Ann may refer to:

Places:

• Ann, Burma
• Ann, California
• Ann (crater), on the Moon
• Ånn in Sweden

People:

• Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, a female given name
• T. K. Ann, Hong Kong industrialist and sinologist
• Julia Ann, adult film actress
• Lisa Ann, adult film actress

Other uses:

• "Miss Ann," a song by Little Richard from the album Here's Little Richard

See also[link]

• ANN (disambiguation)
• Anna (given name)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Ann Romney
Ann Romney after speaking at CPAC in 2011
First Lady of Massachusetts
In office January 3, 2003 – January 4, 2007
Preceded by	Chuck Hunt (acting)
Succeeded by	Diane Patrick
Personal details
Born	Ann Lois Davies (1949-04-16) April 16, 1949 (age 63)[1]
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Mitt Romney (m. 1969) «start: (1969)»"Marriage: Mitt Romney to Ann Romney" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Ann_Romney)
Children	Tagg (b. 1970) Matt (b. 1971) Josh (b. 1975) Ben (b. 1978) Craig (b. 1981)
Residence	Belmont, Massachusetts Wolfeboro, New Hampshire La Jolla, San Diego, California
Alma mater	Brigham Young University (B.A.)
Occupation	Homemaker
Religion	The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon)

Ann Lois Romney (née Davies; born April 16, 1949) is the wife of American businessman and Republican Party politician Mitt Romney. From 2003 to 2007 she was First Lady of Massachusetts.

She was raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and attended the private Kingswood School there, where she dated Mitt Romney. She converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1966. She attended Brigham Young University (BYU) and married Mitt Romney in 1969. Ann Romney completed credits towards her undergraduate degree through Harvard Extension School, and in 1975 she received a Bachelor of Arts in French from BYU.

As First Lady of Massachusetts, she served as the governor's liaison for federal faith-based initiatives. She was involved in a number of children's charities, including Operation Kids, and was an active participant in her husband's 2008 presidential run, where she became the most visible of all the Republican candidates' wives in campaigning. She has continued campaigning on her husband's behalf during his 2012 presidential bid.

Ann was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1998 and has credited a mixture of mainstream and alternative treatments with giving her a lifestyle mostly without limitations. In one of those activities, equestrianism, she has consequently received recognition in dressage as an adult amateur at the national level and competed professionally in Grand Prix as well. In 2008, she was also diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ, a non-invasive type of breast cancer. She underwent a lumpectomy in December of the same year and has since been cancer-free.

She and husband Mitt have five children, all boys, born between 1970 and 1981.

Early life[link]

Born Ann Lois Davies,^[2] she was raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan,^[3] by parents Edward R. Davies and Lois Davies.^[4] Her father, originally from Caerau near Bridgend, Wales,^[5] was a self-made businessman who became president of Jered Industries, a maker of heavy machinery for marine use;^[4][6] he also was mayor of Bloomfield Hills.^[3] Raised in the Welsh Congregationalists, he had become strongly opposed to all organized religion,^[6] although on her request the family very occasionally attended church, and she nominally identified as an Episcopalian.^[7][8] At times she helped out at her father's plant.^[9]

Ann Davies knew of Mitt Romney since elementary school.^[8] She went to the private Kingswood School in Bloomfield Hills,^[10] which was the sister school to the all-boys Cranbrook School that he attended.^[10] The two were re-introduced and began dating in March 1965;^[11] they informally agreed to marriage after his senior prom in June 1965.^[6][11]

While he was attending Stanford University for a year and then was away starting two-and-a-half years of Mormon missionary duty in France,^[11] she decided on her own^[3] to convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during 1966.^[6][12] In doing so she accepted the guidance of Mitt's father George Romney, the Governor of Michigan.^[6] (Within a year her two brothers followed her in converting.^[6]) She graduated from high school in 1967 and began attending Brigham Young University (BYU).^[3] She also spent a semester at the University of Grenoble in France during her freshman year.^[4] The Mormon missionary rules allowed her only two brief visits with Mitt and very rare telephone calls with him.^[13] While at BYU, she dated future business academic Kim S. Cameron.^[13][14] She sent Mitt a "Dear John letter", while Mitt sent letters back imploring her to wait for him.^[14]

