Who is Alanis Morissette? To quote her first hit song, "you outha know."

Born in 1974 and raised in Ottawa, Canada, Alanis is the daughter of Hungarian emigrants. Her parents, both teachers, took jobs at a military school, but Alanis and her two brothers - twin-brother Wade and older brother Chad - went to Catholic school.

Alanis' gift for music was already evident at a early age. She learned to play the piano at age 6, and began to listen to all kinds of music, but her favorite singer was Olivia Newton-John. Inspired, little Alanis began to test her own vocal chords when she was only eight years old. By the time she was 9, she was already composing her own songs.

Alanis was really made to shine on screen. In 1984, at age 10, she made her acting debut in Nickelodeon's You Can't Do That on Television. The show was a sketch-comedy series hosted by two boys, and Alanis played the part of girlfriend next door. Although the show was a hit, Alanis left after two seasons.

Music was her real passion, so when she was 14, she independently recorded her first single "Fate Stay with Me," using the money she earned from that show. Two months later, she signed with a major record label in Canada. She relocated to Toronto, Canada in 1991 and broke into pop stardom with her self-titled album "Alanis." Her album sold 100,000 copies, and she was honored with a Juno Award (equal to a Grammy in US) for most promising female artist.

The next year, she went on to produce her next album "Now is the Time." Unfortunately, the follow-up album didn't fair well, selling only half as many as her debut album. And besides, when her first single and two albums were released in Canada, she was only known as "Alanis." She was advised to just go by her first name so as not to confuse her with "Alannah Myles," another popular Canadian singer at that time.

Though her albums were successful in Canada, Alanis was not happy. They were more of the "move-your-feet" pop, and she felt she wasn't sharing much of herself then. So when she was 19, she took a chance and moved to Los Angeles, California with a determined heart to make it as a singer/songwriter.

There, a year later, she met the man whom she would soon find out to be her spiritual brother, Glen Ballard - also the driving force behind the Wilson Philips and Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror." Armed with demo tapes of her songs, she was signed to Maverick Records, a new label started by Madonna. Soon in 1995, "Jagged Little Pill" was released. The album was deeply autobiographical, 80 percent was taken from her demo, resulting in the pure, raw form of honest expression, something Alanis always wanted. And multi-millions of people worldwide accepted with open arms Alanis' leap of faith in letting her truth all out. Her first single, "You Oughta Know," was an instant hit. This, along with the other tracks from the same album, rocked the charts and stayed there for an amazing 113 weeks. The album sold over 30 million copies around the globe, making it the best selling album by a female in history! Not only that, she also received 4 Grammy Awards in 1996.

After Alanis' exhausting Jagged Little Pill tour, she decided to abandon ship. She was so physically and emotionally drained that she took a break and vowed to not to tour, write, or record for a year or more. In January of 1998, she traveled to India, and she was able to be completely anonymous and just be herself. It was around that time that she had made peace with her past, her fame, and her friends.

After over two years of immersing herself to the Asian culture, Alanis was ready to write again. In February of 1998 she wrote the City of Angels' hit soundtrack "Uninvited," where she was nominated for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television at Grammy Awards in 1999.

Soon after that, "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie" was released, which featured hits like "'Thank You," and "Unsent." It was also profoundly autobiographical, but she was sharing her peace instead of her pain. The album gained worldwide success too, producing 4 radio hits. Alanis' world tour also helped keep her on the charts. She also proved her being 'fearless' in "Thank You" 's video, where she sang naked, with only her long hair covering her private parts, all throughout the video.

In 1999, Alanis produced MTV's "Alanis Morissette Unplugged," introducing some unreleased work before a live audience in New York's Brooklyn of Music. The album featured "That I Would be Good" which became a fan favorite. Alanis did another special on VH1's Storytellers where people got a sneak peak of her single for the Dogma's soundtrack, "Still."

Aside from her musical accomplishments, Alanis ventured into directing her own videos for "So Pure" and "Unsent." She also did a cameo appearance in the movie Dogma, where she played the role of God. Alanis also appeared in HBO's Sex in the City and starred in the off-Broadway Vagina Monologues. At the same time, she is an active advocate of humanitarian issues, music artists' rights, and Internet technology.

On February 2001, she came up with her latest album "Under Rug Swept." Digging deep below surfaces, Alanis arrives at a place on "Under Rug Swept" where raw truths are explored with the kind of fearless honesty and lack of censorship that has become a thread throughout all her songs. In her song "Utopia," she expressed her hope for a better world. There, "she softly croons her wish list for a perfect world, a place 'without guilt, without fear...with room for every emotion."

After all her successes and being one of the biggest selling female artists of the 90s, Alanis continues to bless the world with her creative talents. She repeatedly proved that it was honest communication that made her successful. With her fearless and raw honesty, she has, and will remain, connected with millions of people worldwide.