Avril Lavigne

Pictures and photo of Avril Lavigne

Avril Lavigne Whibley better known by her birth name of Avril Ramona Lavigne (born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian Grammy award-nominated pop punk singer, musician and actress. In 2006, Canadian Business Magazine ranked her the seventh most powerful Canadian in Hollywood, and in 2007 she won ninth place in the Jabra Music Contest for the Best Band in the World, based on fan votes from around the world.

Lavigne's birth name is usually pronounced in an anglicized way as above ("La-Veen"). Avril is French for "April", while la vigne means "the vine" or "the vineyard".

Lavigne's debut album, Let Go, was released in 2002. Over 16 million copies were sold worldwide and it was certified six times platinum in the United States. Her second and third albums, Under My Skin (2004) sold 8 million copies and The Best Damn Thing (2007) currently over 4 million copies sold respectively, reached number one on the U.S. Billboard 200. Lavigne has scored six number one songs worldwide to date and a total of eleven top ten hits, including "Complicated", "Sk8er Boi", "I'm with You", "My Happy Ending", and "Girlfriend" which became #1 hits in the ARC Top 40. She's ranked #50 on VH1's "50 Greatest Women Of The Video Era" show list and came 41st on "The Top Acts Of The Noughties." Currently, Avril Lavigne has sold about 30 million albums worldwide.