Linda Perry (born April 15, 1965) is an American rock musician, songwriter, and record producer. Once best known as the lead singer and primary songwriter of 4 Non Blondes, Perry has founded two record labels and has become a major songwriter and producer. She has written and produced hit songs for several successful female singers, including Pink (who had a number 1 hit with Perry's "Get the Party Started"), Christina Aguilera (who had a number 1 hit with Perry's "Beautiful"), and Gwen Stefani ("What You Waiting For?" from her album Love. Angel. Music. Baby.). Perry has also contributed heavily to albums by Courtney Love and Kelly Osbourne as well as signing and distributing James Blunt in the United States. Linda Perry was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, the daughter of Portuguese-American Alfred Xavier Perry (1928-2005), an engineer and a musician and Brazilian-born Marluce Perry. Her mother has worked as a model, designer, and private detective. Linda has six siblings; five brothers (Jay, Solomon, Mark, Marcel, and John) and a sister (Sally). Perry spent her youth struggling with kidney disease and then addiction, before focusing on music. Growing up in an artistic and musical household, the young Perry displayed musical talent and interest from an early age. Her first song was "Pity Girls", at the age of 15 (according to an interview from ASCAP in the middle of 2003). Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.