Stunning Photos Of Carrie Underwood That Tell Her Epic Story

American Idol winner Carrie Underwood is one of the biggest music stars on the planet. The following pictures tell an incredible story, from her origin as a small town Oklahoma girl to her current status as a country music icon. You’ll get a glimpse at her life away from the limelight, and who knows, you may even be inspired by the pics of her rocking it on-stage. Let’s do it!

Small-town upbringing

Underwood came into the world on March 10, 1983, in Muskogee, Oklahoma. She was raised alongside her sisters Stephanie and Shanna on a farm in Checotah by parents Steve and Carole Underwood. In her book Find Your Path, Underwood wrote about how much she loved her rural small-town upbringing.

Checotah, Oklahoma

To Underwood, Checotah was “a small country town full of wide-open spaces, pastures, and woods here and there, family farms and, best of all, decent people who look out for each other.” In Find Your Path she added, “What I love about Checotah, other than the people, is the quiet. Step outside and all you’ll hear are birds singing, cicadas buzzing, the wind. It’s peaceful. It’s simple. It’s home.”

Free-range childhood

“I’m grateful for my free-range childhood,” continued Underwood. “It was fun and interesting, and I had the freedom to explore and learn about what I loved – animals, sports and singing. And I was always active. My friends and I were always running around.” She then added, “It was just the way we all were – and if you ask me, that’s the way life is meant to be.” 

High school

In high school, Underwood was something of an overachiever. She was a cheerleader, a member of the Honor Society, and even played on the softball and basketball teams. In 2017 she told website Sweety High that she’d learned a lot of life lessons while playing on those teams. Still, her school years weren’t all a cakewalk — apparently she never received a Valentine!