Miranda Lambert started working her way up the country music ranks back when she was just a teenager playing bars in her home state of Texas. Now, she has become one of the most highly awarded and bestselling acts in country music, selling out venues all over the world. Lambert has also had her share of headlines in the media throughout the years about both her career and personal life. Since she is such a household name, it would be easy to think we know everything about her, but there are still plenty of lesser-known facts about the country songstress. Here are 10 things you may not know about Miranda Lambert.
It turns out Miranda is a family name for the Lamberts! Miranda’s full name is Miranda Leigh Lambert, and her parents decided to name her ‘Miranda’ after her great-grandmother, Lucy Miranda.
2. She was afraid to be on Nashville Star and is glad she didn’t win.
Lambert kickstarted her career by appearing on the singing competition show, Nashville Star, which ran from 2003 to 2008. The singer, who was about 20 years old at the time, was understandably nervous to appear on the show. During Country Radio Seminar, she told attendees, “I was so scared of the DFW [airport]. How am I going to navigate this? I have to land in Nashville and live in a house with 10 strangers. I basically treated it like moving into a dorm, I guess.”
Lambert didn’t end up winning, and instead landed in third place. However, she also said she was glad she didn’t win because she’d have to release a single she wasn’t passionate about.
3. Her parents were private investigators who were involved in President Clinton’s impeachment trial.
Lambert’s parents, Rick and Bev Lambert, were both private investigators during her childhood, and worked on the impeachment case against Bill Clinton. According to Country Living, they were hired by the lawyers of Paula Jones, and had pertinent files and tapes related to the case inside their Lindale, Texas home.
4. Her family was homeless at one point.
When the oil market in Texas tanked, it affected the economy so much that the Lambert’s private investigation business suffered. This caused the family to lose their home. They lived with relatives for a while until they found the white farmhouse they eventually moved into in Lindale. Lambert told Redbook in 2011, “We were literally homeless. We had to live with my uncle. And I watched my dad come through it. He had to dig ditches a few times for four dollars an hour because we had to eat.”
5. She’s passionate about encouraging her fellow female musicians.
Lambert has long been vocal about her support for her fellow female musicians. This past fall, she took to Instagram to share all the reasons she believed Carrie Underwood should have been named the Entertainer of the Year at the CMA Awards. She also supported her fellow women by taking many of them, including Maren Morris, Elle King, Tenille Townes, and more, on her all-female Roadside Bars & Pink Guitars tour this past year. She also spearheaded the recording of an all-female cover of “Fooled Around And Fell In Love,” featuring herself, Elle King, Caylee Hammack, Tenille Townes, Ashley McBryde, and Maren Morris. The track is now nominated for an ACM Award.
6. She gets her musical talent from her dad.
Lambert’s father Rick bought her the first guitar she ever played, and he’s the one who taught her how to play it. The two have also written a few of Miranda’s songs together, including “Me And Charlie Talking,” “Greyhound Bound For Nowhere,” and “Nobody’s Used To Be” from her Dead Flowers EP. She may get her performing genes from her father as well, as he played in a country-rock band called Contraband in the 1970s.
7. She used to be shy.
Before Miranda was the stage-commanding singer we know her as today, she was a very shy little girl. According to her mother Bev, she didn’t talk much in her younger years. Her mom once chatted with Marie Claire about her shyness, saying, “Miranda started off extremely shy. She wouldn’t speak. Not a word at school. If she had to order her own food, she’d just not eat.”
Her mother went on to say that she once she put young Miranda in debate club in high school, she really started to come out of her shell.
8. She started her own band.
Lambert earned her early performing experience by playing bars in her home state of Texas with her band, Texas Pride Band. This experience is what led her to eventually take on Nashville Star, which, in turn, launched her career. Lambert says she hopes to someday end her career the same way it started: in a smoky bar.
“I feel like the last gig I ever play will be like the first gig I ever played,” she told the crowd at Country Radio Seminar. “There will be neon and there will be smoke and there will be beer and cowboys two-steppin’. If I go out like that, I go out happy.”
9. She competes in equestrian events.
When Lambert isn’t on the road or recording new music, she can most likely be found with her many pets, including her horses. In fact, Lambert even competes in horse shows when she can. She posted photos from a horse show at the Oklahoma State Fair in September 2018 showing her and her horse winning a blue and red ribbon.
10. She’s a business woman.
It takes some business sense to become a successful artist in the country music industry, but Lambert has taken her business ventures way beyond music. Lambert has her own store, The Pink Pistol, where fans can shop for clothes, jewelry and other accessories that Miranda. The singer also has her own brand of wine called Red 55 Winery, and she has a clothing line with Boot Barn called Idyllwind.
