Lee Ann Biography

Lee Ann Womack, country singer

Birthdate: August 19, 1966

Birthplace: Jacksonville, Texas

Sign: Leo

Country singer Lee Ann Womack emerged as a country artist in 1997, but it was her 2000 smash crossover hit "I Hope You Dance" that brought her fame. The song, which appeared on her album of the same title, reached No. 1 on the Billboard Country chart and stayed there for five weeks. The song crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100, becoming a major crossover Pop hit, reaching No. 14.

Womack's song "I Hope You Dance" found so much success that it also peaked at the top spot on the adult contemporary chart. The song won the Country Music Association's "Song of the Year" and "Single of the Year" awards.

With the success of "I Hope You Dance," Womack drew the attention of People and Time magazines, both of which praised the single and called it "one of her best." In 2001, "I Hope You Dance" won a Grammy for Best Country Song and it also won Adult Contemporary Song of the Year from the Billboard Music Awards.

Womack was born August 19, 1966, in Jacksonville, Texas. Her father was a part-time disc jockey who frequently took her to the studio and let her pick out records for him to play. Bob Wills, Ray Price and Glen Campbell were her favorites. Instead of taking her senior trip with her class, she bargained with her parents for a visit to Nashville where she toured Music Row and watched TNN tapings.

Womack studied music at South Plains Junior College in Levelland, Texas, one of the first schools to offer a degree in bluegrass and country music. She was a member of the school band, Country Caravan, and they toured throughout the Southwest and Southern California. Later, she enrolled in Belmont University's music business program in Nashville, which enabled her to intern in the A&R department at MCA Records. In 1990, she moved to Nashville permanently.

In 1997, her first single, "Never Again, Again," had radio programmers take notice due to the song's traditional country sound, but it only climbed to No. 22. However, with endorsements from Alan Jackson and George Strait, Womack rose to the No. 2 spot four times with the singles "The Fool," "You've Got to Talk to Me," "A Little Past Little Rock" and "I'll Think of a Reason Later."

After Womack's rise to fame with "I Hope You Dance," her 2002 follow-up album Something Worth Leaving Behind led to poor sales and no major hits. The result was a stalled career for Womack. She strayed even further from traditional country music with the Big Band-inspired Christmas album, A Season for Romance. Nevertheless, a hit collaboration with Willie Nelson, "Mendocino County Line," won a Grammy and a CMA award in 2002.

In 2005, she returned to traditional country music with There's More Where That Came From. The album won CMA Awards for album of the year and single of the year ("I May Hate Myself in the Morning").

While at Belmont University, Womack met and married fellow musician singer-songwriter Jason Sellers in 1990. Together they had daughter Aubrie Lee Sellers, who was born in 1991. The couple divorced in 1996. In January 1999, daughter Anna Lise Liddell was born and in November 1999 she married record producer Frank Liddell. Both of her daughters appeared in the music video for "I Hope You Dance."