Date of Birth

27 December 1984, Belleville, Ontario, Canada

Birth Name

Avril Ramona Lavigne

Nickname

Avie
Av
Pop-Punk Queen
Pop Rock Princess
Punk Rock Princess

Height

5' 5¼" (1.66 m)

Mini Biography

Avril Lavigne was born on September 27, 1984 in Belleville, Ontario, Canada, to Judith-Rosanne (Loshaw) and Jean-Claude Joseph Lavigne. Her ancestry is French-Canadian, Polish, English, Irish, and Scottish. At sixteen, she moved to Manhattan and began work on her debut album. She dropped out of high school after the 11th grade when she secured a record deal. When Avril was almost 18, she released "Complicated" from her debut album titled: "Let Go," which went 6x platinum. As a petite skater girl from a small town, Avril has shown she is independent, full of confidence and determination, providing a good combination to make "Complicated" and Avril a musical breakthrough. "Complicated" went to number #1 on Billboards Top 100 while also earning her 5 Grammy nominations, MTV music awards, MTV European music awards and many more.

Trivia

• Avril's father, Jean-Claude Joseph Lavigne, was born in France, to a Canadian father, of French-Canadian descent, and to a mother of Polish origin. Avril's mother, Judith-Rosanne "Judy" (Loshaw), has English, Irish, and Scottish ancestry. Avril and her siblings are both Canadian and French citizens from birth, as France applies the "right of blood". Avril applied for, and received, her French passport in February 2011. She has since spent a significant amount of time living in Paris and learning French.
• Her younger sister, Michelle Lavigne, appeared in her music video "Sk8r Boi" (2002).
• She is the second of three children, with a younger sister, Michelle Lavigne, and an older brother, Matthew E. Levine.
• Was orginally pursuing a career in country and folk music, but transitioned into "punk-rock" because of its more lucrative possbilities.
• Taught herself the guitar at age 12. Performed at county fairs, singing songs by Garth Brooks, Shania Twain and The Chicks.
• She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 6212 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on August 31, 2022.

Trademarks:

• Bitter lyrics
  
• Thick black eyeliner
  
• Pink streak
  
• Pink and black color scheme
  
• Girly punkish outfits
  
• Often wears Converse shoes
  

Quotes

• I liked being a minor because you can't get into trouble. Now I just have to try and behave myself.
• I might look like a tough chick--and I am--but I'm also a hopeless romantic inside.
• Why should I care what other people think of me? I am who I am. And who I wanna be.
• I'd like to be a little more hard-rocking on my next album. But I hate the whole label thing.
• People ask me if I regret wasting my last teen years on becoming a singer. You know something? I don't. Because singing is my life. When and if you want something so badly you'll see. I mean, I'm just so blessed to be doing what I love to do and to have been given this opportunity. I thank God because there are so many more talented people out there that will never even come close to getting a record deal.
• To understand me, you have to meet me and be around me. And then only if I'm in a good mood--don't meet me in a bad mood.
• My mom wouldn't let me sing "Strawberry Wine" because it had "wine" in it.
• When I was two my mom said she knew I was going to be a singer. I've been performing ever since I was a young kid. So I've known I wanted to do this for awhile. I always knew in my heart that I'd be singing.
• I'm just coming out and I'm going to clearly be myself--I write what I feel, I never worry what others think.
• I can write a song a day.
• My dream was always to hop up on stage in front of my fans every night and perform.
• [about lip-synching] Actually, I know for a fact there are some young female artists who don't even sing on their own records and who don't sing live. And that is pathetic.
• I like to be onstage. I like to write pop-rock songs. That's what everyone wants to hear from me, and that's when everyone goes ape-shit with the fist-pumping and all. But there are different sides to me. I enjoy sitting down to the piano and telling this in-depth story and writing an emotional ballad.
• I wrote the inspirational song, "Fly," a couple of years ago for my foundation; it's about lifting people up, and telling them not to give up, no matter how hard things get.
• You can't let obstacles get you down. You've got to keep positive and keep reaching up, which is, as you guys know, the slogan for [the Special Olympics].
• When I was in high school I was a little s**t, hanging out with the guys, getting drunk, smoking, getting in fights, playing hockey.
• [on "Don't Tell Me"] It's about being strong. There are a lot of guys out there who just want to take you out to dinner and then, like basically go home and 'unhh' you. That's what a lot of guys are like and I just think girls need to be strong and not let any guy pressure them into doing anything.
• When I was writing "Don't Tell Me", I was just, kind of, thinking about what it was like being a girl, and I was seventeen when I wrote that song, so that was all, like, fresh on my mind. I was just coming out of high school, and there's a lot of pressure for girls these days, and I'm happy to have that song, to be able to sing it up on stage every night, and to introduce it with, you know, by telling the audience that this song is all about being strong, and this goes out to all the girls, and it feels good to be able to do that.
• As soon as I could walk, my dad had me on skates. I joined the guys' hockey team when I was about ten. I've always been the only girl playing hockey. I was better than some of the guys!