Brandi Carlile's Real Name: Brandi Marie Carlile

Quick answer: Brandi Carlile's full name is Brandi Marie Carlile. She was born on June 1, 1981, in Ravensdale, Washington, a rural community outside Seattle. The singer-songwriter is known for her powerful voice and her blend of folk, rock, country, and Americana, and she has won multiple Grammy Awards, including for "The Joke" (Britannica; Library of Congress).

Real name and early life

Britannica gives her name in full as Brandi Marie Carlile. The Library of Congress name authority files her as "Carlile, Brandi," with a citation reading "b. June 1, 1981, Ravensdale, Wash.; American singer and songwriter." One older LOC citation gives 1982, but LOC's fuller citation and Britannica use 1981.

Britannica says she is the eldest of three children and grew up in isolated Ravensdale, where she entertained herself by hiking, camping, and singing. Many relatives were singers, including her mother, grandparents, and great-grandparents. At 8 she sang Tammy Wynette's "Stand By Your Man" with her mother on the radio. As a teenager she came out to her classmates as a lesbian. Her family moved often, and when another move came in the middle of her sophomore year, she and her brother, Jay, dropped out of high school on the same day.

At 17 she taught herself guitar and began busking in downtown Seattle. She also sang backup for a friend's father, an Elvis Presley impersonator.

Career highlights

While recording demos, Carlile met twin brothers Tim and Phil Hanseroth of the band the Fighting Machinists. They became her longtime bandmates and co-writers, and by the early 2000s they were opening for Dave Matthews and Shawn Colvin. She signed with Columbia Records in 2004, and her self-titled debut (2005) earned a spot on Rolling Stone's "10 Artists to Watch in 2005."

T Bone Burnett produced The Story (2007). Give Up the Ghost (2009) featured a duet with Elton John, and Bear Creek (2012) reached No. 10 on the Billboard 200. The Firewatcher's Daughter (2015) brought her first Grammy nomination. By the Way, I Forgive You (2018) won three Grammys in 2019, two of them for "The Joke." A re-release of In These Silent Days won three more in 2023, including best Americana album and two rock awards for "Broken Horses."

In 2025 she released Who Believes in Angels? with Elton John and the solo album Returning to Myself. Her 2021 memoir, Broken Horses, debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times best-seller list. She also organized the Joni Jam concerts with Joni Mitchell. In 2012 she married Catherine Shepherd, with whom she founded the Looking Out Foundation; they have two children.

Name notes for searchers

Brandi Carlile is her birth name, and Marie is her middle name. Her surname is spelled Carlile, not Carlisle.