Michelle Branch

She married bass player Teddy Landau in 2004. The couple has a daughter named Owen.

She is an environmentally conscious animal lover. She works closely with the Global Green organization and has several pet cats.

She is the daughter of David and Peggy Branch. She is of mixed ancestry and has two siblings.

She loved singing from a young age. Sensing her interest, her parents arranged for her to receive music lessons when she was eight. She received a guitar on her fourteenth birthday. While teaching herself to play it, she also began composing songs.

She attended Sedona Red Rock High School though she chose to finish her high school education through home schooling in order to focus on her music career.

Her parents helped her book local gigs around her hometown in an attempt to encourage her musical career. She performed covers of songs by Sheryl Crow, Jewel and Fleetwood Mac at these gigs.

She self-produced an album ‘Broken Bracelet’ in 1998 which was a compilation of the songs she had written as a teenager.

She signed a recording deal with Maverick Records in 2001. She worked with John Shanks to produce her major label debut, ‘The Spirit Room’ the same year. The album featured the singles ‘Everywhere’, ‘All You Wanted’ and ‘Goodbye to You’.

She became friends with the musician Justincase and helped him sign a contract with Maverick Records. She collaborated with him on several of the songs on his 2002 self-titled album.

Michelle teamed up with the musician and songwriters Santana, Gregg Alexander and Rock Nowels to produce the song ‘The Game of Love’ in 2002.

She came out with her second album ‘Hotel Paper’ in 2003. It was also a big commercial success and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart. She earned a Grammy Award nomination for the single ‘Are You Happy Now?’

Buoyed by her success in music, she made her foray into television. Till date she has appeared in several films or television shows as a musical celebrity. She hosted MTV’s ‘Faking the Video’ in 2004 along with Nick Lachey and JC Chasez.

Her major label debut ‘The Spirit Room’ was a big success that launched her musical career. The single ‘Everywhere’ was critically acclaimed and received very positive reviews from music critics; it became her signature song. The album was rated multi-platinum.

The album ‘Hotel Paper’ debuted at No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard 200. The song ‘Are You Happy Now?’ was nominated for a Grammy Award. The album dealt with themes like moving on, leaving things behind, and spirituality.