Reba McEntire

Reba McEntire

Active - 1982 - 2023  |   Born - Mar 28, 1955 in McAlester, Oklahoma, United States  |   Genres - Comedy, Music, Drama

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Biography by AllMovie

Grammy award-winning country music singer Reba McEntire was raised on a ranch in Oklahoma, where her father competed in rodeos. Immersed in Southern country culture from birth, McEntire learned to ride as well as to sing from an early age, and she formed a singing group with her brother and sister when she was young called the Singing McEntires. She enrolled at Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant in the mid-'70s, where she majored in teaching, but in 1975, after singing a crowd-pleasing rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner" at a local rodeo, McEntire was inspired to travel to Nashville to pursue a music career. She scored a major-label record deal and released her first album the same year she got married.

It took a few years for her career to truly take off, but by the mid-'80s, McEntire was one of the most successful country singers in the industry. Though she was divorced in 1987, she remarried Narvel Blackstock, her then-manager and steel guitar player in 1989. Soon, the singer decided to branch out in her creative pursuits, appearing in the horror comedy Tremors with Kevin Bacon in 1990, the same year she gave birth to her son. Her warmth and charisma shone through onscreen, and McEntire began to cultivate a second career in acting, appearing in projects like 1994's North and 1995's Buffalo Girls. In 2001, the singer decided to switch career focuses for a while and pursue acting full-time, playing a single mom on her own sitcom, Reba. The show was a huge hit, earned her a Golden Globe nomination, and would continue to run for six seasons. She attempted to return to television in 2012 on ABC's Malibu Country, but the show was cancelled after the first season.

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Factsheet

  • Sang with her brother Pake and sister Susie as the Singing McEntires as a child.
  • Worked on the WPRA rodeo circuit for 10 years in quarter-horse barrel racing.
  • Almost didn't make it to her debut at the Grand Ole Opry on September 17, 1977. A guard at the gate didn't see her name on the list and refused to let her in. It took a call from her booking agent to resolve the problem.
  • Was offered the role of Molly Brown in Titanic, but had to decline due to scheduling conflicts.
  • Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on September 18, 1998.
  • Served as a spokesperson for the Middle Tennessee United Way, the national 4-H clubs of America and Bob Hope's Hope for a Drug-Free America.
  • Has hosted the Academy of Country Music Awards more than 10 times.