Mary Lambert
- Attended Mariner High School in Everett, Washington (2003 - 2007)
- Graduate from Cornish College of the Arts, with a Bachelor's of Music in Composition
Mary Lambert emerged as a powerful and poignant voice in popular music, best known for her soaring, soulful vocals on the landmark Macklemore & Ryan Lewis single "Same Love." An American singer-songwriter from Seattle, her career expanded beyond that defining collaboration to encompass her own introspective pop music, poetry, and advocacy, often exploring themes of love, identity, and mental health with unflinching honesty. Born Mary Danielle Lambert on May 3, 1989, in Seattle, Washington, she was raised in a tumultuous environment, details of which she would later channel into her art. She studied music at Cornish College of the Arts, where she honed her skills as a vocalist and began performing spoken word poetry, developing the confessional and emotionally resonant style that would become her trademark.
Her breakthrough arrived in 2012 when she was recruited by fellow Seattleites Macklemore and Ryan Lewis to write and sing the chorus for "Same Love," a song advocating for marriage equality and LGBTQ+ rights. The track became a global phenomenon, peaking at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and receiving a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year. Her performance of the song alongside Macklemore, Ryan Lewis, and Madonna at the 2014 Grammy Awards, which featured a mass wedding ceremony, stands as one of the ceremony's most memorable moments. Capitalizing on this exposure, Lambert released her debut EP, "Welcome to the Age of My Body," later in 2013, which included the standalone single "She Keeps Me Warm," an expansion of her "Same Love" hook.
In 2014, she released her major-label debut album, "Heart on My Sleeve," which featured the Billboard-charting single "Secrets," an upbeat anthem about self-acceptance and transparency regarding her bipolar disorder and body image. The album showcased her range, blending pop sensibilities with deeply personal lyricism. Beyond her music career, Lambert is an accomplished author, publishing a volume of poetry titled "Shame Is an Ocean I Swim Across" in 2018. She continues to write, record, and perform, maintaining a dedicated fanbase drawn to her vulnerability and strength. Her work consistently intersects with her activism, using her platform to speak openly about mental health, LGBTQ+ issues, and surviving trauma, solidifying her role as an artist who creates hits with both heart and a profound sense of purpose.