Full name: Margaret LeAnn Rimes
Birthday: Aug. 28, 1982
Birthplace: Jackson, Miss.
Raised: Garland, Texas
Hair: blonde
Eyes: blue
Parents: father Wilbur and mother Belinda (divorced in 1997)
Residence: Los Angeles

Early performances: Her parents have tapes of her singing The Judds' Have Mercy at 18 months old. When she was five, LeAnn entered and won her first song and dance competition singing Getting To Know You.

After the victory, she told her mom, I'm going to be a singer, and I want to be bigger than Barbra Streisand! Road to stardom: At 8, she spent two weeks as the champion on Star Search, singing Don't Worry About Me.

Big break: As LeAnn was singing the national anthem at a Dallas Cowboys football game, a local disc jockey found the voice to record his song, Blue - a tune he'd written 40 years earlier for Patsy Cline.

Musical influences: Reba McEntire, Judy Garland, Patsy Cline, Barbra Streisand, Wynonna, Bette Midler

Favorite actors: Kevin Costner and Andrew Keegan

Favorite actresses: Whoopi Goldberg, Sandra Bullock, Shirley MacLaine and Audrey Hepburn

Favorite charities: St. Jude Children's Hospital, T.J. Martell Foundation, Operation Smile, D.A.R.E., Don't Mess With Texas environmental campaign

Book: LeAnn co-wrote the Christmas book Holiday In Your Heart with Tom Carter.

Movies: TV movie Holiday In Your Heart (1997), independent film Dill Scallion (1999) and Coyote Ugly (2000)

On acting: I'm still looking for just the right feature film.

I've come close with a couple of potential roles, but I haven't found that perfect script. I want to be as proud of any film I do as I am of my music.

Firsts: In 1996, LeAnn became the first country artist to win the Grammy for Best New Artist. The next year, she became the youngest person to ever win a CMA when she took home the Horizon Award at 15. Her You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs album was the only album to debut at No. 1 on the pop, country and Christian charts. Her version of How Do I Live sold more than three million copies, making her the first country artist to sell that many copies of a single. (That tune also spent the longest number of consecutive weeks on Billboard's pop charts - 69.)

On her career: I'm more excited now than I've ever been. I'm no longer the little girl who sang 'Blue.' That was five years ago and I've grown as a performer and as a person. I'm ready to try different things.

Awards: 1997 CMA Horizon Award; 1996 ACM for Top New Female Vocalist; 1996 ACM Single and Song of the Year for Blue; 1996 Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and Best New Artist

Platinum albums: Blue (6 million, 1996), The Early Years: Unchained Melody (2 million, 1997), You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs (4 million, 1997), Sittin' On Top Of The World (1 million, 1998), LeAnn Rimes (1 million, 1999)

Top 10 singles: Blue (No. 1, 1996), One Way Ticket (Because I Can) (No. 1, 1996), Unchained Melody (No. 3, 1997), How Do I Live (No. 1, 1997), The Light In Your Eyes (No. 5, 1997), On The Side Of Angels (No. 4, 1998), Commitment (No. 4, 1998), Nothin' New Under The Moon (No. 10, 1998), Big Deal (No. 6, 2000), I Need You (No. 8, 2000)