Vanessa Lee Carlton (born August 16, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress. Her 2002 debut single "A Thousand Miles" spent 41 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned three Grammy nominations, becoming her signature song. It preceded her debut album, Be Not Nobody, released by A&M Records that same year and reaching number five on the Billboard 200. It further produced the singles "Ordinary Day" and "Pretty Baby". Her next album, Harmonium (2004), experienced similar success; its troubled production led Carlton to depart A&M in 2005.
Carlton released her third album, Heroes & Thieves (2007), to minimal chart success but critical praise. She independently produced her next two albums, Rabbits on the Run (2011) and Liberman (2015), both of which were acclaimed for its personal subject matter and musical shift. Her sixth studio album, Love Is an Art, was released in 2020. In 2025, Billboard ranked Carlton among the best female artists of the 21st century. Carlton released her most recent album, Veils, in 2026.
Outside of music, Carlton made her Broadway debut with a leading role in the Carole King musical Beautiful (2019).
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