Background

Natalie Louise Maines was born on October 14, 1974 in Lubbock, Texas. Her mother is Tina May Maines and her father, Lloyd Maines is a producer and country musician. She went to the Williams Elementary School in Lubbock. During elementary school, she told her second-grade teacher that she didn't need to learn mathematics because she was going to be a star. She then attended O.L. Slaton Junior High School where she was a cheerleader.

In 1992, she graduated from Lubbock High School where she was active in the school choir. While growing up as a child in conservative Texas, she was a rebel that stood out. As a teenager, she thought differently by standing up for minorities. After graduating from Lubbock High School, she went to West Texas A&M. Her studies were heavily focused on radio.

At South Plains College, she was into alternative rock, rhythm and blues, and rock'n'roll. In December 1994, she got a scholarship at the Berklee College of Music. Before the completion of her studies, she dropped out from Berkelee. At Texas Tech University, she did a summer course in 1995 on Introductory Wildlife but attended only one class.

Relationships

Maines got married to Michael Tarabay, her South Plains College boyfriend. After getting married, they relocated to Nashville, Tennessee. After two years of getting married, they headed for the divorce court.

In May 1999, during the wedding of one of her bandmates, Emily Erwin to Charlie Robison, she met actor Adrian Pasdar. They two lovebirds eventually got married. The wedding took place at Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas on the 24th of June, 2000. She gave birth to her first son named Jackson Slade Pasdar on the 15th of March 2001. Her second son, Beckett Finn Pasdar was born on the 14th of July 2004. The couple has homes in New York City and Los Angeles.

Career

Natalie's first commercial work was released in 1995 and produced by her father Lloyd Maines. She performed background vocals on Pat Green’s debut album titled Dancehall Dreamer. She joined the Dixie Chicks, which is an all-female country music band when she was 21 years old. This band since 1989 had been performing but not successful in getting the attention of the locals. Maines became the lead singer when she replaced Laura Lynch, the founding lead singer. She plays bass and guitar for the band.

In their 2006 album, Taking the Long Way, Natalie was the key songwriter on all 14 tracks. This album became number 1 on the billboard 200. And one of their tracks, Not Read to Make Nice won the songwriting Grammy Award. She said the writing for the songs was pure therapy.

As a singer and a member of Dixie Chicks, she teamed up with other musical artists. In 1999. the Dixie Chicks and Sheryl Crow performed on a tour called the Lilith Fair. After this, they worked together on various albums. Maines on her own her also performed with artists like Neil Diamond, YellowCard, Charlie Robison, Ben Harper, Patty Griffin, Pete Yorn, Eddie Vedder, Stevie Nicks, and Pat Green. She is Howard Stern's friend and has been on his show several times.

Natalie's solo album titled Mother was released on May 7, 2013. This was her first album since the Dixie Chicks break began in 2007. Ben Harper was co-producer of this album. The album included covers of songs like Eddie Vedder’s Without You and Pink Floyd’s Mother. Her songs encompass topics like feminism, motherhood and hurtful relationships.

Natalie is actively involved in different fundraising and charity causes. She has participated in events produced by the David Lynch Foundation, St. Jude Benefit and Legendary Bingo.