Jewel Biography

Fast Facts

• Sang for Pope John Paul II at the Vatican and for President Clinton at the White House
• Founded Higher Ground for Humanity, a nonprofit organization focused on education, sustainable improvements and cooperation with similar organizations
• Majored in classical voice and art and minored in dance and drama at the Interlochen fine arts high school in Michigan, attending school partially on scholarship and partially on money earned from her first solo concert
• Answered phones in a computer warehouse in San Diego after graduating from her fine arts high school
• When she first moved out on her own at the age of 15, she rode her horse 12 miles each day to work
• Her father taught her to sing, and the two would perform at clubs, events, bars and honky-tonks across Alaska
• Created her own fingerpicking technique, which she often uses when she plays her Taylor 912-C guitar
• While homeless and singing in local coffee shops to make ends meet, several labels started a bidding war for her, and she signed with one, selling 12 million copies of her first album
• Grew up in remote Alaska with a coal stove and an outhouse, living off of what her family could hunt, can or raise
• Since she couldn't afford to fly home to Alaska over spring break in college, she used the time to hitchhike across the country, earning the money for her train tickets by singing on street corners