All grown up, beautiful songbird Margaret LeAnn Rimes (1982-) was born on this day in Jackson, Mississippi and grew up in Dallas. A child star with a passionate voice beyond her years, she cut her first demo at age 11.

Rimes's 1996 album Blue debuted at No. 3 on the pop charts. With a powerful voice compared to country legend Patsy Cline, Rimes' megahit song How Do I Live was "the longest running single on the Billboard Hot 100," according to her website.

Of her musical impact, she said, "I'm bringing traditional country to my generation and to the younger kids; I'm also bringing it back to a generation that's heard it all their life. So it's music for everyone."

She made history in 1997, when You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs debuted at No. 1 on the country, pop, and contemporary Christian charts, thrilling fans with rousing acapella versions of Amazing Grace and the National Anthem.

With tumultuous legal battles with her management behind her, Rimes has to grown to greater musical heights. Her eighth studio album, Twisted Angel (2002), explored rock, jazz, rap, and R&B genres. She has weathered the critics who bemoaned her cross-over from country: She may like to rock, but she still has her twang.

"I never expected it to always be easy. I'm skeptical by nature, so even when things were going great, I kept telling people that it wouldn't last," she once said. "My fans are still there, and that's what matters."

"When you start out as young as I did and people make such a big deal of your age, you enjoy getting older,” she said. “And with age comes wisdom. I think I’m getting wiser. At least I hope so!”

Stay true to who you are.