Vonda Shepard

Vonda Shepard was born in New York City but raised in California, where she first started to take an interest in music. She started her career as a backing singer, but eventually earned her own recording contract and released her debut album in 1989. Though record album did have a charting single, "Don't Cry Ilene," it failed to garner much interest. She continued to release albums through the 1990s, and got her big break in 1996, when she was spotted by David E. Kelley and was cast in his new show, "Ally McBeal." Shepard played herself on the quirky legal series, performing music in a bar frequented by the show's characters; she went on to release two soundtracks for the series, in addition to being featured on two "Ally McBeal" compilation albums. Following the series' end, she continued to release albums through the 2000s while also appearing on Tracey Ullman's comedic "State of the Union."