Norah Jones (Geethali Norah Jones Shankar) was born on March 30, 1979 in Brooklyn, New York is an American singer-songwriter, musician and occasional actress of Indian descent.

Jones's career was launched with her 2002 debut album Come Away with Me, a contemporary pop album with a sensual, plaintive soul/folk/country tinge, that sold over twenty million copies worldwide and received five Grammy Awards, with Jones winning "Best New Artist".

Her second album, Feels like Home, was released in 2004, clocking more than a million sales in the first week of U.S. release. In 2007, she released her third album, Not Too Late, which debuted at number one on the world charts.

She has become one of the most successful recording artists of the decade, racking up sales of more than 39 million records worldwide. Jones began singing in church choirs, taking piano lessons, and even briefly trying out the alto saxophone.

She attended Interlochen Arts Camp, Grapevine High School, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas. While at high school, she won the DownBeat Student Music Awards for Best Jazz Vocalist (twice, in 1996 and 1997) and Best Original Composition (1996).

She then attended the University of North Texas, where she majored in jazz piano. Classmates included American Idol finalist Brandon Rogers and Grammy-nominated songwriter David Angerstein. In 1999, two years into the program, Jones left for New York City. Since about that time she has been romantically involved with bassist Lee Alexander.