Marriage and children[link]

Immediately after Romney's return from France in December 1968, the pair reconnected and agreed to get married as soon as possible.^[13] Ann Davies and Mitt Romney were married by a church elder in a civil ceremony on March 21, 1969, at her Bloomfield Hills home, with a reception afterward at a local country club.^[4][13] Among the 250 guests was U.S. House Minority Leader Gerald Ford, and President Richard Nixon sent congratulations.^[15] The following day the couple flew to Utah for a wedding ceremony inside the Salt Lake Temple; her parents could not attend since they were non-Mormons, but were present at a subsequent wedding breakfast held for them across the street.^[4][16]

The couple's first son was born in 1970^[13] while both were undergraduates at BYU^[17] (which Mitt had transferred to based upon her request).^[14] After he graduated, the couple moved to Boston so that he could attend Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School. Slowed down by parenthood, she later finished her undergraduate work by gaining a semester and half's worth of credits via taking night courses at Harvard University Extension School.^[17] Ann Romney received a Bachelor of Arts degree with a concentration in French language from BYU in 1975.^[1][18]

A stay-at-home mother,^[19] Romney raised the family's five boys (born between 1970 and 1981)^[13] and taught early morning seminary to them and other children^[19] while her husband pursued his career, first in business, then in politics.^[20] She wanted to go on for a master's degree, perhaps in art history, but first taking care of her children, and later her health issues, forestalled that.^[17] She was active in the local PTA and with the League of Women Voters.^[21] With a friend, she held local cooking classes.^[9]

Her first prolonged public exposure came during her husband's eventually losing effort in the 1994 U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts,^[19] during which she campaigned for him on a nightly basis.^[15] She was seen as superficial and too deferential to him^[19] and some columnists labelled her a "Stepford wife".^[22] Late in that campaign, she gave a long interview to The Boston Globe.^[15] Her statement in it that she and her husband had never had a serious argument during their married years^[15] came in for ridicule,^[23] and her portrayal of the couple's student years as financially impoverished, while they lived off of sales of George Romney's stock and loans, made her seem privileged and naïve and brought a harsh public reaction.^[24][25] Boston University political science professor later said, "She definitely hurt him in that race."^[19] Ann Romney later termed the experience "a real education".^[19]

Multiple sclerosis[link]

During 1997, Ann Romney began experiencing severe numbness, fatigue, and other symptoms,^[13] and just before Thanksgiving in 1998, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.^[17][20] Mitt Romney described watching her fail a series of neurological tests as the worst day of his life.^[13] He later said: "I couldn't operate without Ann. We're a partnership. We've always been a partnership so her being healthy and our being able to be together is essential."^[17] She initially experienced a period of severe difficulty with the disease,^[1] and later said: "I was very sick in 1998 when I was diagnosed. I was pretty desperate, pretty frightened and very, very sick. It was tough at the beginning, just to think, this is how I'm going to feel for the rest of my life."^[26]

Since then, she credits a mixture of mainstream and alternative treatments with giving her a lifestyle mostly without limitations.^[1] She initially used corticosteroids, including intravenously, and credited them with helping stop the progression of the disease.^[26] She then dropped them and other medications due to counterproductive side effects.^[19] She has partaken of reflexology, acupuncture, and craniosacral therapy, and has said, "There is huge merit in both Eastern and Western medicine, and I've taken a little bit from both."^[26] She is a board member for the New England chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.^[18]

Equestrianism[link]

Romney is an avid equestrian, crediting her renewed involvement in it while in Park City, Utah, (where the couple had built a vacation home and where they lived when he was in charge of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games) for much of her recovery after her multiple sclerosis diagnosis^[20][27] and for her continued ability to deal with the disease.^[19] She has said that riding "saved my life", explaining that, "I was losing most of the function of my right side. And I decided I needed to go back and do what I loved before I couldn't do it anymore."^[28] At first she could barely stay on a horse without getting tired,^[29] but gradually the muscle control required for riding proved directly beneficial, and psychologically, "Riding exhilarated me; it gave me a joy and a purpose. When I was so fatigued that I couldn't move, the excitement of going to the barn and getting my foot in the stirrup would make me crawl out of bed."^[28] As a result, she said, "My desire to ride was, and is, so strong that I kept getting healthier and healthier."^[24]

