Jewel

Bio:
Jewel (born Jewel Kilcher in Payson, Utah on May 23, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, actress, and author/poet. She has received four Grammy Award nominations and has sold over 27 million albums all over the world. Jewel, although born in Utah, was raised in Alaska and came from humble beginnings. She was raised outdoors with no running water and no heat. Her father, Attila Kuno “Atz” Kilcher, trained her how to sing and together they performed all over the state of Alaska. However, she moved out when she was 15 and it was then that she applied and got accepted into Interlochen, a fine arts school in Michigan. Jewel leaned to play the guitar while at school and she majored in operatic voice. She began writing songs at age 16. For a time, Jewel was homeless, living only in her car and traveling around the country doing street performances and small gigs. In San Diego, California she gained recognition singing at The Inner Change Cafe and Java Joe’s. In 1993 Jewel was discovered by Inga Vainshtein when the lead singer from a local San Diego band called to tell her about a girl surfer who sang at a local coffee shop on Thursdays. From there Jewel went on to release her debut album, Pieces of Me, in 1995 at the age of 19. The album stayed on the Billboard 200 for an impressive two years, reaching number four at its peak and eventually selling over 12 million copies in the US alone. Since, Jewel has appeared on various television shows such as 7th Heaven, American Idol, and more recently The Sing-off as a judge. Jewel has also written various books and has released 14 albums (including Greatest Hits and two Christmas albums), her most recent being Picking Up the Pieces, which was released in 2015.

Best Known For:
Jewel is best known for her first album, Pieces of You, which includes the hit song, “You Were Meant for Me.” She is also well known for her role as a judge on The Song-Off in 2013 and 2014.

Personal Life:
Jewel was thrust into the Hollywood spotlight when she started dating actor Sean Penn in 1995 after he saw her perform on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. He ended up going with her on tour. In 2008, Jewel married Ty Murray, a pro rodeo cowboy, after dating for 10 years. The two have one child together, a son named Kase Townes Murray. Kase was born in 2011. However, Ty and Jewel got divorced in 2014. In January of 2015, Jewel was seen with NFL player, Charlie Whitehurst and it was confirmed that the two are dating.