Chely Wright (born Richell Rene Wright; October 25, 1970) is an American country music artist, activist, author, and corporate executive. She initially rose to fame as a commercial country recording artist with several charting singles, including the number one hit, "Single White Female." She later became known for her role in LGBTQ activism after publicly coming out as a gay woman in 2010. She has sold over 1,500,000 copies and 10,000,000 digital impressions to date in the United States.
Raised in Kansas, Wright developed aspirations to become a country singer and songwriter. Yet, as a young child, she discovered her homosexuality and realized it conflicted with her Christian faith and her hopes of becoming a performer. Determined to become successful, she vowed to hide her sexuality and continued performing. Wright moved to Nashville, Tennessee, following high school graduation and was cast in stage productions at the now-defunct Opryland USA amusement park. She eventually signed her first recording contract in 1993 with PolyGram/Mercury Records and released two albums. With limited success, Wright switched record labels and had her first hit with 1997's "Shut Up and Drive". It was followed in 1999 with "Single White Female," and a gold-certified album of the same name.
At her commercial zenith, Wright continued living a closeted life and became increasingly unhappy. She engaged in a long-term relationship with a woman but ultimately separated at the risk of being outed by members of the Nashville community. In 2006, Wright began suffering an emotional collapse and nearly took her own life. She then realized she needed to come out publicly and started working on projects that would help her come to terms with her homosexuality. In 2010, Wright released the memoir, Like Me: Confessions of a Heartland Country Singer, and the album, Lifted Off the Ground. Both projects centered around her coming out process and the acceptance of herself.
Wright became involved in LGBT activism following her 2010 decision. During that time she moved to New York City and released a documentary which chronicled her coming out titled, Wish Me Away. She would later establish a charity "Like Me", which helped provide assistance to LGBT youth. She has since been a spokesperson for programs such as GLSEN. Wright would also marry and have two children. Wright also continued her music career, but transitioned more towards Americana and folk. She has since released 2016's I Am the Rain and 2019's Revival.
In recent years, she has held the role of Unispace's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion officer, and since March 2025, for ISS A/S, senior vice president and head of corporate social responsibility and new markets for North America.
Lue lisää...25. lokakuuta 1970 oli sunnuntaina tähtimerkin ♏ alla. Se oli 297 päivä vuodesta. Yhdysvaltain presidentti oli Richard M. Nixon.
Jos olet syntynyt tänä päivänä, olet 54 vuotta vanha. Viimeisin syntymäpäiväsi oli perjantaina 25. lokakuuta 2024, 350 päivää sitten. Seuraava syntymäpäiväsi on lauantaina 25. lokakuuta 2025, 14 päivän kuluttua. Olet elänyt 20 074 päivää tai noin 481 791 tuntia tai noin 28 907 504 minuuttia tai noin 1 734 450 240 sekuntia.
Date: 25 October 1970
By RAYMOND H. ANDERSON Special to The New York Times
Raymond ANDERSON
reveals reasons for his resignation and discusses his relationship with Nasser and events immediately following Nasser's death, article in Cairo Al Ahram; por
Date: 26 October 1970
paperhandlers vote to accept 3-yr contract with 4 papers, including 41.69% wage increase
Date: 25 October 1970
By STEVEN V. ROBERTS Special to The New York Times
Steven ROBERTS
Illus
Date: 25 October 1970
By A.D. COLEMAN
Article on photographer M Schneider's crusade against pollution; some of his experiences and well-known photos depicting pollution's harmful effects described; his illus
Date: 25 October 1970
By RUSSELL BAKER
Russell BAKER
Date: 25 October 1970
By DONALD JANSON Special to The New York Times
Donald Special
resumes pub as York Daily Record; history and pay dispute with ITU revd
Date: 25 October 1970
By LEWIS FUNKE
Lewis FUNKE
Scratch: (By A MacLeish) MacLeish, who is working on play, int