Alanis Morissette 1974-1993

Alanis Morissette was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to Alan and Georgia Morissette. Alanis had a twin brother Wade, and an older brother, Chad.

In 1986, Morissette had her first stint as an actress: five episodes of the children's television show You Can't Do That on Television. Using money she saved from that role, she released an independent single "Fate Stay with Me" with the B-side, "Find the Right Man". She appeared onstage with the Orpheus Musical Theatre Society in 1985 and 1988.
During her high school years, Morissette attended Glebe Collegiate Institute in Ottawa.

At a New York City audition, Morissette landed a spot on Star Search, a popular American talent competition on which she used her stage name, Alanis Nadine.
Morissette flew to Los Angeles to appear on the show, but lost after one round.

In 1990, Morissette signed with MCA Records Canada and was an opening act on rapper Vanilla Ice's tour. Leslie Howe produced her full-length debut album, Alanis, which was released in 1991. At the time, Morissette dropped her stage name and was credited simply as Alanis. The dance-pop album, which was only released in Canada, went double platinum, and its first single, "Too Hot", reached the top twenty on the Canadian singles chart. Subsequent singles included "Walk Away", "Feel Your Love" and "Plastic".

During the ages 14 to 18, Morissette suffered from anorexia and bulimia nervosa, catalysed by "hardcore" professional pressure and managerial demands from her work towards making her first album. She recalled returning to the studio to re-record some vocals, only to be told "I actually wanted to talk to you about your weight. You can't be successful if you're fat." She lived on a diet of carrots, black coffee, and Melba toast, and her weight fluctuated by 15 to 20 pounds. She subsequently began therapy, which she called "a long process to un-program [my brain]. I try to remember, whatever my body is, it's perfect the way it is."


In 1992, Morissette was nominated for three Juno Awards: "Single of the Year", "Best Dance Recording" (for "Too Hot"), and "Most Promising Vocalist (Female)" (which she won). In the same year, she released her second album, Now Is the Time; this featured the top forty single "An Emotion Away", and attempted to move away from her first album's dance-pop sound, aptly named Barabas. Now Is the Time sold less than half the number of copies of her first album, and, with her two-album deal with MCA Canada complete, she was left without a major label contract.During this period, Morissette dated Dave Coulier of television's Full House fame.In 1993, she appeared in the film Just One of the Girls starring Corey Haim.