Profile of the Day: Kelly Clarkson

Happy birthday to Kelly Clarkson! Today the singer turns 37.

Kelly Clarkson / NPS, Marcey Frutchey

Clarkson was born on April 24, 1982 in Fort Worth, Texas to Jeanne Ann Rose, a teacher, and Stephen Michael Clarkson, a former engineer. The youngest of three children, Clarkson’s parents divorced when she was 6. Her third great grandfather, Isaiah R. Rose, served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. During the war, he was captured and held at Andersonville Prison, a Confederate prison. Although he was able to escape, Rose suffered a gun shot wound to the leg, which left him permanently disabled. Rose later served in the Ohio Senate and was a champion of the temperance movement.

Clarkson catapulted to fame as the winner of the first season of American Idol. Since then, she has won 2 Grammy awards and has sold over 25 million albums around the world. In addition to her successful music career, Clarkson has returned to her reality competition roots as a judge on the singing competition series, The Voice. She will also launch her own talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, later this year.

Fun fact: Clarkson can count country music superstar Reba McEntire as family. In 2013, Clarkson married Brandon Blackstock, the son of her former manager Narvel Blackstock and McEntire’s former stepson.

Explore Kelly Clarkson’s family tree on Geni and share your connection to the singer!