The daughter of Alan and Georgia Morissette, Alanis, an Ottawa native, was one of three children in the family (she has an older brother named Chad and a twin brother named Wade). Alanis loved dancing and acting when she was young. She started learning ballet and jazz dancing at the age of 7. She has also done a lot of stage and theatre work, including a part on the highly popular kids television show "You Can't Do That on Television" when she was 11. Alanis also appeared in the TV movie "Just One of the Girls" in 1993, which starred Corey Haim.
Alanis also seem to be quite fond of teaching, as she once suggested that she might have been an English or Drama teacher if she hadn't been involved in show business. She has been writing songs for fun since 9. Alanis admired the music and character of Olivia Newton John (from "Grease") tremendously when she was young, which is the main reason why she was so interested in music. She also loved the writing style of George Micheal. With the help of a friend of the family who was in the music business, Alanis released her first ever single at the young age of eleven. The song was called "Fate Stay With Me", and it was independently produced with money coming out of her own pocket. The song was not a hit by any means, but it got some airplay on Canadian radio stations.
At age 13, Alanis met Leslie Howe (who did the group One-to-One), and they started writing together. Eventually, she was signed to MCA, and she recorded her first album, "ALANIS", in 1990. Released in 1991, the music on this album is mostly pop and dance, along the lines of Paula Abdul. This recording proved to be a big hit in her homeland, as "ALANIS" went platinum in Canada. She was labelled as a teenager pop/dance sensation. Her success won her a JUNO Award (Canada's version of the America's Grammys) as the most promising new female vocalist. Her sophomore album "NOW IS THE TIME" was released by MCA in late 1992. "NOW IS THE TIME" is also a pop album, but this recording as a whole seems to be more mature than her first album. It has more ballards and sounds less like a dance album. Not as successful as "ALANIS", "NOW IS THE TIME" nevertheless went platinum in Canada.
Despite being relatively well-known in Canada, Alanis was a virtual stranger in the United States. Her biggest gigs so far were singing the national anthem at the first Ottawa Senator's game and singing her song "Too Hot" on the 1992 NHL Awards. This may all change after Alanis was signed to Madonna's Maverick Label. After trying to co-write with hundreds of people and being disappointed each time, Alanis finally met Glen Ballard through MCA publishing, and immediately two enjoyed each other's writing style. Her third release "JAGGED LITTLE PILL" showed a very different Alanis than in the previous two albums. Alanis believed that the catalyst for her change in attitude and character was her move from Canada to Los Angeles, where she learned to live independently in a big city. Alanis said she is now mature enough to tap into an honesty that she wasn't ready to deal with when she was younger. Most of the songs on "JAGGED LITTLE PILL" are in one way or another autobiographical. And people are loving her work, as her album is now a big hit across the United States.