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Amy Lee Profile |
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Birth Date: December 13, 1981
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Birth Place: Riverside, California, USA
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Birth Name: Amy Lynn Lee
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Height: 5'4"
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Biography |
Born in California on December 13, 1981, Amy Lynn Lee moved
around a lot as a child, from Florida to Illinois. Her
family finally settled in Little Rock, Arkansas, and the
young Amy took enthusiastically to music. In junior high,
she joined the choir and attended all-state competitions; in
high school, she was the president of her choir council and
was involved in the all-region choir, mixed chorus, select
ensemble, spring musical, and art club.
It was while she was at band camp in 1995 that Amy first met
future bandmate, Ben Moody. Amy was playing Meatloaf's "I
Would Do Anything For Love" on a piano, and Moody was
instantly impressed. Throughout high school, the pair
composed songs together and formed Evanescence.
At first, Evanescence had trouble finding an audience. For
one thing, the music scene in Little Rock was caught between
two extremes: "It's typically death metal or really soft,
older-people music there," Amy later explained. "I don't
even know of any local bands that have female singers." But
the point was rather academic, since Evanescence -- still
comprised of Amy Lee and Ben Moody -- didn't yet have enough
cash to pay for the extra band members they would need for a
live show. Still, they became a local hit with a goth anthem
called "Understanding (Wash It All Away)," and they released
an independent album, Origin, soon after.
As Evanescence was mastering Origin in Memphis, the group
was overheard by producer Pete Matthews. Impressed, Matthews
gave Evanescence a referral to Wind-up Records, who soon
signed Amy and Moody. Then things really started rolling.
Evanescence added guitarist John LeCompt and drummer Rocky
Gray to its lineup, and released its major-label debut,
Fallen, which was produced by Ugly Kid Joe guitarist Dave
Fortman and featured the single "Bring Me To Life."
When "Bring Me To Life" was featured on the soundtrack to
2003's superhero actioner Daredevil, Evanescence exploded
onto the mainstream music scene. Fallen went on to go
quintuple platinum, while becoming a fixture on Billboard's
Top 10. However, just when Evanescence was on its first
world tour and poised to nab nominations for MTV and Grammy
Awards, co-founder Ben Moody suddenly left the group. Amy
was livid: "You don't do that to your band. You wouldn't do
that to your friends or family. You don't do that to
anyone," she told British magazine Rock Sound.
But Amy wasn't about to give up, hiring Cold's Terry Balsamo
to temporarily replace the AWOL Moody. Her efforts to hold
the group together seemed justified when Evanescence picked
up five 2003 Grammy nominations, and then went on to win in
two categories: Best New Artist and Best Hard Rock
Performance (for "Bring Me To Life").
Early in 2004, Amy recorded a new version of the 2002
Seether song "Broken" with her boyfriend, Seether frontman
Shaun Morgan. The duet was part of the soundtrack for The
Punisher, which, like Daredevil, was based on a Marvel
Comics character. Although the close collaboration put some
strain on their relationship, Amy and Shaun were able to
weather it; they are now able to spend more time together,
since Evanescence and Seether are touring Europe to promote
the re-release. |
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Other
Information |
Is the lead singer of the band Evanescence.
She was meeting a few of her friends at a restaurant when a
guy she barely knew looked into her eyes and asked her "Are
you happy?". She knew that she truly wasn't, and those
simple words really struck her. That is how the opening
lines to the song "Bring Me To Life", "how can you see into
my eyes like open doors..." came about.
Her favorite artists are Tori Amos, Nirvana, Michael
Jackson, NIN (Trent Reznor), Björk and Coldplay.
Says that if she didn't become famous she would "help people
in some way".
Is the daughter of Sara and John, and sister to Robbie,
Carrie and Laurie.
Is named after the 70s song "Amie".
Born in California. Grew up in West Palm Beach, Florida,
Illinois and finally Little Rock Arkansas, where she met her
band.
Collaborated with rock group Seether on their song 'Broken'
for the soundtrack from The Punisher (2004).
Won the awards for Best New Artist & Best Hard Rock
Performance for Bring Me To Life, at the 2004 Grammy Awards.
Shares a birthday with legendary rocker Ted Nugent,
actor/comedian Jamie Foxx, singer Morris Day and actor Steve
Buscemi.
She has a kitten named Zero.
When offered a cameo in the film The Chronicles of Narnia:
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), she requested
that she play a character who gets killed.
She is a classically trained pianist. She spent 9 years
studying classical piano in her youth.
Attended and graduated from Pulaski Academy, a private
elementary and junior/senior high school in Little Rock,
Arkansas, class of 2000.
Briefly attended Middle Tennessee State University.
Was president of the choir council her senior year. She
wrote a choir arrangement called "Listen to the Rain" which
was performed by the school choir at graduation.
While growing up, she and her family moved frequently to
many places, including Illinois, Kansas, and Florida before
finally settling in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Was an alto in her school choir.
Is a spokesperson for the National (American) Epilepsy
Foundation.
After her 3 year old sister's tragic death, Amy wrote a song
called Hello, it's track 9 on their debut album "Fallen". It
was performed for her family. It's personal, so personal
that she says she can't perform it live at concerts because
she'll go into a serious breakdown. |
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