She has received recognition in dressage as an adult amateur at the national level,^[19] including earning her 2006 Gold Medal^[30][28] and 2005 Silver Medal at the Grand Prix level from the United States Dressage Federation.^[18][28] She also sometimes competes in professional dressage events and has broken the 60% level at Grand Prix. Romney works with California trainer Jan Ebeling,^[31] who schools her and her horses in dressage and works with her importing new stock from Europe.^[29] The pair qualified for the Pan-Am games in 2004. The Romneys have helped fund Ebeling's attempt to qualify for equestrian competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics.^[29] By 2011, the horses she owned and kept at Eberling's Moorpark, California, stables, which she is a partner in,^[28] were valued at more than $250,000.^[32]

Charitable work[link]

Ann Romney has been involved in a number of children's charities, including having been a director of the inner city-oriented Best Friends, which seeks to assist inner-city adolescent girls.^[22][9] She advocated a celibacy-based approach to the prevention of teen pregnancy.^[24] She worked extensively with the Ten Point Coalition in Boston and with other groups that promoted better safety and opportunities for urban youths.^[33]

She was an honorary board member of Families First, a parent education program in Cambridge, Massachusetts.^[34] She was a volunteer instructor of middle-school girls at the multicultural Mother Caroline Academy in Boston.^[22][9]

She has said her interest in helping underprivileged children dates back to when she and her five boys saw a vehicle carrying a group of boys to a Massachusetts Department of Youth Services detention center.^[35] She began volunteering for the United Way of Massachusetts Bay soon after that,^[35] and by 2002 was serving as one of that organization's board members.^[34] She was on the Faith in Action Committee for the United Way, working with local religious establishments to assist at-risk children^[22] and helping to found United Way Faith and Action.^[33] Earlier, by 1996, she was a member of the Massachusetts Advisory Board of Stand for Children.^[36]

During the 2002 Winter Olympics effort, she co-chaired the Olympic Aid charity, whichs provides athletic activities and programs for children in war-torn regions.^[34][24]

Ann Romney was given the 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award from Salt Lake City-based Operation Kids.^[37]

First Lady of Massachusetts[link]

Romney joined in her husband's campaign in the 2002 Massachusetts gubernatorial election from the start, and nominated him at the state party convention.^[25] A commercial entitled "Mitt and Ann", highlighting their romance and marriage, began the campaign's television advertising.^[22][24] She avoided media interviews like the one that plagued her in 1994, but was a force behind the scenes during the eventually successful campaign.^[22]

In January 2003, following his election, Romney became First Lady of Massachusetts, a position she held through January 2007. In that role, she generally kept a low public profile,^[38] with by her husband's initial indications no public role in administration or its policies.^[22] In 2006, The Boston Globe characterized her as "largely invisible" within the state (although by then she was becoming more visible outside the state, due to national appearances in connection with her husband's possible presidential campaign).^[38]

While Massachusetts First Lady, she was active in teenage pregnancy prevention efforts.^[39] In 2004, she said she was in favor of stem cell research as long as it was done "morally and ethically".^[26] One of her rare public appearances at the Massachusetts State House came in 2004 when she lobbied the legislature to raise awareness about multiple sclerosis.^[40]

In 2005, the governor appointed his wife as head of a new special office whose purpose was to help the state's faith-based groups gain more federal monies in association with the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.^[35][41] This came after the state had seen its share of faith-based grants decline over the preceding three years.^[42] In this unpaid Governor's Liaison position,^[18][41] Ann Romney was termed a "dynamo" by Jim Towey, director of the White House office.^[42]

At the conclusion of her time as Massachusetts First Lady, Romney said that the role "doesn't need to change your life at all. I think it's an opportunity for service and an opportunity to see people of all walks of life from across the Commonwealth...It's an enriching part of your life [and one will] treasure it forever."^[43] Her health was still a primary factor in family decisions about her husband's career, and Mitt said in 2005 that if her multiple sclerosis flared up, "I wouldn't be involved in politics anymore; that would be over." ^[44]

Role in 2008 presidential campaign[link]

Ann Romney with her husband, at a campaign stop in Altoona, Iowa on December 29, 2007.

