Reba McEntire

Reba Nell McEntire was born on March 28, 1955, in McAlester, Oklahoma, and raised on a cattle ranch in Chockie, Oklahoma. She was the third of four children born to Clark McEntire (1927–2014) and Jacqueline McEntire (1926–2020). Her grandfather, John Wesley McEntire, was a world-champion steer roper in 1934, and her father held the same title three times, in 1957, 1958, and 1961. The McEntire children participated in ranch work before and after school and developed an early interest in singing, encouraged by their mother, who taught them to harmonize on car trips to their father's rodeo engagements. McEntire began performing at school in first grade, singing at an elementary-school Christmas pageant, and in fifth grade won first place in the Junior Act Division of the 4-H club for a vocal performance. She also played basketball, ran track, learned piano and guitar, and trained as a barrel racer.

By high school, McEntire and her siblings had formed a performing trio called the Singing McEntires. In 1971, the group released a regional single titled "The Ballad of John McEntire," pressed by a local label in small numbers. The trio eventually expanded to include a backing band, performing at local functions, bars, and dance halls in the Oklahoma City area under the name the Kiowa High School Cowboy Band. McEntire graduated from Kiowa High School in 1973 and subsequently enrolled at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, where she majored in elementary education with a minor in music, completed student teaching, and earned a bachelor's degree.

In 1974, McEntire's father arranged for her to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City. Country artist Red Steagall heard her perform and was impressed by her voice. Later that same week, McEntire performed an a cappella rendition of Dolly Parton's "Joshua" at a hotel gathering attended by Steagall. In early 1975, Steagall contacted her and indicated he could help launch her individual career. In March 1975, McEntire traveled to Nashville, Tennessee, accompanied by her mother, to record a demonstration tape. Glenn Keener of PolyGram/Mercury Records heard the tape and signed her to the label. McEntire formally signed her recording contract with PolyGram/Mercury in November 1975 and made her first recordings for the label in January 1976.

Her early releases for PolyGram/Mercury achieved limited commercial success, but her momentum grew in the early 1980s through several top-10 country songs, including "(You Lift Me) Up to Heaven," "I'm Not That Lonely Yet," and her first number-one single, "Can't Even Get the Blues." Dissatisfied with her career direction, McEntire signed with MCA Records in 1984. Her second MCA album, My Kind of Country, released that same year, became her commercial breakthrough, producing two number-one Billboard country singles and establishing a more traditional musical style. Through the remainder of the 1980s, McEntire released seven additional studio albums and accumulated ten more number-one country hits, among them "One Promise Too Late," "The Last One to Know," and "Whoever's in New England," which earned her a Grammy Award.

In 1991, eight of McEntire's band members died in a plane crash in San Diego, California. The experience informed her subsequent album For My Broken Heart, which became her highest-selling album. She continued releasing commercially successful records throughout the 1990s, including Read My Mind (1994), What If It's You (1996), and If You See Him (1998). Those albums produced the number-one country singles "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter," "How Was I to Know," and a duet with Brooks and Dunn titled "If You See Him/If You See Her." McEntire has placed more than 100 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, 25 of which reached number one, and has sold more than 75 million records worldwide, earning her the designation "The Queen of Country."

McEntire made her film debut in January 1990 in Tremors. In 1999, she made her Broadway debut, appearing in Annie Get Your Gun, in which she played the role of Annie Oakley. Her work in that production earned her both a Drama Desk Award Special Award and a Theatre World Award, both in 2001. In the same year, The WB launched the television series Reba, in which she starred for six seasons. Her subsequent television work includes a guest role as June Ballard on Young Sheldon and a main role in the third season of Big Sky. Since 2023, McEntire has appeared as a coach on four seasons of the reality competition series The Voice and currently stars in the NBC sitcom Happy's Place. She also owns several businesses, including a restaurant and a clothing line.