Amy Lee

Actor · Director · Producer · Writer

Riverside, California, USA

December 13, 1981

Biography

Amy Lynn Hartzler (known professionally as Amy Lee) is the lead singer of the band Evanescence. She was born on December 13, 1981 to John Lee, a disc jockey and TV personality, and Sara Cargill. They moved from California to Florida to Illinois, and then finally to Arkansas. She is a classically trained pianist. She spent 9 years studying classical piano in her youth. Amy met young guitarist Ben Moody at a summer camp in 1994 while playing on the piano. He was astounded by her talents as a singer and pianist, so he convinced her to form a band with him. They went through several names, including Childish Intentions and Stricken, before settling for Evanescence. They were signed by Big-Wig Enterprises in 2000 and released a collection of demos called "Origin". Later in 2002, they got a record deal with Wind-Up Records along with former band member David Hodges and created their debut "Fallen," a 7x platinum selling album, which led to the international success that they are today. "Fallen" was followed by the release of "The Open Door" in 2006 and the self-titled album "Evanescence" in 2011.