Melissa Etheridge was born on May 29, 1961 in Leavenworth, Kansas.

 

When she was eight years old, she began playing the guitar and writing her own songs.  As a teenager, she played in local bands in small bars and clubs around Kansas.  After graduating from high school, Etheridge attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts for a year, but then decided to drop out and move to Los Angeles to jump-start her career.

 

After sending her blues-influenced demo tape around to various record companies, Etheridge enlisted Bill Leopold as her manager.  She became a mainstay on the blues circuit in and around Los Angeles, and eventually was offered a contract with Island Records, which she accepted.

 

Etheridge released her self-titled debut album in 1988, which went gold.

 

In 1992, she won a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for “Ain’t It Heavy,” from the album Never Enough, and won the same award two years later for “Come To My Window,” from Yes I Am.  The title of the latter was Etheridge’s response to the rumors that were swirling about her sexuality at the time.

 

As an openly gay performer, Etheridge has used her star power to become an advocate for gay rights.  She and longtime partner Julie Cypher had two children via sperm-donor David Crosby, but the couple eventually broke up.  In 2003, Etheridge married actress Tammy Lynn Michaels.

 

Etheridge continued to record and perform throughout the late 1990s and into the 2000s.  In 2001, Etheridge participated in the Rock & Roll Library’s Song Lesson Contest, which challenged educators worldwide to build a lesson plan around her song “Scarecrow,” which was written in honor of hate-crime victim Matthew Shepard.  The winner's school was treated to a personal visit by the singer, during which she discussed the concept of tolerance with the students. 

 

In October 2004, Etheridge was diagnosed with breast cancer.  She is currently undergoing treatment and is expected to completely recover.  Etheridge most recently made an appearance at the 2005 Grammy Awards, performing in a tribute to late singer Janis Joplin.