Christina Perri

Christina Judith Perri is an American singer and songwriter born on August 19, 1986. She gained widespread recognition after her debut single, "Jar of Hearts," was featured on the television series So You Think You Can Dance in June 2010. Following the song's success, she signed a record deal with Atlantic Records, released her debut extended play The Ocean Way Sessions, and launched her debut studio album, Lovestrong, in 2011, which was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Perri was born in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, and is of Italian and Polish descent. She attended Saint Ephrem Catholic School, Archbishop Ryan High School, and the University of the Arts, where she studied communication for a year before dropping out to pursue music. She taught herself to play guitar at age 16 by watching a VH1 video of Shannon Hoon from Blind Melon, and she also learned piano. Perri moved to Los Angeles on her 21st birthday, where she produced music videos and married. After divorcing 18 months later, she relocated to Philadelphia, wrote "Jar of Hearts," and later returned to Los Angeles to work as a waitress while recording music at night.

Following its feature on television, "Jar of Hearts" peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. Perri released her debut album Lovestrong in May 2011, which debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200 and was supported by her first world tour. In October 2011, she released "A Thousand Years" for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 soundtrack. The love theme became her most successful single, selling over 10 million copies in the United States, earning a Diamond certification, and generating over two billion views on YouTube by December 2021. In 2012, Perri released her holiday EP A Very Merry Perri Christmas, re-recorded "A Thousand Years, Pt. 2" for Breaking Dawn – Part 2, and opened for Jason Mraz on tour.

In 2013, Perri received a BMI award for "A Thousand Years" and released the lead single "Human" prior to her second studio album, Head or Heart, which arrived in April 2014. She embarked on her Head or Heart Tour, opened for Demi Lovato, and performed at the annual Christmas in Washington concert. She was later featured on Lindsey Stirling's 2016 album Brave Enough. In January 2019, Perri released her first lullaby album, Songs for Carmella: Lullabies & Sing-a-Longs, dedicated to her daughter, followed by an expanded release of her Christmas EP.

Perri released her second lullaby album, Songs for Rosie, in November 2021 in tribute to her late daughter. In July 2022, she released her fifth overall studio album, A Lighter Shade of Blue, through Elektra Records, preceded by the single "Evergone." In 2023, she released the albums Songs for Pixie and Songs for Christmas, and in August 2024, she announced a children's book based on "A Thousand Years."

In her personal life, Perri married Paul Costabile in December 2017. The couple had a daughter, Carmella Stanley, in January 2018, suffered a miscarriage in January 2020, and had a stillborn daughter, Rosie, in November 2020. They welcomed another daughter, Pixie Rose, in October 2022, before filing for divorce in November 2025. Perri has a blood-clotting disorder requiring daily injections and has over 50 tattoos.