Alanis Nadine Morissette
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98
Film credits
9
Books
21
Awards
With 1995’s Jagged Little Pill, Alanis Morissette sold over 43 million copies and won multiple Grammys. She has released several more albums, appeared in Dogma, and earned eight Grammy Awards from 28 nominations. With over 60 million albums sold worldwide, she is one of the best-selling female artists.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Alanis Morissette — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Alanis Morissette by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Alanis Morissette — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
On June 1, 1974, Alanis Morissette was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to Georgia Feuerstein and Alan Richard Morissette. She has a twin brother, Wade, and an older brother, Chad. She began playing piano at age 6 and released her first single, Fate Stay With Me, at age 12. She recorded two dance-pop albums in Canada before moving to Los Angeles at 19 to pursue her music career.
In 1995, Alanis Morissette released Jagged Little Pill on Madonna’s Maverick Records. It sold over 43 million copies and won Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Rock Album. She followed with Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie in 1998 and later Under Rug Swept, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Morissette acted in films, playing God in Kevin Smith’s 1999 comedy Dogma and appeared on Broadway in The Vagina Monologues in 2000. She contributed the song Uninvited to the City of Angels soundtrack. Her work with producer Glen Ballard drove her breakthrough.
From 2004 to 2006, Alanis Morissette was engaged to Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds. In 2010, she married rapper Souleye, and they have three children: sons Ever born 2010 and Winter born 2019, and daughter Onyx born 2016. She has been open about her struggles with anorexia and bulimia during her early career. She became a U.S. citizen in 2005 while retaining her Canadian citizenship.
Alanis Morissette’s album Jagged Little Pill is the best-selling debut album by any artist, with over 43 million copies. At 21, she became the youngest artist to win Album of the Year at the Grammys. She has sold over 60 million albums worldwide, earned eight Grammy Awards, and been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and Canada’s Walk of Fame. Her confessional songwriting style influenced a generation of female artists, and her music continues to be celebrated for its emotional honesty.
The complete filmography of Alanis Morissette — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Alanis Morissette — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
Alanis Morissette's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.
A wall of memorable lines from Alanis Morissette — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
We’re Taught to Be Ashamed of Confusion, Anger, Fear and Sadness, and to Me They’re of Equal Value to Happiness, Excitement and Inspiration.
Peace of Mind for Five Minutes, That’s What I Crave.
The Whole Celebrity Thing Is Not Something I’m Overly Interested In. I Don’t Pop up at Parties. It’s Just Not My Thing.
Music Will Always Be a Part of My Life. I Love Music and I Don’t Care How Many Units I Sell.
That What We Judge in Someone Else, We Are Really Judging in Ourselves.
So Many Times I’ve Been Just Gripping the Steering Wheel and Driving, and Just Have a Piece of Paper on Where My Horn Is, and Just Writing Sort of Looking up and Down. I’ve Done That so Much! It’ll Be Worth the Crash.
I Have Not an Ounce of Regret. Every Link Is so Valuable in Forming the Chain That Is My Life. Who I Am Today Is Because of Those Links, and I Wouldn’t Change Any of Them.
Every Time I Go Through Something Difficult, I Think, ‘This Is the Mother-load. I’m Not Going to Get Through This One.’ and Then, Six Months Later, I’m Like, ‘What’s His Name Again?’
I’ve Never Talked About Who My Songs Are About, and I Won’t Because…they’re Written for the Sake of Personal Expression. so with All Due Respect to Whomever May See Themselves in My Songs – and It Happens All the Time – I Never Really Comment on It Because I Write These Songs for Myself. I Don’t Write Them for Other People.
Jagged Little Pill Was Such an Insulated Experience, Not Only the Writing of It, but Then the Touring of It. I Felt so Solitary, Like I Was in Survival Mode.
After Being in the Public Eye for a Long Time, I Get Why People Don’t Want to Be Here.
Little-known facts about Alanis Morissette — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
In an interview with US Weekly, Morissette revealed that the song Hands Clean from her 2002 album Under Rug Swept details a relationship she had at age 14 with a 29-year-old man that lasted five years.
At age 21, Morissette became the youngest artist to win a Grammy for Album of the Year.
