Rock singer-songwriter; born in Leavenworth, Kansas. After receiving her first guitar at age eight, Etheridge took an early interest in blues-influenced rock music. After briefly studying music in Boston, she moved to Los Angeles on her twenty-first birthday, and soon won a devoted following in the lesbian club scene at Long Beach.

Etheridge's big break came in 1986, when Island Records president Chris Blackwell heard her perform and signed her a few days later. After an unreleased first effort, she completed her stripped down self-titled debut in just four days. Melissa Etheridge (1988) was an underground hit, and one song, "Bring Me Some Water," was nominated for a Grammy.

In 1989, Brave and Crazy was released, and failing to break the top of the charts, Etheridge went on the road, building a widespread fan base thanks to long, high energy sets in the spirit of her musical idol Bruce Springsteen. A song from Never Enough (1992) won her her first Grammy, and Yes I Am (1993) launched her into rock stardom. The title of the hit album was a nod to her recently publicly acknowledged homosexuality, and similar themes were explored in 1995's Your Little Secret.

In the next year, Etheridge announced that her live-in partner Julie Cypher was pregnant, and in 1997 the couple had their first child, a daughter named Bailey Jean. In 1998, their family had another addition when Cypher gave birth to Beckett, a son. It was later revealed that the father of their child (by artificial insemination) is singer David Crosby, of the classic folk-rock band, Crosby, Stills and Nash. Etheridge and Cypher announced their separation in September 2000.