Norah Jones

NORAH JONES

Date of Birth: March 30, 1979

Born in New York City, Geetali Norah Jones Shankar was brought up by parents who encouraged their daughter to be a performer. Her father—legendary Indian musican Ravi Shankar—was a large musical influence, but it wasn't until she moved to Dallas to live with her mother that she began to sing. At age four she joined her church's choir and soon after learned how to play the piano and guitar and briefly tried the alto saxophone. With her father's blessing, she shortened her name to Norah Jones at age 16.

Jones' musical education began when she enrolled at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and continued when she went to the University of North Texas, where she majored in jazz piano. Jones left the school after her third year and moved back to New York City, where she began playing with different artists in the area. Soon, Jones formed a band with a few friends and signed a record deal with Pop Note Records. The band's first album, Come Away with Me, was released in 2002 and was a massive hit selling more than 20 million copies worldwide, and winning eight Grammys in 2003—tying for the most awards won in a single year.

In 2004, Jones released her highly anticipated second album, Feels Like Home. Her sophomore effort, with its country-tinged sound, sold one million copies in its first week of release in the North America. Her third album, Not Too Late, was released in 2007 and debuted at number one on the world record charts. Jones has become one of the most successful recording artists of the decade, selling more than 39 million records worldwide.

Jones made her acting debut in 2008, starring in director Kar Wai Wong's My Blueberry Nights. The singer has admitted that the movie was an interesting diversion, but that music will always be her true love.

FILMOGRAPHY:

My Blueberry Nights (2008)