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On December 13th, 1981, Amy Lee was born. To mark her birthday, here are 20 things you might not know about the Evanescence singer:
1. Amy’s real name is Amy Lynn Hartzler.
2. Amy’s dad was a DJ and TV personality.
3. Early on in life, Amy suffered a tragedy when her three-year-old sister died of an unidentified illness in 1987.
4. Amy took classical piano lessons for nine years.
5. While Amy was born in Riverside, California, during her youth she lived in West Palm Beach, Florida; Rockford, Illinois and Little Rock, Arkansas.
6. Growing up, Amy wanted to be a veterinarian, but then she saw a video of a vet performing surgery on a dog and changed her aspirations to become a piano player.
7. In junior high school, Amy’s friends called her Amy Flea.
8. Amy went to Middle Tennessee State University in 2000 to study music theory and composition but dropped out to focus on Evanescence.
9. Amy wrote her first song when she was 11. It was called “Eternity of the Remorse.” The second song she penned for an assignment in the eighth grade and titled “A Single Tear.”
10. Amy formed Evanescence with Ben Moody after he heard her playing Meat Loaf’s “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)” on a piano at a youth camp.
11. In 2004, Amy reportedly worked on the music for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe but the studio rejected it, calling it too dark.
12. Recently, Amy has been spending time doing film soundtracks. She’s worked on music for the movies War Story, Voice from the Stone, and Blind.
13. In September, Amy released an album of kids’ music that she worked on with her family.
14. Amy designs many of her own clothes, which are inspired by Victorian styles.
15. Amy is a big-time cat lover.
16. Amy collects Rainbow Brite dolls, Care Bears and other toys from her childhood.
17. Amy is allergic to lobster.
18. Amy likes baths more than showers.
19. Amy is very ticklish and despises being tickled – so much so that she gets violent if she is.
20. In 2007, Amy married her longtime friend Josh Hartzler, a therapist. They have a son together named Jack Lion Hartzler.
Happy birthday, Amy! Hope you have a hell of a party!