Vanessa Carlton

Vanessa Lee Carlton (born August 16, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She was born in Milford, Pennsylvania, to Edmund, a pilot, and Heidi Lee, a pianist and school music teacher. Her passion for music started at a young age; at two, she played "It's a Small World" on the piano after a trip to Disneyland. Her mother began tutoring her, introducing her to classical music. At age nine, she also developed a passion for ballet and later enrolled at the School of American Ballet at fourteen. However, feeling the pressures of professional dance, she shifted her focus to songwriting.

Career Breakthrough with "Be Not Nobody"

After waitressing and performing in New York City bars, Carlton was signed by A&M Records. Her debut album, "Be Not Nobody," was released in April 2002 and peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 chart. The album featured the hit single "A Thousand Miles," which became a global phenomenon, reaching the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 and earning three Grammy nominations. The song was originally titled "Interlude" and was written by Carlton about a crush on a fellow student at the School of American Ballet. Other singles from the album included "Ordinary Day" and "Pretty Baby." To promote the album, she toured extensively across the US and Europe.

Subsequent Albums and Artistic Evolution

Carlton's second album, "Harmonium" (2004), debuted at number 33 on the Billboard 200. She parted ways with A&M Records in 2005. Her third album, "Heroes & Thieves" (2007), received critical praise despite minimal chart success. She independently produced her next albums, "Rabbits on the Run" (2011) and "Liberman" (2015), which were acclaimed for their personal subject matter and a departure from her earlier pop sound. Her sixth studio album, "Love Is an Art," was released in 2020. In 2019, Carlton made her Broadway debut in the lead role of the Carole King musical "Beautiful".

Discography

Her studio albums include:

• Be Not Nobody (2002)
• Harmonium (2004)
• Heroes & Thieves (2007)
• Rabbits on the Run (2011)
• Liberman (2015)
• Love Is an Art (2020)

Personal Life

In 2010, Vanessa Carlton publicly came out as bisexual during a performance at the Nashville Pride festival. She married John McCauley, the frontman of the band Deer Tick, in December 2013. They have a daughter, Sidney, who was born on January 13, 2015. The family resides in Nashville, Tennessee.