Ann Romney was an active participant in her husband's 2008 presidential campaign.^[45] One past issue that arose involving her was her donation of $150 to Planned Parenthood in 1994,^[46] though she now considers herself pro-life^[47]. By late 2007, she had become an integral part of his campaign, and was doing more trips and appearances on her own, despite the risk that added stress would aggravate her condition.^[48]

Her political message was often mixed with discussions of her family, her recipes, or managing her affliction.^[19][48] Romney's television advertisements in the early primary states prominently featured her^[49] and by the close of 2007, she was the most visible of all the Republican candidates' wives in campaigning.^[19] Regarding having to witness criticism of her husband, she later acknowledged that she sometimes wanted to "come out of my seat and clock somebody [but] you learn to just take a deep breath."^[50] By the time he ended his campaign in February 2008, she had become openly distasteful of the whole process.^[23]

Between campaigns[link]

In late 2008, Romney was diagnosed with mammary ductal carcinoma in situ, a non-invasive type of breast cancer, and had the lump removed via lumpectomy;^[51] she subsequently underwent radiation therapy.^[50] Her prognosis from this condition was excellent,^[51] and she later reflected that "I was really lucky" to have caught it so early.^[50] President-elect Barack Obama was among the well-wishers who called her.^[52] She has been cancer-free since.

In June 2009, due to her husband's request, Ann Romney became the first spouse to be included in the official Massachusetts State House gubernatorial portrait.^[53]

For many years the couple's primary residence was a house in Belmont, Massachusetts,^[18] but this and the Utah home were sold in 2009. They reside in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, along Lake Winnipesaukee, and at an oceanfront home in La Jolla, San Diego, California, that they had bought the year before.^[54][55][56] Both locations were near some of the Romneys' grandchildren,^[55] who by 2012 numbered sixteen,^[57] and the La Jolla location is near where she rides horses and is well-situated for her multiple sclerosis therapies and for recovering from her cancer treatments.^[51][55][58] They also bought a smaller condominium in Belmont during 2010.^[59]

Role in 2012 presidential campaign[link]

Regarding another possible run for office by her husband in the 2012 presidential election, Romney said in March 2010 that this time the process would hold no surprises, and that if he decided in favor of doing it, "I’m up to saying, go storm the castle, sweetie."^[60] Although still not liking the political process, which she referred to as "a very difficult game", she urged her husband to run again.^[23]

Once the campaign began, she stumped for her husband in early primary states and criticized the record and ideological direction of the Obama administration.^[61] As part of trying to lighten her husband's image, she sometimes participated in comic setup routines with him.^[62] Romney said that if she became First Lady of the United States, she would seek to work with at-risk youths and on behalf of those with multiple sclerosis.^[63][23] She expressed admiration for three former first ladies, Mamie Eisenhower, Nancy Reagan, and Barbara Bush.^[23]

By December 2011, Romney assumed an even more prominent role in the campaign, as she tried to offer a more rounded and compelling portrait of her husband while he fell behind Newt Gingrich for a stretch in polls.^[23][64] Her emphasis on their 42 years of marriage and his steadfastness following the onset of her disease offered an implicit but clear contrast with Gingrich's own personal history.^[23][64] During the up-and-down campaign she became known as the "Mitt-stabilizer" due to the calming effect she had on her husband, and began appearing with him more often during February 2012 as he dueled with Rick Santorum.^[65] Regarding the couple's wealth, she alluded to her health problems and said, "Look, I don't even consider myself wealthy, which is an interesting thing, it can be here today and gone tomorrow. And how I measure riches is by the friends I have and the loved ones that I have and the people that I care about in my life."^[66]

In April 2012, Ann Romney was spotlighted when Democratic commentator Hilary Rosen declared Romney to be unfit to address women's economic issues because as a stay-at-home mother, she had "never worked a day in her life".^[67] In response, Ann Romney issued her first tweet, saying "I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work."^[68] The following day Rosen said, "I apologize to Ann Romney and anyone else who was offended."^[67]

