LimeFile: LeAnn Rimes
The Short Story: LeAnn Rimes
Birthday: August 28, 1982
Hometown: Pearl, Mississippi
Famous For: Breaking into the country music scene at age 14; her marriage to backup dancer Dean Sheremet at the age of 21; for her highly publicized, rumored romantic relationship with married Northern Lights co-star Eddie Cibrian; her subsequent filing for divorce
Quick Scoop: Sold over 20 million records since her debut; won Star Search in the Junior Vocalist category; has the same birthday as fellow country star Shania Twain; is an only child
Awards: 1997 Country Music Association Awards: Horizon Award. 1996 Academy of Country Music Awards: Top New Female Vocalist; Single of the Year, Blue. 2008 Academy of Country Music Awards: Humanitarian Award. 1997 Grammy Awards: Best New Artist; Best Female Country Performance, Blue. 1997 American Music Awards: Favorite New Artist. 2008 CMT Music Awards: Collaborative Video of the Year, Til We Ain't Strangers Anymore.
Biography
Margaret LeAnn Rimes was born on August 28, 1982 to Wilbur and Belinda Rimes. She is an only child. By the age of two, she was singing and her parents were entering her into local talent contests at the age of 5. She did some theater as a young child including starring in a production of A Christmas Carol, but after winning the Junior Vocalist competition on Star Search, she decided to focus on country music.
After making more TV appearances including several visits to Johnnie High's Country Music Revue, touring nationally with her father, and performing the national anthem at Dallas Cowboy games, Rimes recorded an album. Her father recorded it under the label Nor Ja Vak when she was just 11. Over the next few years, she recorded two more albums under the label.
Bill Mack, a Dallas-based DJ discovered LeAnn and helped bring her to the national stage. After she recorded a version of the Mack-penned song Blue, Curb Records signed the teenager and her career into superstardom began.
In 1996, Rimes released her first studio album, Blue. The album went to #1 on the Country charts and even hit #3 on the Billboard charts. It included hit singles Blue, One Way Ticket (Because I Can), and The Light in Your Eyes. One Way Ticket hit #1 on the charts. Rimes earned several awards for her freshman album including two Grammys awards and a Country Music Association Award.
Rimes released her second studio album in 1997, You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs. While it was a bit different than her first album, it still went on to sell over 4 million copies and went 4 times platinum. It contained single How Do I Live which hit #2 on the Billboard charts. This was her first step into a country/pop crossover attempt.
Her third studio album, Sittin' on Top of the World, confirmed Rimes to crossover into pop. While it got mostly negative reviews, the album debuted at #2 on the country charts and #3 on the Billboard charts. Three singles from the album landed on the charts: Commitment, Looking Through Your Eyes, and Nothin' New Under the Moon.
In 1998, Rimes moved with her mother to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. She landed a minor role in the TV movie Holiday in Your Heart.
Rimes released her fourth album, LeAnn Rimes, in 1999. The album returned to her country roots-most of the songs were Patsy Cline covers-and the sales and performance of the record indicated audiences approved. The album opened at #1 on the country charts and was certified platinum. Big Deal was the hit single from the album.
In 2000, Rimes filed two lawsuits: one against her father and former manager Lyle Walker and one against her label Asylum-Curb. Over the next two years, legal battles ensued. In 2001, she signed a new contract with Asylum-Curb, thus ending their battle and in 2002, she settled with her father.
I Need You, Rimes' fifth album released in 2001, was another shot at a pop crossover. While it hit #1 on the Country charts and #10 on the Billboard 200, it didn't get a great critical reception. I Need You and Can't Fight the Moonlight both became hit singles. 2001 was also the year Rimes made her feature film debut with a cameo in the independent film, Coyote Ugly. She also recorded four songs for the film's soundtrack.
This same year, Rimes was asked to host the Academy of Country Music Awards. It was there that she met backup dancer Dean Sheremet. They began dating and were married in 2002. She was 21.
Twisted Angel, her sixth album released in 2002, didn't sell many records. Her next album, 2005's This Woman, performed quite well selling over 100,000 copies it's first week. It was a return to country and many of the singles hit the Top 10 on the country charts. Also in 2005, Rimes hosted the reality music competition show Nashville Star on the USA channel. She held this post for one season.
After a break of two years, 2007 brought the release of Family. The album performed adequately and resulted in a Grammy nomination for the single What I Cannot Change. In 2008, she joined Kenny Chesney for his Poets and Pirates Tour, where she opened every show. Rimes recently announced her next studio album will be released in late 2009.
In March of 2009, her latest made-for-television movie, Northern Lights, debuted on Lifetime. Right before the show debuted, rumors circulated about an alleged romance between Rimes and married Northern Lights co-star Eddie Cibrian. While both denied allegations, in the following months, both separated and filed for divorce from their respective spouses. Over the past few weeks, Rimes and Cibrian have been spotted together publicly and are dating openly.
Latest Stories Featuring LeAnn Rimes
- LeAnn Rimes' Ex Meets Up with Cibrian's
- LeAnn Rimes Took Forever Announcing Her Divorce
- LeAnn Rimes Confirms Divorce
- More LeAnn Rimes, Eddie Cibrian Affair Tidbits
- Eddie Cibrian's Wife Speaks About LeAnn Affair
- Eddie Cibrian Talks About Alleged Affair with LeAnn Rimes
RSS Feed
Everything I Like, Wherever I Am
