RIMES, (Margaret) LeAnne 1982-

PERSONAL:

Born August 28, 1982, in Jackson, MS; daughter of Wilbur C. Rimes (a car salesman and music producer) and Belinda (Butler) Rimes Miller (a fan-club manager); married Dean A. Sheremet (a dancer, actor, and writer), February, 2002.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Nashville, TN. Office—Prodigy Entertainment, Ltd., P.O. Box 150667, Nashville, TN 37215.

CAREER:

Recording artist, actress, songwriter, and author. Signed with Curb Records, Nashville, TN, c. 1995; vocal recordings include singles "Ten Thousand Angels Cried," "You Light Up My Life," "How Do I Live, Blue," "Looking through Your Eyes," 1998, "Big Deal," 1999; "Can't Fight the Moonlight," 2000, "God Bless America," 2001, "Life Goes On," 2002, "We Can," 2003, and "This Love," 2004; albums include All That, 1993, Blue, 1996, Unchained Melody: The Early Years, 1997, You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs, 1997, Sittin' on Top of the World, 1998, Leaving's Not Leaving, 1999, God Bless America, 2001, I Need You, 2001, with bonus tracks, 2002, Twisted Angel, 2002, Life Goes On, 2002, Greatest Hits (To Be Continued), 2003, What a Wonderful World, 2004, and This Woman, 2005. Contributor to recordings, including Elton John and Tim Rice's "Aïda," 1999; Divas Live/99, 1999; The Ultimate Popular Christian Songs, 2000; Coyote Ugly (film soundtrack), 2000; and Angel Eyes (film soundtrack), 2001. Actor in films, including Coyote Ugly, 2000; Actor in television, including LeAnn Rimes in Concert, 1997; Holiday in Your Heart (TV movie), 1997; (host) Academy of Country Music Awards, 2001; LeAnn Rimes Live, 2003; (host) CMT 100 Greatest Songs of Country Music Concert, 2003; Intimate Portrait: LeAnn Rimes, 2003; LeAnn Rimes: Custom Concert, 2004; actor in numerous other awards programs, talk shows, variety shows, and specials, and in television commercials. Spokesperson for Children's Miracle Network, 2004.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Won first talent show, 1987; Grammy Awards, 1996, for Best New Vocalist, and Best Female Country Vocal Performance, for Blue; Horizon Award, Country Music Association (CMA), 1997; Lone Star Film and Television Awards Special Award for Rising Star Actress, 1998; Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Song from a Movie (Internet Only), 2001, for "Can't Fight the Moonlight," from Coyote Ugly; BPI Award for Best Album, 2004, for The Best of LeAnn Rimes; numerous other CMA and American Country Music awards.

WRITINGS:

(With Tom Carter) Holiday in Your Heart (novel), Doubleday (New York, NY), 1997.

Jag, illustrated by Richard Bernal, Dutton Children's Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Jag's New Friend, illustrated by Richard Bernal, Dutton Children's Books (New York, NY), 2004.

SONG LYRICS; AND VOCALIST

(With Andreas Carlsson and Desmont Child) Life Goes On, Curb Records (Nashville, TN), 2002.

(With others) Twisted Angel (musical recording), Curb Records (Nashville, TN), 2002,

Also contributor to lyrics in other recordings.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

Further children's books in the "Jag" series; numerous musical projects.

SIDELIGHTS:

Beginning her career as a country-western vocalist while she was still enrolled in elementary school in her hometown of Garland, Texas, LeAnn Rimes has mustered her independent spirit and determination to make it in a highly competitive industry. Blessed with an extraordinary singing talent, she achieved national fame with "Blue," a song first made famous by country singer Patsy Cline decades before Rimes was born, and then followed that success with "You Light Up My Life." Her back-to-back Grammy awards in 1997 and a recording contract with Nashville-based Curb records also fueled Rimes's career, and led her to become one of the most popular—and youngest—crossover artists during the late 1990s.

Into the 2000s, Rimes has more fully come into her own as a musician, as well as a young woman, and her marriage to dancer Dean Sheremet in 2002, as well as the recording Twisted Angel, signaled what many music reviewers have seen as a new phase in Rimes's career. Indeed, on more recent recordings, her songwriting skills have become more focused, showing Rimes to be a talented writer as well as vocalist. Her writing talents have also surfaced in the 1997 coauthored novel Holiday in Your Heart, which was adapted as a television film, as well as in a series of books for young children that feature a spunky young jaguar who learns to confront and overcome changes in her life.

In Jag, which was published in 2003, young Jacqueline the Jaguar is worried about her first day at school, but not for typical reasons having to do with meeting strangers or being away from home. Instead, Jag dreads the swimming lessons she will be forced to take. At school, she discovers a new challenge when she confronts the ridicule of her classmates, and she sees it directed at a new student, Simon, who has no spots. Ultimately, Jag must make an important choice: whether to follow the crowd and join in teasing Simon or risk being ridiculed by becoming the new student's friend. The young jaguar's adventures are continued in Jag's New Friend, which like Jag feature colorful illustrations by Richard Bernal.

As Rimes explained to a Billboard contributor, Jag "has a lot to do with my experiences growing up. I was picked on by other kids at school, and I think a lot of kids are dealing with those life experiences right now. The message of the book is be yourself, conquer your fears and stand up for yourself in a good way." Raised in the popular spotlight, Rimes learned such lessons early, and commented on the effects of her early fame on the Curb Records Web site: "You can't put a child in this business and expect them not to grow up fast.… I missed out on some things, but I was at the Grammys when I was fourteen. It was fun. It's been a lot of work, too. Life has taught me that everything you go through brings you to some place you never imagined. Whether it's an exciting once-in-a-lifetime experience or something incredibly trying that you feel fortunate to have survived—it's all an avenue to discovering just what you're made of and what you're capable of achieving."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Billboard, August 6, 2003, Carla Hay, "Artists Add New Voice to Children's Books," p. 5.

Good Housekeeping, September, 2003, Amy Wallace, "'I Just Want to Be Normal': She Was Famous at 13 … and Adrift a Few Years Later. Now Happily Married, with a New Album and Book, LeAnn Rimes Is Trying to Recapture What She Lost along the Way," p. 125.

In Style, January 1, 2004, Degen Pener, "The Coutnry Girl," p. 148.

People, December 1, 2003, J. D. Reed, "Prime-Time Rimes," p. 189.

Publishers Weekly, August 18, 2003, review of Jag, p. 77.