Awards and honors[link]

In 2005, Ann Romney received an honorary degree from Mount Ida College.^[69] In 2006, she received the MS Society Inspiration Award from the Central New England Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.^[70][12] In May 2008, she shared with her husband the Canterbury Medal from The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, for "refus[ing] to compromise their principles and faith" during that year's presidential campaign.^[71]

See also[link]

• Republican Party presidential primaries, 2012

References[link]

External links[link]

• Video about Ann and her role in husband Mitt's 2012 presidential campaign, by CNN

v t e Mitt Romney Politics Governor of Massachusetts · Massachusetts health care reform · 1994 senatorial election · 2002 gubernatorial election · 2008 presidential campaign · 2012 presidential campaign · Political positions · Public image · Electoral history Olympics 2002 Winter Olympics (Salt Lake Organizing Committee) Business Bain & Company · Bain Capital Books Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games · No Apology: The Case for American Greatness Family Family tree · George W. Romney (father) · Lenore Romney (mother) · Ann Romney (spouse) · G. Scott Romney (brother)

Lee Ann Womack
Lee Ann Womack signing an autograph.
Background information
Birth name	Lee Ann Womack
Born	(1966-08-19) August 19, 1966 (age 45)
Origin	Jacksonville, Texas, US
Genres	Country, Country Pop
Occupations	singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, Guitar
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Decca Nashville MCA Nashville Mercury Nashville
Associated acts	Cross Canadian Ragweed, Willie Nelson, Jason Sellers, George Strait, Frank Liddell
Website	Official Website

Lee Ann Womack (born August 19, 1966 in Jacksonville, Texas, United States) is an American country music singer and songwriter, who is best known for her old fashioned-styled country music songs that often discuss subjects such as cheating and lost love.^[1] Her 2000 single, "I Hope You Dance" was a major crossover music hit, reaching #1 on the Billboard Country Chart and the Top 15 of the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her signature song.^[2]

Although Lee Ann Womack emerged as a contemporary country artist in 1997 with the release of her first album, her material closely resembled that of Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette,^[3] mixing Womack's music with an old fashioned style, as well as contemporary elements, making her different from her counterparts. Her 2000 release I Hope You Dance, however, was an entirely different sound, using pop music elements instead of traditional country, helping to establish Womack as a pop crossover artist. It was not until the release of There's More Where That Came From in 2005 that Womack returned to recording traditional country music.

Presently, Womack has released a total of six studio albums and two compilations. Four of her studio albums have received a Gold certification or higher by the RIAA. Additionally, she has received five Academy of Country Music Awards, five Country Music Association Awards, and a Grammy Award. She has sold over 6 million albums worldwide.*[1]

Early life[link]

Womack was born and raised in Jacksonville, Texas, United States. At an early age, she was interested in country music. Her father, a disc jockey, often took his daughter to work with him to help choose records to play on the air.^[4] Womack was the second of two daughters. Her mother was a schoolteacher and her father was also a high school principal. As a child, Womack studied the piano and later graduated from Jacksonville High School in 1984.^[1] After graduating, Womack attended South Plains Junior College in Levelland, Texas. The college was one of the first in the nation to offer country music degrees, and soon she became a member of the college band, Country Caravan.^[4] A year later, she left the college and after an agreement with her parents, Womack enrolled at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, where she studied the commercial ways of the music business. In Nashville, she interned at the A&R department of MCA Records. She studied at the college until 1990, leaving the school a year before graduation.^[1]

Womack spent a few years raising her children before reentering the music business in the mid 90s.^[2] In 1995 she began performing her music in songwriting demos and at showcase concerts. At one of these showcase concerts, she was spotted by Tree Publishings, who signed her after listening to one of original demo recordings.^[4] Womack wrote songs with some popular Nashville songwriters, including Bill Anderson and Ricky Skaggs, who recorded her composition, "I Don't Remember Forgetting" for one of his albums. After divorcing her first husband around that time, Womack decided to pursue a career as a country music artist. She auditioned for MCA chairman, Bruce Hinton, who praised her talents. Shortly afterward, she accepted a contract from MCA's sister record company, Decca Nashville in 1996.^[1]

