Alanis Morissette was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on June 1, 1974. She is the daughter of Georgia Mary Ann Feuerstein, a Hungarian-born teacher, and Alan Richard Morissette, a French-Canadian high school principal. Alanis Morissette has a twin brother, Wade, and an older brother, Chad. At the age of six, she began playing the piano, and realized she wanted to express herself through the arts. At a New York City audition, Morissette landed a spot on Star Search, a popular American talent competition on which she used the stage name of Alanis Nadine, her first and middle names. Alanis Morissette flew to Los Angeles to appear on the show, but lost after one round. In 1988, she signed a publishing deal with MCA Publishing, which helped to fund her record deal with one of its independent subsidiary labels. MCA Records released Morissette’s debut album, Alanis, in Canada only in 1991, and Morissette co-wrote every track on the album with its producer, Leslie Howe. By the time it was released, she had dropped her stage name and was credited simply as Alanis. The pop album went platinum. Alanis Morissette released Jagged Little Pill internationally in 1995. After the success of "You Oughta Know," the album’s other hit singles helped send Jagged Little Pill to the top of the charts. "All I Really Want" and "Hand In My Pocket" followed, but the fourth U.S. single, "Ironic", became Morissette’s biggest hit. Alanis has since gone on to release four more albums.
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