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Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is a Grammy Award-winning American pop and rock singer-songwriter, and occasional actress. Clarkson rose to prominence when she appeared on the reality-television series American Idol in 2002, and after winning the competition, was signed to RCA Records. She was originally marketed as a pop musician with her debut album Thankful (2003) which was preceded by her first U.S. number-one single. Under contract with American Idol, Clarkson made a foray into film with the release of From Justin to Kelly (2003), in which she co-starred with Justin Guarini; the film was a failure with both critics and fans.

Distancing herself from her American Idol image, Clarkson took more creative control, and through considerable experimentation, developed a rock-oriented image for the release of her second album Breakaway (2004), which spawned four U.S. top-ten singles and won two Grammy Awards. While on tour in Europe in 2006 Clarkson was writing and composing songs for her third album which she hopes to release within the next year.

Clarkson was born in Fort Worth, Texas on April 24, 1982. She is the third and youngest child of Jeanne Ann Taylor, a first grade English teacher of Greek descent, and Stephen Michael Clarkson, a former engineer of Welsh extraction. Clarkson's siblings include her brother Jason, and her sister Alyssa. When Clarkson was six years old, her parents separated after seventeen years of marriage; her brother went to live with her father, her sister went to live with an aunt, and Clarkson remained with her mother. Following the separation, Clarkson frequently moved around Texas while their mother managed several occupations in order to support the family. Being six years old at the time, Clarkson did not understand why her family had been constantly moving and said that children usually do not comprehend the process of divorce. Eventually, the family settled in Burleson, Texas where Clarkson's mother married her second husband, Jimmy Taylor.

Clarkson attended Pauline Hughes Middle School when she reached seventh grade. She had originally wanted to become a marine biologist, but during the same school year, a teacher overheard her singing in a hallway and asked her to audition for the school choir. Clarkson told the teacher that she had never received professional vocal training before. Following middle school, she attended Burleson High School and performed in musicals such as Brigadoon.

Upon graduation in 2000, Clarkson worked several occupations to finance her demo CD that she had been hoping to market toward record labels. She received few responses though, and eventually decided to move to Hollywood to seek out other opportunities in music, one of which was a mentorship under famous songwriter Gerry Goffin. However, Goffin fell ill, and Clarkson, in order to make ends meet, ended up appearing as an extra on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. After her roommate left the state and their apartment burned down in a fire, Clarkson returned to Texas, discouraged after only four months in Hollywood. In order to make a living, she worked at a cinema, and as a cocktail waitress, telemarketer, and Red Bull promoter.