As early as the age of six, Jewel began accompanying her parents singing in local Anchorage performances, during which she mastered the fine art of yodeling from her dad.

When Jewel was faced with her parents’ divorce two years later, she went with her dad and brothers to live in Homer, Alaska on the 800 acre family homestead. Although the divorce and relocation invoked many mixed feelings, Jewel found solace in writing. She remembered the vitality of those poetry workshops she participated in back in Anchorage.

As her teenage years approached, Jewel enjoyed performing with her dad as a duo in local bars, hotels, and Eskimo villages. She learned how to “work a room” the way her dad did and to study people’s reactions to the songs and stories.

Jewel's interests weren’t limited to music. She also spent a lot of time enjoying her first love, horses. For hours on end, Jewel rode and cared for a horse named Clearwater.

At age fourteen, Jewel was introduced to something that would change her outlook on herself and the world around her. She was "adopted" into a native Ottawa Indian tribe. Among the sacred ceremonies she participated in, one included a "talking circle.” This opened her eyes to the realization that although she was a prolific writer, she also needed to express herself verbally. Jewel's Ottawan uncles taught her that spoken word was just as precious a gift and she had her own special "gift to give the world.

One year later, Jewel was asked to perform solo for the first time, in Tom Bodet’s popular "End Of The Road Show." Nedra rehearsed intensively with Jewel perfecting a rendition of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow.” It was during the performance, in January of 1989, that Jewel claims to have "found her voice.” Singing was something she wanted to celebrate more often.

High school was a stimulating growth period for Jewel and her dream. She spent her junior and senior years at Interlochen Fine Arts Academy in Michigan as a voice major. Her vocal teachers introduced her to opera and her singing skills improved drastically while practicing difficult arias by Monteverdi, Bononcini and others. Working within a very stringent academic schedule, Jewel also pursued interests including sculpture, art, music and dance. Another interest she felt strongly about was acting. However, the school's policy didn’t allow voice majors to participate in the drama program. With enough persistence and strong will, Jewel was finally granted an audition. She successfully landed the leading role in that semester’s play "Spoon River Anthology.” Her performance was so impressive, Interlochen began accepting other non-theater majors into their drama program.

Upon graduation in the summer of 1992, Jewel made a bold move to San Diego, California to live with Nedra. She got herself a variety of jobs, one of which was waitressing. But her delight in meeting and chatting with the fascinating customers surpassed her actual job duties. Lacking interest and skills in other jobs, Jewel soon found herself unemployed, pondering her next move.

With Nedra's emotional support, encouragement and limitless hope to pursue their dreams, they moved out of their apartment and into their vans. Cutting costs, eating mainly peanut butter & carrot sticks, Jewel settled down with her guitar and began to write songs. These songs were from her heart, about her own life, about those she'd met, about pain she saw in others and joy she wanted to share.

Her song writing flourished and soon she met local singer/songwriter, Steve Poltz and his band The Rugburns. Their friendship was instantaneous and Steve helped Jewel to work within a verse/chorus/verse structure. His influence also helped Jewel combine her deeply serious writing style with his own of humor and spontaneity. (Steve and Jewel later co-wrote You Were Meant For Me and Steve appears in the video with Jewel.)

Also during this time Jewel met and collaborated with other talented musicians in San Diego. She enthusiastically participated in "house jams" which often became spontaneous song writing sessions for her. She then began performing solo to scattered curious crowds at coffee houses throughout the San Diego area among which was The Innerchange Coffee House in Pacific Beach. To her, it was just another fun gig to play after brushing the sand off her feet, but to the audience it was an stirring experience not to be forgotten. Word spread around town, and soon Jewel had a regular Thursday night gig at The Innerchange. For a mere $3, people listened to a three to four hour set of Jewel singing and telling funny little stories about her life. Little did she know how popular she'd become. Audiences multiplied, Jewels name began to appear in the local press, and she landed several choice opening spots for bigger bands.

But 1993 was a year Jewel will always remember. By July her reputation as a mesmerizing singer/songwriter had spread like wild fire to Los Angeles. Record executives began racing each other to San Diego to see her perform. Her radiant stage presence, powerful voice and alluring charm were in instant demand. Soon the limos were arriving and Jewel knew that waitressing was far from what was ahead of her.

After a flurry of options, Jewel signed a deal with Atlantic Records. Her gift to give the world was about to be opened. She spent the beginning of 1994 traveling to Los Angeles to meet with potential album producers. Finally, Ben Keith (Neil Young and James Taylor) was chosen to produce Jewel's first album.

The recording sessions began at Neil Young's Redwood Digital Studio in Woodside, California. Young's longtime band, the Stray Gators, were recruited to back Jewel on five songs, along with Steve Poltz. To capture Jewel's strong connection with her audience, Atlantic Records suggested a live recording. So in late July, a sound crew set up The Innerchange Coffee House to record four sets of Jewel singing to her regulars, who knew this was the last time they would get seats this close. Over the next few months, songs were selected from the Innerchange recordings and the studio sessions were mixed.

After the final special touches, Jewel's first album, "Pieces Of You," was released to the public in February of 1995. Who Will Save Your Soul was the first hit single, followed by You Were Meant For Me, and Foolish Games. As of this year, the album has sold over 10 million copies and has won her, among others, an American Music Award for Best New Artist. She describes the album as a time capsule of where she was at nineteen years old.

From 1995 to 1998, Jewel continuously toured the world, promoting her album. Quickly learning the rigor of traveling the world, she played thirty cities in twenty days, touring Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan. Europe was on her path three times. She had the honor of opening for legends Bob Dylan and Neil Young and collaboratively performing in Lilith Fair. By 1997, she was selling out 15,000-seat arenas. Her press and promotional schedule was so rigorous, she appeared in over one hundred magazines and newspapers and several TV talk shows. Most notable was her appearance on the cover of Time Magazine. However far from San Diego, she still kept her friendships close. Steve Poltz opened for her several times and Jewel and Steve occasionally performed their favorite songs together.

This year has proven to be a flourish of Jewel's other abilities. She published her first book, a collection of her poetry entitled, A Night Without Armor which remained on the New York Times best sellers list for weeks. She also made her acting debut playing the lead female role in Ride With The Devil, a Civil War drama directed by Ang Lee.

Her long-awaited second album "Spirit, has just been released and is a spectacular display of her development as a singer/songwriter. Its theme conveys Jewels strong sense of faith, love, and humanity. Jewel chose Patrick Leonard (renowned for his work with Madonna) as the producer who, as a musician and songwriter himself, related to Jewel from an artists point of view. Among the many musicians who backed Jewel on this album, longtime friend, Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), plays bass on Barcelona. Nedra, who is now Jewels manager, backs her on several songs and sings a precious, beautiful duet with her on the albums additional track, This Little Bird.

Jewel's spectrum of talent is unlimited and her continued realization of her dreams gives her encouragement to inspire those around her. She found a responsibility through her fortune to making a difference in this world.