Sara Bareilles

Sara Beth Bareilles (born December 7, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress.

She has sold over three million albums and over 15 million singles in the United States.

Bareilles has earned various accolades, including two Grammy Awards, as well as nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards, and three Tony Awards.

Sara Beth Bareilles was born on December 7, 1979, in Eureka, California.

Her father, Paul Bareilles, is an insurance adjuster while her mother, Bonnie Jean (Capellas), is a funeral home worker.

She has two elder sisters, Stacey and Jennifer, and a half-sister, Melody.

Bareilles has Portuguese ancestry through one of her maternal great-grandmothers.

She also has Italian, English, German and French ancestry; her last name is French.

She speaks some Italian and lived in Bologna for a year during college.

Her mother married Ron Halvorsen after divorcing her father when Bareilles was 12.

Bareilles was raised Catholic and attended parochial school until junior high, when she transferred to public school.

She still attends Mass with her family when she visits her hometown.

She participated in the high school choir, Limited Edition, and local community theater musical productions, including her high school's production of Little Shop of Horrors, in which she appeared as Audrey.

After graduating from Eureka High School in 1998, Bareilles studied communication studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she was a member of the co-ed a cappella group Awaken a Cappella; she can be heard on their album Dysfunktional Family, singing her original selection "Gravity" and "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5.

After graduating from UCLA in 2002, Bareilles performed at local bars and clubs (such as the Hotel Café and Genghis Cohen in Los Angeles), building a following before performing in larger venues.

She released two demos of mostly live tracks in 2003: The First One in April and The Summer Sessions in October.

Born and raised in Eureka, California, Bareilles released a self-published album, Careful Confessions, in 2004.

The group's rendition of "Gravity" was featured on the Best of College a Cappella 2004 compilation CD.

Bareilles and Maroon 5 have been acquainted since their college days at UCLA, when the band was known as Kara's Flowers.

She performed in the annual student concert UCLA Spring Sing, winning twice.

She taught herself to play multiple instruments, including the piano.

In January 2004, Bareilles released her first studio album, Careful Confessions.

In mid-2004, she opened for Rocco DeLuca and the Burden during their inaugural headline tour, supported Guster on their first UK tour and co-headlined a tour with Jon McLaughlin.

Also in 2004, she appeared as a singer in a bar in the award-winning indie film Girl Play, performing the song "Undertow" and her songs "Gravity" and "Fairy Tale" also appeared in the film.

She received further recognition with the release of her second studio album, Little Voice (2007), which was her first recording for a major record label (Epic).

The album included the hit single "Love Song", which reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned her a nomination for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year.

In 2010, she released her third studio album, Kaleidoscope Heart, which peaked at number one on the Billboard 200.

In 2012, VH1 named her one of the Top 100 Greatest Women in Music.

In 2013, she released her fourth studio album, The Blessed Unrest, which featured the lead single "Brave".

It received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

Bareilles made her Broadway debut when she composed music and wrote lyrics for the 2015 musical Waitress, for which she earned nominations for the Tony Award for Best Original Score and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

She subsequently received Olivier Award nominations for its 2021 West End transfer production.

She released the 2015 studio album What's Inside: Songs from Waitress, which is a recording of her singing many of the musical's songs.

For her work in the 2016 Broadway musical SpongeBob SquarePants, she earned a Tony Award nomination.

In 2018, she received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Mary Magdalene in the NBC musical television special Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert, for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie.

Also in 2018, she co-hosted the 72nd Tony Awards alongside Josh Groban, for which she gathered two further Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

She currently stars as Dawn Solano in Peacock and Netflix's musical comedy Girls5eva (2021–present).

In 2019, she released her sixth studio album, Amidst the Chaos, with the single "Saint Honesty" winning her the Grammy Award for Best American Roots Performance.

In 2022, she returned to Broadway as The Baker's Wife in a revival of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods, earning a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and being nominated for her first Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

Bareilles is also known for her work on television.