Alanis Morissette: Biography

Pop vocal artist and composer Alanis Morissette gained fame when she signed with Madonna's Maverick Records and released Jagged Little Pill in 1995. However, her first experience with show business came long before her singing career. Born on June 1, 1974, in Ottawa, Canada, she appeared on the TV series You Can't Do That on Television! in the mid-'80s. Her musical skills had been honed since she began playing the piano at the age of six, and thus she began recording by the time she was ten. After spending time making an album in Toronto, she relocated to Hollywood, where she began working under Maverick and released Jagged Little Pill.

In 1998, she supplied the track "Uninvited" for the City of Angels soundtrack, and subsequently released another album, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. Inspired and refreshed by a trip to India, the album proved reflective of the artist's deeper self, and she directed her own music videos for the songs "Unsent," "Joining You," and "So Pure," off of that album.

In 2000, Morissette made her big-screen debut in the role of roles -- playing God -- in Dogma. While the part was somewhat less than wordy, her charismatic persona provided a memorable and unexpected interpretation of the divinity, and earned her much attention in the movie business. She, and her prominent long locks, would return to the role for the sequel Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back in 2001. ~ Sarah Sloboda, All Movie Guide