Music career[link]

Country music stardom: 1997 — 1999[link]

Womack released her self-titled debut album in May 1997, produced by Mark Wright. The album consisted of self-penned material as well as songs written by other artists, including Mark Chesnutt, Ricky Skaggs, and Sharon White.^[4] With the original release of the album, there was worry that the album wouldn't sell because some people wouldn't be able to differentiate between her and LeAnn Rimes, who was also a successful artist at that time. However, Womack decided to keep her given name.^[2] The first single, "Never Again, Again" made the country charts and playlists by March 1997, which led to the release of the album's second single, "The Fool" shortly afterward. More successful than her first single, "The Fool" reached the Top 5 on the Billboard Country chart that year. That year she won major awards from the country music community; Top New Female Vocalist from the Academy of Country Music Awards, Top Artist of the Year from Billboard Magazine, and was nominated for the Horizon award by the Country Music Association.^[1] Decca Nashville decided to close its doors in 1998, moving Womack to MCA Nashville Records that year.^[5]

In 1998, Womack released her second studio album, Some Things I Know,^[1] which was also produced by Mark Wright.^[3] The album's first two singles, "A Little Past Little Rock" and "I'll Think of a Reason Later" both went to #2 on the Billboard Country Chart.^[5] Two additional singles, "(Now You See Me) Now You Don't" and "Don't Tell Me" were released in 1999, and the album was certified Gold by the RIAA soon after.

That year, she also won Favorite Country New Artist from the American Music Awards.^[2] Womack also contributed her vocals to the songs "If You're Ever Down in Dallas" and "The Man Who Made Mama Cry" in collaboration with her ex-husband and musician, Jason Sellers. The material was promoted through shows through October to November before the birth of Womack's second child in January 1999.^[3]

Pop crossover success & career decline: 2000 — 2004[link]

She released her third studio album in 2000 entitled, I Hope You Dance, which was met with major success.^[1] The title track (which was released as the lead single), reached #1 on the Billboard Country chart for five weeks and crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100, becoming a major crossover Pop hit, reaching #14. It also peaked at the top spot on the adult contemporary chart and even reached the UK Singles Charts, peaking at #40. Both of Womack's daughters appeared in the song's video that year. Towards the end of 2000, "I Hope You Dance" won the Country Music Association's "Song of the Year" and "Single of the Year" awards.^[5] With the Pop success of "I Hope You Dance," Womack drew the attention of the magazines People and Time, both of which praised the single, calling it "one of her best." The song later won awards in 2001 from the Grammy and Academy of Country music awards.^[1] The album of the same name has sold 3 million copies in the United States to date.^[5] The album's follow-up single, a cover of Rodney Crowell's "Ashes by Now" peaked at #4 on the Billboard Country Chart. The third single, "Why They Call it Falling" was also successful, reaching the country Top 15.

On December 11, 2000, Womack performed "I Hope You Dance" at the annual Nobel Peace Prize concert. This song was also featured in the 2008 Tyler Perry film entitled "The Family that Preys."

In 2002 Womack's fourth studio album, Something Worth Leaving Behind was released. The album made a stronger attempt at a pop-flavored style, however it did not react well, leading to poor record sales and only one major hit. Following its release, Womack's career stalled. Later that year, she released a Christmas album, The Season for Romance and also collaborated with Willie Nelson on his single, "Mendocino County Line," which won a Grammy and Country Music award in 2002.^[5] In early 2003, she got a small recurring role on the popular CBS drama, The District.^[4]

In 2004, Womack performed "I Hope You Dance" at the Republican National Convention, in which George W. Bush was nominated for his second term as President of the United States. The other performers that night included Sara Evans and Larry Gatlin.^[6] She also collaborated with Texas Music band, Cross Canadian Ragweed on their hit, "Sick and Tired" in 2004. Also that year, she also released her first Greatest Hits album, which included two new songs; "The Wrong Girl" (the only song from the album released as a single) and "Time for Me to Go."

