LeAnn Rimes Artistfacts

August 28, 1982
Born Margaret LeAnn Rimes, the country singer spent her early childhood in Pelahatchie, the small town outside of Jackson, Mississippi, that inspired her 2007 single "Nothin' Better To Do." Her family moved to Garland, Texas, when she was 6.
She appeared on Star Search when she was 8 years old. Although she only lasted a week in the talent competition, she wowed the judges with her rendition of the Marty Robbins classic "Don't Worry."
Wilbur Rimes, who acted as his daughter's producer in her early days, actually threw out Bill Mack's demo of "Blue" because he thought it sounded too old-fashioned. Eleven-year-old LeAnn fished it out of the garbage and recorded it out of rebellion. It became her first hit.
At 14, she became the youngest person to win a Grammy when she took home the prizes for Best New Artist and Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "Blue" in 1997.
She and Trisha Yearwood released separate versions of the Diane Warren-penned ballad "How Do I Live" on the same day in 1997. Rimes' version went to #2 on the Hot 100 and spent a record-breaking 69 weeks on the chart.
Her first film appearance is at the end of the 2000 movie Coyote Ugly, where she shows up to sing "Can't Fight The Moonlight," one of four songs she sang for the soundtrack.
In 1998, the already-famous singer landed her first TV role on Days Of Our Lives after proclaiming it was her favorite soap opera. She played a teen runaway named Madison for a few episodes.
She met her second husband, Eddie Cibrian, when they starred together in the 2009 TV movie Northern Lights. Their romance caused a scandal because they were both married to other people at the time. The affair provided material for Rimes' Spitfire album.
In 2014, Rimes and Cibrian starred in their own VH1 reality show, LeAnn & Eddie, which was the controversial couple's attempt to "take back our lives in a way and show a different side of us than what people really believe." It lasted one season.
Rimes is passionate about LGBTQ issues because she saw the unfair judgment her uncle endured for being gay. He died of AIDS when the singer was 11 years old, a loss that's referenced in her 2007 song "Family."
She struggles with psoriasis, an autoimmune disease that causes dark patches of itchy, dry skin. After a stress-related flare-up in 2020, she posed nude for Glamour magazine to promote awareness of the disorder.
She won season 4 of The Masked Singer in 2020. Prior to her reveal in the finale, Rimes - who masqueraded as Sun throughout the season - performed an a cappella rendition of Billie Eilish's "When The Party's Over."
Leann Rimes' mother says she's her miracle child. "She tried for 12 years to have me," Rimes told The Daily Mail's You magazine. "Then she prayed for me one day and six weeks later found out she was pregnant."

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