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Who is this talented young performer?

• Her arms are tattooed with the words "breathe" and "gentle."

• She has a twin brother named Wade, who is a yoga instructor.

• Genealogical researchers have discovered that she is distantly related to Hillary Clinton.

• She became a citizen of the United States (but retained her Canadian citizenship) in 2005. "I'd like to make political comments and not have my chops busted by people who say I don't have the right to comment," she said by way of explanation. 

• This too-hot teen is Ottawa-born singer Alanis Morissette. Her 1991 song Too Hot reached number 14 on the Canadian singles chart, but it was 1995's You Oughta Know that launched her to international superstardom.

• Morissette's 1995 album Jagged Little Pill sold 30 million copies and also spawned the singles Ironic, You Learn, and Hand in My Pocket.

• Morissette appeared in 18 episodes of the Canadian children's TV show You Can't Do That on Television in the 1980s.

• Tempting as it may have been to bury Too Hot forever, Morissette reclaimed and rearranged her teenage hit in 2005. During her tour supporting that year's Jagged Little Pill Acoustic album, she performed a slowed-down, contemplative version of the song, which she introduced by saying, "This next song deserves no introduction."

• A similar treatment of the Black Eyed Peas' My Humps - with a piano accompaniment and a mournful vocal delivery - yielded a YouTube smash for Morissette in 2007.

• As of 2008, Morissette has homes in Malibu and Los Angeles, and also maintains a place in her hometown of Ottawa. 

Medium: Television
Program: Newsmagazine
Broadcast Date: Nov. 27, 1991
Guest(s): Leslie Howe, Alan Morissette, Alanis Morissette
Host: Alison Smith
Reporter: Denise Harrington
Duration: 5:40
"Too Hot" and "Walk Away" courtesy MCA/Universal

Last updated: May 17, 2013

Page consulted on May 17, 2013

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