Biography - Jewel Kilcher

Who is Jewel Kilcher?

Jewel Kilcher is an American singer, songwriter, producer, actress, and author by profession. She has risen to fame following her initial struggling days as an artist. But she is not the only one who has gained fame! Her brothers are father are also famous! But who are Jewel Kilcher’s brothers and father?

Jewel Kilcher – Age, Parents, Siblings

Jewel Kilcher was born on May 23, 1974, in Payson, Utah, the U.S. Her parents are Attila Kuno Kilcher (nickname Atz) and Lenedra Jewel Kilcher. She has two brothers Shane Kilcher (elder brother) and Atz Lee Kilcher Jr. (younger brother). She also has a half-brother, Nikos, Attila Kuno Kilcher’s love child from the previous relationship.

After Kilcher’s parents divorced in 1981, she lived with her father in Homer, Alaska. Her daily lifestyle was a tough one. Speaking of it, she said,

“We lived far from town. We had to walk 2 miles (3.2 km) just to get to the saddle barn I was raised in... No running water, no heat—we had a coal stove and an outhouse and we mainly lived off of what we could kill or can.

We picked berries and made jam. We caught fish to freeze and had gardens and cattle to live on. I rode horses every day in the summer beneath the Alaskan midnight sun. I loved it there.”

Attila Kuno Kilcher, Shane Kilcher, and Atz Lee Kilcher Jr. are the cast members of a hit reality show on Discovery Channel, Alaska: The Last Frontier. She has another famous name in her family. Actress Q'orianka Kilcher is Kilcher’s cousin.

Her father is originally from Alaska. At the time Jewel Kilcher was born, the family was living in Utah as Attila Kuno Kilcher attended Brigham Young University. Soon, their family moved back to Alaska, where Atz Lee Kilcher Jr. was born.

Jewel Kilcher is estranged from her mother Lenedra Jewel Kilcher. The two had tried to reconcile but their relationship has not improved. Kilcher has even accused her mother of stealing millions of dollars from her.

Education, Ethnicity

She attended Steller Secondary School and later enrolled in Interlochen Arts Academy and Interlochen Center for the Arts.

Her ethnicity includes German, Swiss, English, and Scottish.

Jewel Kilcher – Boyfriend, Husband, Children, Divorce

In 1995, Jewel Kilcher and Sean Penn, an actor began dating. But their relationship could not last and they broke up.

A few years later, she began a romantic relationship with pro rodeo cowboy Ty Murray. After 10 years together, Murray and Kilcher married on August 7, 2008, in the Bahamas. Talking about her marriage with Murray, Kilcher shared,

“I dreamt about this day since I was a little girl on a ranch in Alaska. It was relaxed and romantic. I wore a traditional wedding gown and diamonds, and he wore jeans and a button-down shirt. Ty’s definitely my perfect prince.”

They became parents for the first time on July 11, 2011, as Jewel Kilcher gave birth to their son Kase Townes Murray.

But after 6 years of marriage, and around 16 years together, Kilcher announced on July 2, 2014, that they were getting a divorce. She released a statement,

“My husband, friend and partner of 16 years and I have decided to get a divorce. Ty and I have always tried to live the most authentic life possible, and we wanted our separation as husband and wife to be nothing less loving than the way we came together.

For some time we have been engaged in a private and difficult, but thoughtful and tender undoing of ourselves. Allowing ourselves the time and space to redefine what we are to each other with love rather than malice.”

The former couple has found a way to remain best of friends and co-parent their son.

As of 2019, she is sharing girlfriend/boyfriend status with American footballer Charlie Whitehurst, since 2015.

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Jewel Kilcher – Career

Early Days

Kilcher’s career started unexpectedly young. When times were tough on them, she and her father used to earn a living by performing music in roadhouses, taverns, and hotels as a father-daughter duo. Soon she learned from her father to yodel.

At the age of 15, Jewel Kilcher had a change in her career. While working at a dance studio in Anchorage, the studio instructor referred her to Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan. She applied there and received a partial scholarship to study operatic voice!

Even with the partial scholarship, money was hard in the family. So, local businesses in Kilcher’s hometown donated items for auction, raising $11,000. Thankful for the love and support she received, Kilcher moved to Michigan to attend Interlochen. There she learned to play guitar, wrote music, and received classical training, while still performing live in coffeehouses. 

After graduation, she moved to San Diego, California, working in a coffee shop and as a phone operator.

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Breakthrough

In August 1993, Jewel Kilcher was discovered by Inga Vainshtein. A lead singer of local band Rust, John Hogan, had told him about her.

Kilcher’s first debut album Pieces of You was released in 1995 when she was just 21 years old. The album was a major success. It stayed on the Billboard 200 for two years (reached number 4), had 3 songs in the top 10 hits, and sold over 12 million copies in the United States alone!

Over the years, Jewel Kilcher has released numerous albums namely- Spirit (1998), Joy: A Holiday Collection (1999), This Way (2001), 0304 (2003), Goodbye Alice in Wonderland   (2006), Perfectly Clear (2008), Lullaby (2009), Sweet and Wild (2010), The Merry Goes 'Round (2011), Let It Snow: A Holiday Collection (2013), and Picking Up the Pieces (2015).

She published her memoir Never Broken: Songs Are Only Half the Story on September 20, 2018, where she opens up about family.

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Jewel Kilcher – Awards, Nominations

For Kilcher's work in music, she has received countless auspicious award nominations and winnings. Kilcher has won American Music Award, Billboard Music Award, MTV Video Music Award, Billboard Music Video Awards, NARM Awards, among others. She has also been nominated for Grammy Awards four times.

Jewel Kilcher – Net worth, Salary

The net worth of Kilcher is estimated to be around $14 million but the figure for her annual salary is unknown.

Jewel Kilcher – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

On social media handles such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, Jewel Kilcher is followed by millions of followers.

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