'''Avril Ramona Lavigne''' (born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian pop singer, Juno Award-winning singer-songwriter and occasional actress. She was originally known for her "skater punk" persona, but has since shed that image in favour of a more sophisticated and feminine style. Her two albums, ''Let Go'' (2002) and ''Under My Skin'' (2004), have topped charts in several countries.
[http://yahoo.eonline.com/Facts/People/Bio/0,128,71392,00.html E! Online Factsheet on Avril Lavigne]Although her surname is of French origin, she does not speak French and her name is pronounced in an anglicized way, somewhat as ("La-veen"), rather than . Lavigne in French means ''the vine'' or ''the vineyard''. Her first name, Avril, is French for ''April'', but is also pronounced in an anglicized way as ("Av-ril"), rather than .
Lavigne is featured in ''Maxim Magazine'''s http://www.maximonline.com/girls_of_maxim/pictures_and_bio/1079/AvrilLavigne.girl?src=wiki Girls of Maxim gallery. In 2006, she was included in Canadian Business Magazine's ranking of the most powerful Canadians in Hollywood, grabbing the seventh position.
[http://www.avrilbandaids.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25814 Avril Lavigne Bandaids - Avril Lavigne Fansite]Biography
(1984-2000) Early Life
Avril was born in Belleville, Ontario, to Franco-Ontarian Roman Catholic parents John and Judy Lavigne. Avril's musical talent was first spotted at the age of two when her mother says Avril began singing along with her on church songs http://www.avrilbandaids.com. At age five she moved with her family to Napanee, Ontario, Canada, where she sang in a church choir and taught herself to play the guitar
[Thorley, Joe. ''Avril Lavigne The Unofficial Book'', Virgin Books, 2003.].
She was discovered by her first professional manager, Cliff Fabri, while singing country covers at a Chapters bookstore in Kingston, Ontario
. During a performance with the Lennox Community Theatre, Avril was spotted by local folksinger Steve Medd, who invited her to sing on his song ''Touch The Sky'' for his 1999 album ''Quinte Spirit''. She also sang on ''Temple Of Life'' and ''Two Rivers'' for his follow up album, ''My Window To You,'' in 2000
.
At the age of sixteen she was signed by Ken Krongard, the artists-and-repertoire (A&R) representative of Arista Records, who invited the head of Arista, Antonio "L.A." Reid, to hear her sing in a New York City studio
. She then completed work on her first album.
(2001-2003) Rise to superstardom (''Let Go'')
After attempts to capture Lavigne's sound, Arista A&R head Josh Saurbin reached out to producer-songwriters Curt Frasca and Sabelle Breer (Madonna, Ryan Cabrera, Stacie Orrico) to help with the album. Lavigne eventually moved to Los Angeles, California and co-wrote with Cliff Magness and the songwriting team The Matrix. They have also worked with singers such as Sheena Easton and Christina
