical highlights from some of her previous recordings.