Reba Nell McEntire
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12
Awards
Reba McEntire sang the national anthem at the 1974 National Finals Rodeo and caught songwriter Red Steagall’s attention. She went on to earn 2 Grammy Awards, seven CMA Female Vocalist of the Year awards, and star in the 1990 film Tremors. In 1991, a plane crash killed her entire band but she continued her career. She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2011.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Reba McEntire — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Reba McEntire by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Reba McEntire — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Reba McEntire’s father Clark McEntire was a world steer roping champion from 1957 to 1958 and again in 1961. Her grandfather John Wesley McEntire held the same title in 1934. Growing up, she performed with her siblings as the Singing McEntires while also competing in barrel racing. A serious basketball player in her youth, she studied elementary education at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, graduating in 1976.
Songwriter Red Steagall heard Reba McEntire sing the national anthem at the 1974 National Finals Rodeo and urged her to pursue country music. She signed with Mercury Records and released her debut album in 1977. Her 1986 hit Whoever’s in New England won a Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. In 1988, she founded Starstruck Entertainment to oversee her musical and acting ventures. She starred in the 1990 monster movie Tremors, earning favorable reviews, and later starred in the television series Reba from 2001 to 2007. On March 16, 1991, a plane crash killed her seven band members and tour manager; she was not on board and continued her career despite the tragedy. She made her Broadway debut in Annie Get Your Gun, winning a Theatre World Award in 2001.
Reba McEntire married steer wrestler Charlie Battles in 1976, divorcing in 1987. In 1989, she married Narvel Blackstock, her manager, and they had a son, Shelby Blackstock, born in 1990. They divorced in 2015. She has a stepson, Brandon Blackstock, who was engaged to Kelly Clarkson in 2012. In September 2025, she announced her engagement to actor Rex Linn after five years of dating. Her sister Susie McEntire is a Christian music star, and her brother Pake McEntire also pursued music. Her father Clark McEntire died in 2014, and her mother Jacqueline died in 2020.
Reba McEntire was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2011. She was named the #1 Best-selling Female Country Singer of All Time in 2000. In 2018, she received the inaugural Career Maker Award from the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame 1998 and the Music City Walk of Fame 2006. Her resilience after the 1991 plane crash that killed her band is a defining part of her legacy as a woman in country music.
Browse the complete filmography of Reba McEntire — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
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Every award, honor, and recognition received by Reba McEntire — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
A wall of memorable lines from Reba McEntire — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
You Don’t Waste Your Entire Life Waiting to Go Back to Dust.
Being a Strong Woman Is Very Important to Me. but Doing It All on My Own Is Not.
Easter Is Very Important to Me, It’s a Second Chance.
To Succeed in Life, You Need Three Things: a Wishbone, a Backbone and a Funny Bone.
Be Different, Stand Out, and Work Your Butt Off.
For Me, Singing Sad Songs Often Has a Way of Healing a Situation. It Gets the Hurt Out in the Open into the Light, Out of the Darkness.
Finding a Good Bus Driver Can Be as Important as Finding a Good Musician.
Dolly Paved Such a Great Freeway for Women. so Did Loretta, Tammy and Barbara Mandrell. I’ve Got to Keep Pavin’ That Freeway for the Gals in Country Music. Maybe It Gives Them Some Ammunition, Incentive, Inspiration to Continue On.
To Succeed in Life You Need Three Things: a Wishbone, a Backbone and a Funny Bone.
Little-known facts about Reba McEntire — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Her entire band perished in a 1991 plane crash.
She attended and graduated from Southeastern Oklahoma State University in 1976.
Her college major was Elementary Education with a minor in Music.
Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in March 2011.
She was a bridesmaid at the wedding of her Reba co-star JoAnna Garcia Swisher.
Her younger sister Susie Luchsinger is a Christian music star.
She has won three Grammy Awards, nine People’s Choice Awards, seven CMA Awards, and many others.
In 2000, she was named the #1 Best-selling Female Country Singer of All Time.
Awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 7018 Hollywood Boulevard on September 18, 1998.
She was a serious basketball player as a young girl.
Good friends with Reba co-stars Melissa Peterman and JoAnna Garcia Swisher.
She was initially cast as Molly Brown in James Cameron’s Titanic 1997 but turned down the role due to touring; Kathy Bates eventually played the part.
Her father Clark McEntire was world steer roping champion for 1957-1958 and 1961, inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1988.
On December 15, 2012, her stepson Brandon Blackstock became engaged to her good friend Kelly Clarkson.
Awarded a star on the Music City Walk of Fame in Nashville on November 5, 2006.
She gave birth to her son Shelby Steven McEntire Blackstock on February 23, 1990; father is ex-husband Narvel Blackstock.
Her 1996 tour used 16 trucks, 7 buses, 1 jet, 100 dates, and a 96-person crew.
Her grandfather John Wesley McEntire was world steer roping champion in 1934, inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1984.
She met Loretta Lynn in 1966 at an Ada, Oklahoma rodeo and asked for her autograph.
In 1993, she had a patch of skin cancer removed from her forehead.
Her first public performance was Away In a Manger for a first-grade Christmas production.
In 2000, she was named the #2 Best-selling Female Artist of all genres, following Barbra Streisand.
At one time, she was classmates with Garth Brooks in Oklahoma.
She did a rendition of The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia and later sang a duet of that song with Vicki Lawrence.
In 1995, she was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.
Her mother Jacqueline died March 14, 2020; her father Clark died October 23, 2014.
She has siblings Alice Foran, Pake McEntire, and Susie Luchsinger.
Received the inaugural Career Maker Award from the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018.
She is stepmother to Brandon Blackstock and aunt to Garett Beck.
In September 2025, she announced her engagement to actor Rex Linn after five years of dating.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Reba McEntire.
Celebrities similar to Reba McEntire — same craft, ranked by reach.
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