Grey DeLisle Biography

Grey DeLisle Biography

Grey DeLisle was born in Fort Ord, California, and had a difficult childhood; her mother was addicted to drugs. She was primarily raised by her grandmother, Eva Flores Ruth, a vocalist who performed with salsa legend Tito Puente.  DeLisle was heavily into goth bands like The Cure, but her mother, who had become a born-again Pentecostal, set a strict rule forbidding secular music. In her late teens, she started singing old gospel tunes, and entered the world of stand-up comedy on the advice of a close friend. In her comedy routine, DeLisle imitated voices very well, and was advised to take a shot at voice acting. Her first starring role came in the first English version of Crayon Shin-chan, as the voice of characters Cosmo and Uma, in 1994.  She never gave up on her music, though, and was a member of the all-girl cowpunk band Side Saddle in the late '90s. She formed her own independent label, Hummin'bird Records, and released three albums, The Small Time in 2000, the live set Bootlegger, Vol. 1 in 2003, and Homewrecker in 2004. Gradually she developed a sparse, literate neo-Appalachian style, which sounded a bit like a weary and goth-haunted Dolly Parton, and it led to her signing with Sugar Hill Records, which released Graceful Ghost in 2004 and Iron Flowers in 2005.  In 2002, DeLisle married musician Murry Hammond, the bassist for the Old 97's, after a few months in a long-distance relationship. They were featured in an episode of the TLC program A Wedding Story. Their first child, Jefferson Texas "Tex" Hammond, was born on January 31, 2007 in Los Angeles, California.