Michelle Branch is an American actress, songwriter, and singer. She is best known for her work with supergroup Primal Defense, including their hit song “Wake Me Up”. She has also been in numerous other television and film projects, including “How I Live Now”, “Raising Helen” and “E.T.” She has also been married to supermodel Elle Macpherson and Mike modeled John Collie. In 2021, she became a mother by adopting and then later getting divorced from photographer Austin Phillips.
Michelle Branch was born in Southern California. Her biological father was an electrician, while her mother was a domestic staffer. She learned to play the piano at an early age, but did not start studying guitar until she was a teenager. She then attended Pacific University, where she pursued a degree in communications, which led her to begin working as a music publicist. Later, she moved to Los Angeles and joined The Firm, a well-known recording and music publishing company owned by former Apple executive and member of the band The Yardbirds, amongst many others.
Michelle’s most popular songs have been hits on the radio, including hits on albums by The Replacements, Aerosmith, Kaleidoscope, and many others. Her first and most popular album was Hotel California by The Replacements. Michelle’s guitar work on this album is exemplary, as she uses a distorted guitar sound to create a very unique sound. She also sings a few lyrics, including one regarding her relationship with the late Kurt Cobain.
Michelle has also written several music lyrics and songs for movies, including Pretty Woman, Heat, Pretty Girl, and Edward Scissorhands. Her song, “You Don’t Mess With The Zohan,” was inspired by a true story about how director Shankaracharya tried to kill off the character of Zanka, a love interest for an Indian princess. She successfully gets him to stand still with his gaze. Michelle’s song, “Look Pretty,” from the soundtrack of the movie Avatar was inspired by the same story.
Michelle has not been involved in any musical projects since the early 80s, when she went back to her home country of Australia. She has however remained busy, playing lead vocal roles in a number of movies and television shows, such as Mad Dogs, Dinner For One, Brides, and E.T. She also appeared in the video for Britney Spears’ song “Hit Me One More Time.” When the original version was released, it ranked number five in the UK and number three in the US. While on tour with the Black Eyed Peas, Michelle sang backup vocals on the song “What’s the Use.” When the group finally ended their tour, the lead singer decided not to continue with their contract, leaving the remaining band members to record their own album without her.
Now that she’s back in the spotlight, Michelle can be seen back on the microphone, performing songs like the one she sings on her song “everything comes out perfect.” Her comeback is likely to spark a new wave of interest in her music, which will hopefully help bring her back into the public eye once again. Whether or not she chooses to focus on singing or performing live, it’s clear that she has come a long way since her days of struggling to find her way. With her new album, Nothing Compares Like You, it’s likely that everything will just come together for Michelle Branch fans all over the world.
