06/10/2026
Carry On: Carrie Underwood-
Carrie Marie Underwood was born to Stephen and Carole Underwood on March 10, 1983, in Muskogee, Oklahoma and raised on her parents' farm in Checotah. Her father worked in a sawmill, while her mother was an elementary school teacher. She has 2 older sisters, Shanna and Stephanie. "Growing up in the country, I enjoyed things like playing on dirt roads, climbing trees, catching little woodland creatures and, of course, singing," Underwood said on her website. As a child, Underwood performed at Robbins Memorial Talent Show, sang at the First Free Will Baptist Church and for Old Settler's Day and Lion's Club events in Checotah. In 1996, when she was just 14, she auditioned for Capitol Records in Nashville, Tennessee. A contract was prepared, but it was cancelled due to a shift in company management.
While at Checotah High School, Underwood was an Honor Society member, basketball and softball player, and cheerleader, graduating in 2001 as salutatorian. After high school, she all but gave up her dreams of being a successful singer, believing that she had to be practical and prepare for the “real world.” She attended Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, earning a living by waiting tables at a pizzeria, working at a zoo, and in a veterinary clinic. During the summer, she twice performed in Northeastern State University's Downtown Country show in Tahlequah and spent time as a page for Oklahoma State Representative Bobby Frame. She also competed in numerous beauty pageants at the university and was selected as Miss NSU runner-up in 2004. She graduated magna cm laude in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in mass communication and an emphasis in journalism.
In 2005, Underwood decided to try out for the American Idol television singing competition. Not only did she pass the audition, she went on to become the winner of the show's 4th season. Her debut album, Some Hearts, was certified triple platinum, making it the fastest-selling female country album since the introduction of the Nielsen SoundScan in 1991. It is also the bestselling debut album by a solo female country music artist in history. In 2009, Billboard reported that it was the biggest-selling country album of the decade, as well as the 14th biggest-selling album of any genre. In 2009, Some Hearts was listed as one of the 100 Best Selling Albums of All Time by the RIAA.
Underwood has both been nominated and won an astounding number of awards, including Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame Rising Star of the Year in 2006, Oklahoman of the Year in 2006, and Tulsa's Spot Music Artist of the Year Award in 2006. She has won 8 Grammy Awards, 16 Billboard Awards, 17 American Music Awards; 17 BMI Songwriter of the Year Awards; seven ASCAP Country Music Awards; 9 Country Music Association Awards, 12 American Country Awards, 30 Country Music Television Awards, 10 People’s Choice Awards, 7 Teen Choice Awards, and 8 Billboard Spin Awards from 2006-2011. She was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2008 (becoming its youngest member), the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 2005, and the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2017. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as of 2018. The Guinness Book of World Records recognized her 7 times, among other things for being both the slowest climbing and longest staying act on the US Hot 100 chart in the 21st Century and for having the most #1 Country hits of any female artist (originally tied with Reba McEntire).
Underwood is a passionate supporter of animal rights and became a vegan when she was young after she couldn’t bear the thought of eating one of her own farm animals. She has done several public service announcements for the Humane Society of the United States and has also done a "Protect Your Pets" public service announcement for Do Something. On March 29, 2010 Underwood and Pedigree partnered to donate $10,000 to a New York City Animal Shelter. In April, 2011, she opened the Happy Paws Animal Shelter in Checotah. On January 10, 2012, it was reported that the singer rescued an abandoned dog along highway.
Underwood’s charity extends to people as well. She established the Checotah Animal, Town, and School (CATS) Foundation in 2009 to help with general causes, needs, and services in her hometown to directly impact the community. In 2009, the CATS Foundation and the Academy of Country Music foundation "ACM Lifting Lives" partnered to give students in Checotah, Oklahoma a gift valued at more than $120,000 in new instruments for their music programs. During the 2011 holiday season, her foundation also donated $350,000 to the Checotah schools. She supports the United Service Organization, Clothes Off Our Back, and Habitat For Humanity. She launched the Academy of Country Music Lifting Lives Temporary Home Fund to benefit victims of the Tennessee floods of early 2010, which was kicked off with grants that she received from ACM as Entertainer of the Year. In 2021, she released the single Stretchy Pants, the profits benefiting the Nashville-based The Store, which provides free shopping for underprivileged families.
To benefit cancer research, in 2008 she partnered with Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Miley Cyrus, and others to record Just Stand Up!, the proceeds benefiting Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C). As a result of their efforts, the SU2C scientific advisory committee, overseen by the American Association for Cancer Research, was able to award $73.6 million towards groundbreaking research. In 2010, she partnered with Country Cares for St. Jude Kids visiting the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Underwood donated $140,125 in 2011 to Save The Children, and in 2012 donated $1 of every ticket sold on her Blown Away Tour to the American Red Cross.
