Avril Lavigne, a Grammy Award-nominated rock singer, songwriter, fashion designer, and actress, was born in Belleville, Ontario, Canada in September 1984. She has an elder brother, Matthew, and a younger sister, Michelle. Lavigne's mother Judy was the first to spot Avril's talent - at the age of 2, she began singing along with her mother on church songs.

In 1998, aged 14, Lavigne won a competition to sing with fellow Canadian singer Shania Twain on her first major concert tour, appearing alongside Twain at her concert in Ottawa, singing "What Made You Say That." Lavigne was then spotted by local folk singer Steve Medd whilst she was performing with the Lennox Community Theatre - Medd invited her to sing on his song, "Touch the Sky," for his 1999 album, "Quinte Spirit", and she also sang on "Temple of Life" and "Two Rivers," for his follow up album, "My Window to You", in 2000. At the age of 16, she was signed by Ken Krongard, the artists-and-repertoire (A&R) representative of Arista Records, who invited the head of Arista, Antonio "L.A." Reid, to hear her sing at the New York City studio of producer Peter Zizzo. Lavigne's debut album, "Let Go", was subsequently released in June 2002, with over 16 million copies sold worldwide, and certified 6 times platinum in the US. It also reached number 1 in Australia, Canada, and the UK, making Lavigne, at 17, the youngest female soloist to have a number 1 album in the UK up until that time. 4 singles were released from the album, the first, "Complicated", was the most successful, reaching number 1 in Australia, number 2 in the US Hot 100, and becoming one of the best-selling Canadian singles of 2002. Lavigne also tied a record set by Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn" when "Complicated" held the number 1 spot on the contemporary hit radio chart (which tracks air play on the radio) for 11 weeks in a row. Of the other 3 singles, "Sk8er Boi" reached the top 10 in the US and Australia, "I'm With You" reached the top 10 in the US and the UK, and "Losing Grip" reached the top 10 in Taiwan and the top 20 in Chile.

Avril Lavigne was named "Best New Artist" at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, won 4 Juno Awards in 2003 (out of 6 nominations), received a World Music Award for "World's Best-Selling Canadian Singer", and was nominated for 8 Grammy Awards, including "Song of the Year" for "Complicated" and "Best New Artist".

2004 saw the release of "Under My Skin", which has sold over 8 million copies, and after marrying Sum 41 lead singer/guitarist Deryck Whibley in 2006, Lavigne's third LP, "The Best Damn Thing" (2007) continued her success and underlined her talent, having sold over 5.3 million copies, taking her global album sales to over 30 million.