When MP3 sponsored one of her tours, she chose $50,000 in company stock instead of cash; the stock later became worth millions.
She is the daughter of Georgia Mary Ann Feuerstein and Alan Richard Morissette. Her father is of French-Canadian and Irish descent, while her mother was Hungarian with Ashkenazi Jewish and Hungarian ancestry.
Morissette has sold over 60 million albums worldwide, making her one of the best-selling female artists.
The night before Mother Teresa died, Morissette called to volunteer but was told she was sleeping, so she said she would call back later.
She has won 16 Juno Awards and 8 Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year for You Oughta Know.
Jagged Little Pill sold over 43 million copies, the biggest-selling debut album by any artist.
Morissette replaced Emma Thompson as God in the film Dogma 1999.
She was engaged to Ryan Reynolds from 2004 to 2006.
Morissette is fluent in French.
She wrote Jagged Little Pill based on her relationship with then-boyfriend Dave Coulier and her upbringing.
With husband Souleye, she has three children: son Ever born December 25, 2010, daughter Onyx born June 23, 2016, and son Winter born August 8, 2019.
March 8, 1996, was declared Alanis Morissette Day in Ottawa by the mayor.
Morissette met Maverick Records boss Madonna only a few times; Madonna gave her platinum nail polish when Jagged Little Pill hit one million sales, and a $49,000 Tiffany’s bracelet in 1999.
Two of her music videos appeared on VH1’s 100 Greatest Videos: Ironic at number 18 and Thank U at number 66.
In 2009, she ran a marathon to promote awareness for the National Eating Disorders Association.
At the 2004 Juno Awards, she wore a nude-colored bodysuit with lifelike nipples and pubic hair to protest censorship and Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl incident.
She was born at Riverside Hospital in Ottawa.
Madonna had to persuade Morissette not to quit Maverick Records after disappointing sales of her 2001 album.
Morissette spoke German as a child but later forgot it.
She contributed a song to the Dogma soundtrack and also played God in the film.
During her first album, she suffered from anorexia and bulimia due to professional pressure and sought therapy.
After playing God in Dogma, she said she found the Bible to be patriarchal and sexist.
She plans to become an American citizen while keeping her Canadian citizenship.
She attended Glebe Collegiate Institute in Ottawa.
Early in her Canadian career, she was known simply as Alanis to avoid confusion with singer Alannah Myles.
She was a financial backer of the Broadway musical Jane Eyre in spring 2001.
Her former manager Jonathan Todd Schwartz embezzled $7 million from her and other celebrities May 2017.
Morissette became an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church in 2004.
She began playing piano at age 6.
In 1986, on the TV show You Can’t Do That on Television, she was green slimed on her first episode and cream pied on another.
Ranked number 53 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Women of Rock N Roll.
She became a U.S. citizen on February 11, 2005, and considers herself Canadian-American.
Between the births of her son Ever and daughter Onyx, she had multiple miscarriages.
She is 12 minutes younger than her twin brother.
She attended the 2003 Juno Awards with actor Ryan Reynolds.
Her favorite song is Ave Maria.
She released the 10th anniversary acoustic version of Jagged Little Pill.
Her twin brother Wade is a yoga instructor.
She attended Glebe Collegiate Institute.
Her album Under Rug Swept released on February 26, 2002, topped the Billboard 200.
She was inducted into the Canadian Walk of Fame on June 5, 2005, in Toronto.
She publicly opposed George W. Bush’s invasion and occupation of Iraq.
To celebrate their first anniversary, she and Ryan Reynolds wore matching rings on their right hands May 2003.
She has an older brother, Chad, and a twin brother, Wade.
She performed the U.S. and Canadian national anthems at Game 4 of the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals.
She dated actor Ryan Reynolds from 2002, and they had homes together in Los Angeles and Vancouver.
During her live performance at the 38th Grammy Awards 1996, CBS censored some lyrics of You Oughta Know.
She performed at an event featuring the Dalai Lama in Ottawa on April 24, 2004, to build support for the Tibet China Negotiation Campaign.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Alanis Morissette.
Celebrities similar to Alanis Morissette — same craft, ranked by reach.
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