Background and career
Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ə-LAN-iss MORR-iss-ET; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Alt-Rock Angst", she became a cultural phenomenon in the 1990s, gaining international fame for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting. She has sold more than 60 million records worldwide. Her accolades include seven Grammy Awards, a Brit Award, 14 Juno Awards, and nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award. In 2005, she was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame, and in 2026, she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Morissette began her music career in Canada in the early 1990s with two dance-pop albums, Alanis (1991) and Now Is the Time (1992). After relocating to Los Angeles, she released the alternative rock album Jagged Little Pill (1995), which became one of the best-selling albums of all time and has appeared on several all-time lists. She won five Grammy Awards for the record including Album of the Year, becoming the youngest winner of the category at the time. She continued this success with her next album Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (1998), which saw her adapt an experimental sound and was highly anticipated. That same year, her single "Uninvited" for City of Angels won two Grammy Awards and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.
Beginning in 2002, Morissette took on further creative control and production duties as the sole producer of her fifth album, Under Rug Swept, which won her the Jack Richardson Producer of the Year Award. Her 2005 song "Wunderkind" for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe netted her a second nomination for the Golden Globe for Best Original Song. She has continued her career with the albums So-Called Chaos (2004), Flavors of Entanglement (2008), Havoc and Bright Lights (2012), Such Pretty Forks in the Road (2020), and The Storm Before the Calm (2022).
Morissette holds the record for the most number ones on the weekly Billboard Alternative Songs chart among female soloists, group leaders, or duo members. Her first three internationally released studio albums topped the Billboard 200 albums chart, and her next four albums peaked within the top 20. Her singles "You Oughta Know", "Hand in My Pocket", "Ironic", "You Learn", "Head Over Feet", "Uninvited", "Thank U", and "Hands Clean", reached top 40 in major charts around the world. VH1 ranked her the 53rd-greatest woman in rock and roll.
How Alanis Morissette makes money
She has sold more than 60 million records worldwide. After relocating to Los Angeles, she released the alternative rock album Jagged Little Pill (1995), which became one of the best-selling albums of all time and has appeared on several all-time lists.
