Who I Am: From Ottawa to Jagged Little Pill
If "Hand in My Pocket" or "Ironic" ever came on the radio and you sang every word, you know where I'm coming from. Before you pick a design, here's how a girl from Ottawa ended up with one of the best-selling albums of all time.
Where do I come from?
I was born Alanis Nadine Morissette in Ottawa, Ontario, on June 1, 1974. I started writing songs as a child, and at ten I appeared on the Canadian TV show You Can't Do That on Television. In 2005 I also became a US citizen, keeping my Canadian one.
How did my music begin?
My first two albums, Alanis (1991) and Now Is the Time (1992), were dance-pop records released only in Canada. Then I moved to Los Angeles and started writing with Glen Ballard.
What changed with Jagged Little Pill?
Jagged Little Pill came out in 1995 and changed everything. Songs like "You Oughta Know", "Hand in My Pocket" and "Ironic" were everywhere, and the album sold 33 million copies worldwide. It won the Grammy for Album of the Year, making me the youngest winner of that award at the time.
What came next?
- Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (1998), with "Thank U"
- Under Rug Swept (2002)
- So-Called Chaos (2004)
- Flavors of Entanglement (2008)
- Havoc and Bright Lights (2012)
- Such Pretty Forks in the Road (2020)
- The Storm Before the Calm (2022), an album of meditation music
In 2019 my songs reached Broadway in the musical Jagged Little Pill, which won two Tony Awards.
What do my songs have in common?
Honest lyrics, a voice that can whisper or roar, and songs that grow with you. Every piece at Alanis Morissette Merch comes on tees, hoodies, sweatshirts and kids' sizes, with a size chart on each product page.