Faith Hill

She married music publisher Daniel Hill in 1988 and divorced him in 1994.

Her music career suffered a setback at the same time when she had to undergo a surgery of her vocal cords.

She was engaged to producer Scott Hendricks for a while, but the relationship did not progress further, as she had an affair with singer Tim McGraw and got pregnant.

Faith was born on September 21, 1967, in Ridgeland, Mississippi, US, and was adopted by Ted and Edna Perry, who named her Audrey Faith Perry. Her foster parents had two sons of their own. Faith was raised in a pious Christian environment.

She had a flair for music since childhood and made her first public performance at the age of 7 at a youth program. As a teenager, she was greatly influenced by Elvis Presley and wanted to become a singer like him.

She started singing in church choirs. At the age of 17, she formed her own band that played at local events. She performed in a number of churches and even sang for the prisoners at the county jail.

She graduated from ‘McLaurin Attendance Center’ in 1986 and joined the ‘Hinds Junior College’ in Raymond, Mississippi. However, she soon dropped out of college to pursue her dream of becoming a country singer.

Her initial days were difficult. She auditioned for the job of singer Reba McEntire’s backing vocalist but failed. She was forced to take up odd jobs. She worked as a salesgirl and a server, too.

Her version of the country number ‘Wild One,’ from her debut album, aced the ‘Billboard’ charts, holding on to the first position for four consecutive weeks and creating a record at that time. The number ‘Piece of My Heart’ also topped the county charts in 1994. Her album sold over three million copies.

Her second album, ‘It Matters to Me,’ was equally successful, with its title track reaching the top of the country charts in 1995. She appeared on the ‘Public Broadcasting Service’ (PBS) music show ‘Austin City Limits.’ The following year, she began a tour with country singer Tim McGraw.

Her first duet with Tim, ‘It’s Your Love,’ stayed at the first position of the country charts for six weeks and was awarded by the ‘Academy of Country Music’ and the ‘Country Music Association.’

Her third album, ‘Faith,’ consisted more of mainstream pop, with a tinge of country. This was closely followed by the album ‘Breathe,’ in November 1999, which won her two ‘Grammy’ awards.

In 2000, she appeared on a number of TV channels and in several magazines. She was featured on the ‘VH1’ show ‘Behind the Music.’ She sang the American national anthem at the ‘Super Bowl’ of the ‘National Football League’ and was regarded as one of the 10 best-dressed women by fashion critic Richard Blackwell.

She has released eight studio albums and four compilation albums that include ‘Take Me as I Am’ (1993), ‘It Matters to Me’ (1995), ‘Faith’ (1998), ‘ Fireflies’ (2005), ‘Joy to the World’ (2008), and ‘Deep Tracks’ (2016).