Kelly Clarkson's Real Name: Kelly Brianne Clarkson

Quick answer: Kelly Clarkson's full name is Kelly Brianne Clarkson. She was born on April 24, 1982, in Fort Worth, Texas, and grew up in nearby Burleson. Kelly Clarkson is her real name, and Brianne is her middle name. She became famous by winning the first season of American Idol in 2002 and later recorded hits including "Since U Been Gone" (Biography.com; Britannica).

Real name and early life

Biography.com states that "Kelly Brianne Clarkson was born on April 24, 1982, in Fort Worth, Texas." Britannica uses the same date and city, and says she grew up in Burleson, a Fort Worth suburb, where a choir teacher recognized her voice in the seventh grade. She graduated from Burleson High School in 2000, having sung in the school choir, and then moved to Los Angeles to pursue music. After that first attempt did not take hold, she returned to Texas. The Library of Congress files her as "Clarkson, Kelly, 1982-"; a catalog note places the birth in Burleson, while Biography.com and Britannica say Fort Worth.

Career highlights

In 2002 she won the first season of American Idol and a recording contract. Biography.com says her first single, "A Moment Like This," jumped from No. 52 to No. 1 on the Billboard charts. Her debut album, Thankful, followed in 2003. The second album, Breakaway (2004), moved her toward pop-rock and included "Since U Been Gone," "Breakaway," "Behind These Hazel Eyes," and "Walk Away." Biography.com says it earned her two Grammy Awards in 2005, including best female pop vocal performance for "Since U Been Gone."

Later albums include All I Ever Wanted (2009), whose single "My Life Would Suck Without You" made a record jump to No. 1, and Stronger (2011), which won a Grammy for best pop vocal album and included "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)." She has also released a holiday album and, in 2017, the Atlantic Records album Meaning of Life.

Britannica says she served as a coach on The Voice from 2018 to 2021; Biography.com notes that she joined in February 2018 for season 14, alongside Adam Levine, Alicia Keys, and Blake Shelton, and that one of her artists, Brynn Cartelli, became the show's youngest winner. Her daytime talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, debuted in 2018, and she won Daytime Emmy Awards for best entertainment talk show host in 2020 and 2021.

Name notes for searchers

Kelly is her given first name, Brianne her middle name, and Clarkson her family surname. She remains widely known as Kelly Clarkson.