Alanis Morissette

Alanis Morissette is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress known for “You Oughta Know,” “Ironic” and her 1995 album Jagged Little Pill. Rolling Stone has dubbed her the Queen of Alt-Rock Angst.

The hallmark of Morissette’s music is her commitment to expressing herself and her feelings as authentically as possible. Along with contemporaries like Tori Amos, Liz Phair, KT Tunstall and Garbage, Morissette opened up a lane for female singer-songwriters to express themselves and their anger, also bringing more women to mainstream music in the late 90s.

She began her career in the early 1990s with two mildly successful dance-pop albums. Then she moved to Los Angeles, transformed herself into an alt-rock singer-songwriter and began working on what was to become her third studio album, Jagged Little Pill, with producer Glen Ballard. Jagged Little Pill made Morissette a critic’s darling when it was released, going on to earn six Grammy nominations as well as win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and Best Rock Album in 1996.

Morissette struggled with depression, anorexia, and bulimia when she was in her teens and twenties. In 2009, Morissette ran a marathon to promote awareness for the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA). Morissette overcame her eating disorder by meeting with a therapist. She now speaks about mindfulness, one of the practices that helped her tremendously.

Even with all of the fame that the singer has accumulated over the years, she is a dedicated environmentalist who frequently voices her opinion on how to ensure that the world remains a safe, natural haven for generations to come. Morissette believes that global warming poses a true threat to the Earth and has gone to great lengths to make her mark in the fight for the environment, becoming a vegan and being involved in several national environmental awareness campaigns.

One of the singer’s most significant contributions to the environmental cause was her narration of a documentary that warned against the onset of global warming. Titled “The Great Warming,” It made several national headlines; the New York Times praised the program, stating that it should be required viewing for every person. The documentary consisted of versions that were geared towards various communities, but made the largest splash with both evangelical churches and animal welfare groups, providing valuable insight on global warming that had not been previously considered.