Faith Hill (born Audrey Faith Perry on September 21, 1967) is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill's voice (described as both soulful and raspy) and careful song selection have helped her to sell more than 35 million records and accumulate 11 number-one singles on the Country charts.

Hill has been honored by the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music, the Grammy Awards, the American Music Awards and the People's Choice Awards. Her Soul2Soul II Tour 2006 with husband McGraw became the highest-grossing country tour of all time. In 2001, she was named one of the "30 Most Powerful Women in America" by Ladies Home Journal. In 2008, Faith Hill released her first Christmas album, titled Joy to the World.

Early life

Hill was born Audrey Faith Perry in Ridgeland, Mississippi, near Jackson, Mississippi. She was adopted as an infant and raised by a couple in the nearby town of Star. Her adoptive parents reared their two biological sons along with Hill in a devout Christian environment.

Hill's vocal talent was apparent early, and she had her first public performance, a 4-H luncheon, when she was seven. In 1976, a few days before her 9th birthday, she attended a concert by Elvis Presley at the State Fair Coliseum, in Jackson, which impressed her deeply. By the time she was a teenager, Hill was a regular performer at area churches, even those not in her own Baptist denomination.

Apart from her quest for entry into the music industry, Hill also began working toward a more robust family life. In 1988 she married songwriter and music executive Dan Hill, who provided the surname she would use as she became famous. Her first husband was not prominent Canadian singer-songwriter Dan Hill despite the similar name. Two years later, she began a search for her natural mother, whom she eventually met and with whom she corresponded until her mother's death.

A co-worker heard Hill singing to herself one day, and soon the head of her music publishing company was encouraging her to become a demo singer for the firm.

Shortly after the release of her album, Hill found her marriage falling apart. She and Dan Hill divorced in 1994.

1993 – 1997: Country success

Hill's debut album was Take Me as I Am (1993); sales were strong, buoyed by the chart success of "Wild One." Hill became the first female country singer in 30 years to hold Billboard's number one position for four consecutive weeks when "Wild One" managed the feat in 1994.

The recording of Faith's second album was delayed by surgery to repair a ruptured blood vessel on her vocal cords. It Matters to Me finally appeared in 1995 and was another success, with the title track becoming her fourth number-one country single. Several other top 10 singles followed, and more than 3 million copies of the album were sold. The fifth single from the album, "I Can't Do That Anymore," was written by country music artist Alan Jackson.