[edit] There's More Where That Came From & hiatus: 2005 — 2007

In 2005, she released her fifth studio album aimed at traditional country music entitled, There's More Where That Came From.^[5] Many people in the music industry called the album, "a return to tradition," featuring songs about drinking and cheating with a distinctive older country twang, mixing strings and steel guitar. The album won the Country Music Association's "Album of the Year" award in 2005.^[7] Womack took inspiration from the records of the 60s and 70s, and according to Allmusic, the album sounded like albums by Loretta Lynn, Barbara Mandrell, and Dolly Parton from the 70s. They also called it one of her best records.^[8] The lead single, "I May Hate Myself in the Morning" was a Top 10 hit in 2005, and also won "Single of the Year" by the CMA awards later that year.^[5] Two additional singles were released from the album in 2005 that became minor hits, "He Oughta Know That by Now" and "Twenty Years and Two Husbands Ago." The album was released on vinyl LP as well as CD.

Womack can be heard on the track "If I Could Only Fly" from Joe Nichols' album Real Things.^[9] Womack has also appeared on specials on the CMT network, including their, "100 Greatest Duets", which featured Womack singing the duet with Kenny Rogers, "Every Time Two Fools Collide". The song had been originally recorded by Rogers and Dottie West in 1978 and was a No. 1 Country hit that year. Womack took the place of West during that show, being West had died in a serious car accident in September 1991. Womack's other honors includes being listed at #17 on CMT's 2002 special of their countdown of the 40 Greatest Women of Country Music.

In 2006, Womack announced plans of a sixth studio album off of Mercury Nashville Records. The lead single, "Finding My Way Back Home" was released in the late summer of that year and debuted at #46 on the Billboard Country Chart.^[10] The single later peaked at #37 and was re-scheduled into 2007, because Womack found more songs that she wanted to record, however it was never released and Womack left Mercury.^[11]

Return to music: 2008 — present[link]

In 2008, Womack announced plans for a new single for the first time in three years, once again on MCA Nashville. "Last Call" was released on June 30, 2008. It served as the lead-off single to Womack's seventh studio album, Call Me Crazy, which was released on October 21, 2008.

Call Me Crazy was issued as a vinyl LP at the time of its release, as well as CD.

Call Me Crazy, produced by Tony Brown, has been described as a dark album with plenty of songs about drinking and losing love. It featured a duet with George Strait titled "Everything But Quits," a re-make of the George Strait classic, "The King of Broken Hearts," which first appeared on the Pure Country soundtrack. One track, "The Bees," features vocals from Keith Urban.^[12]

In October 2009, Womack released "There Is a God", as the lead-off single to her upcoming seventh studio album which she has said she is unsure of the release date. The song debuted at #60 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of November 14, 2009, eventually peaking at #32 in early 2010. Womack has revealed a few of the tracks that she has recorded for the album, including: "Talking Behind Your Back", as well as "You Do Until You Don't".^[13]

In October 2010, Womack contributed the new track "Liars Lie" to the soundtrack for the film Country Strong. Womack also contributed guest vocals to Alan Jackson's cover of the song "Ring of Fire", which was released in December 2010 as a single from his compilation album, 34 Number Ones. His version of the song was a minor hit, charting to number 45 on the Hot Country Songs charts. Though Womack is featured on the song, she was not given credit on the charts.

Lee Ann Womack also performs the theme song for The Berenstain Bears animated television show.

Personal life[link]

At Belmont University, Womack met and married singer-songwriter Jason Sellers in 1990. Together they had a daughter Aubrie Lee Sellers, born 1991, before divorcing in 1996.^[14] In January 1999 daughter Anna Lise Liddell was born after Womack married record producer Frank Liddell.

Discography[link]

Studio album

• 1997: Lee Ann Womack
• 1998; Some Things I Know
• 2000: I Hope You Dance
• 2002: Something Worth Leaving Behind
• 2005: There's More Where That Came From
• 2008: Call Me Crazy

Compilation albums

• 2004: Greatest Hits
• 2011: Icon

Holiday albums

• 2002: The Season for Romance

Awards[link]

References[link]