Jewel Kilcher born May 23, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and poet, generally known just by her first name, Jewel. She has received three Grammy Award nominations.

She debuted on February 28, 1995 with the album, Pieces of You, which became one of the best selling debut albums of all time, going platinum.

Jewel was discovered by Inga Vainshtein in August of 1993, while she was singing at a local coffee shop in San Diego. After the show Vainshtein called Danny Goldberg, the head of Atlantic Record's west coast operations, and asked him to pay for Jewel's demo. Vainshtein eventually became Jewel's manager. She released her debut album, Pieces of You, in 1995. The album stayed on the Billboard 200 for an impressive two years, reaching number four at its peak. The album was a huge success and eventually sold over 12 million copies in the U.S. alone, more than all of her following albums put together.

In November 1998, Jewel released her second album, Spirit. The album peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 and sold over 4 million copies in the U.S. The songs "Hands" and "Down So Long" hit the Top 10.

A year later, In November 1999, Jewel released Joy: A Holiday Collection. The album sold over a million copies.

In November 2001, followed the album “This Way” and in 2003. On May 2, 2006, Jewel released her sixth album, Goodbye Alice In Wonderland. The album received mixed reviews, but still managed to sell 82,000 copies in its first week out. This is the only Jewel album that has not achieved Gold certification even though it has been acclaimed as one of her best album.

Recently in an interview with the Boston Globe, Jewel confirmed that she is no longer affiliated with a record label, confirming rumors that Atlantic Records failed to renew her contract after the poor sales of Goodbye Alice In Wonderland. She also hinted that she would like to do a country album next.

In November 2007, Jewel was signed to Valory Records, a newly formed division of the independent Big Machine Records label. Her first country album, Perfectly Clear, is currently scheduled for release on June 3, 2008.