Whatever happened to… Vanessa Carlton?

Noughties chick

You couldn’t go anywhere in 2002 without hearing Vanessa Carlton’s A Thousand Miles playing. Remember that catchy piano solo at the start? It was stuck in our heads for that whole year (and is now lodged there again. Soz). But what became of Vanessa and her iconic piano?

Lost in music

Vanessa, now 36, was born in 1980 in Milford, Pennsylvania. She was found playing It’s A Small World on a piano at the age of just two during a trip to Disneyland. Her mother Heidi, a piano tutor, had previously played classical music to Vanessa in the womb. Recognising her child’s talent, Heidi began to teach Vanessa to play the piano. Eventually, Vanessa signed to A&M Records in 2001.

A big hit

Vanessa hit Number One in the US with A Thousand Miles when she was 22 – it also topped the charts in Australia and peaked at Number Six in the UK. The track was even nominated for three Grammy Awards. However, Vanessa has revealed that she struggled with fame and turned to drugs to cope. She said: ‘I remember smoking a lot of pot. I probably gave some really shitty interviews. I had nothing to offer.’

Continuing her journey

Vanessa released three more albums by 2011, but reveals that she was still taking drugs during this time. She said: ‘You can really get lost in vodka and cocaine. There were moments where you’re like: “I could probably end this now,” completely. But I think I had to reach my personal rock bottom to rethink and come up with a different approach to my whole life.’ The singer reveals she got ‘healthy’ with the aid of Chinese medicine.

READ MORE CELEB GOSSIP HERE

What’s she up to now?

After coming out as bisexual in 2010, Vanessa married musician John McCauley at the end of 2013. Legendary Fleetwood Mac frontwoman Stevie Nicks, who Vanessa had toured with, officiated the ceremony. Having previously suffered an ectopic pregnancy that meant that her right Fallopian tube had to removed, Vanessa gave birth to a daughter, Sidney, in January 2015 and released a fifth album, Liberman, in October of that year. She’s revealed that she plays piano for two-year-old Sidney ‘all the time’. Like mother, like daughter.