Reba Nell McEntire ( ; born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country singer and actress. Dubbed "The Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, she has placed over 100 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, 25 of which reached the number-one spot. An actress in both film and television, McEntire starred in the television series Reba, which aired for six seasons. She also owns several businesses, including a restaurant and a clothing line.
One of four children, McEntire was born and raised in Oklahoma. With her mother's help, she and her siblings formed the Singing McEntires, who played at local events and recorded for a small label. McEntire later enrolled at Southeastern Oklahoma State University and studied to become a public-school teacher. She also continued to occasionally perform and was heard singing at a rodeo event by country performer Red Steagall. Drawn to her singing voice, Steagall helped McEntire secure a country music recording contract with PolyGram/Mercury Records in 1975.
Over the next several years, PolyGram/Mercury released a series of McEntire's albums and singles, which amounted to little success. In the early 1980s, McEntire's music gained more momentum through several top-10 country songs, including "(You Lift Me) Up to Heaven", "I'm Not That Lonely Yet", and her first number one "Can't Even Get the Blues". Yet McEntire became increasingly unhappy with her career trajectory and signed with MCA Records in 1984. Her second MCA album titled My Kind of Country (1984) became her breakout release, spawning two number-one Billboard country singles and pointed toward a more traditional musical style. Through the 1980s, McEntire released seven more studio albums and had ten more number-one country hits. Her number-one singles included "One Promise Too Late", "The Last One to Know", and the Grammy Award-winning "Whoever's in New England".
In 1991, McEntire lost eight of her band members in a plane crash in San Diego, California. The experience led to McEntire's critically acclaimed album For My Broken Heart, which is her highest-selling album to date. She followed it with several commercially successful albums during the 1990s, including Read My Mind (1994), What If It's You (1996), and If You See Him (1998). These albums featured the number-one country singles "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter", "How Was I to Know", and a duet with Brooks and Dunn called "If You See Him/If You See Her". McEntire's acting career began in January 1990 when she made her film debut in Tremors. In 2001, she played the role of Annie Oakley in the Broadway musical Annie Get Your Gun. In the same year, The WB launched the TV series Reba, in which she starred. More recently, she has guest-starred on Young Sheldon as June Ballard and had a main role in the third season of Big Sky. From 2023 to 2025, McEntire was featured as a coach on four seasons of the reality competition show The Voice. She currently stars in the NBC sitcom Happy's Place.
Early life
McEntire was born in McAlester, Oklahoma, in 1955 but was raised on a ranch in Chockie, Oklahoma. She was the third of four children born to Clark (1927–2014) and Jacqueline McEntire (1926–2020). Her grandfather, John Wesley McEntire, was a world-champion steer roper in 1934, while her father held the same title three times (1957, 1958, and 1961). Jacqueline McEntire had aspirations of becoming a country singer, but instead became a public-school teacher, librarian, and secretary. While her mother was tender and loving, her father had trouble showing affection. "When we were growing up, I used to regret that Daddy never told us that he loved us," she recalled in her autobiography. The McEntire family owned a cattle ranch. Each family member contributed to running the cattle operation. The McEntire children helped with ranch chores before and after school. This included castrating bulls and giving them worm medicine.
The McEntire siblings also developed an interest in singing, which was encouraged by their mother. On car trips to their father's rodeo dates, Jacqueline McEntire taught her children to sing in harmony with one another. Young Reba then started performing at school, beginning in first grade when she sang "Away in a Manger" at an elementary-school Christmas pageant. In fifth grade, she joined the 4-H club and won first place in the Junior Act Division for singing "My Sweet Little Alice Blue Gown". She also played basketball and ran track. For several summers, she attended a basketball camp. She also learned piano and guitar. She also developed an interest in the rodeo and trained to become a barrel racer.
thumb|left|150px|McEntire in her 1974 college yearbook: She received a bachelor's degree in elementary education before pursuing country music full-time.
By high school, the McEntire siblings had been frequently performing. Together, they formed a trio which they called the Singing McEntires. In 1971, the trio released a single about their famous grandfather called "The Ballad of John McEntire". It was pressed as a single by a local label and was issued in small numbers regionally.
Once finishing high school, McEntire enrolled in college at Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
In March 1975 and accompanied by her mother, McEntire embarked on a trip to Nashville, Tennessee, to record a demonstration tape that Steagall hoped to pass along to record labels. At the start of the trip, she was unsure about pursuing a professional country music career. McEntire recalled in her memoir continually making excuses for her mother to stop the car instead of traveling to Nashville. After noticing her daughter's fear, Jacqueline McEntire told her, "Now, Reba, let me tell you something. If you don't want to go to Nashville, we don't have to do this. But I'm living all my dreams through you." The conversation changed her mind and they continued on to Nashville.
After recording a demo, McEntire's tape was heard by Glenn Keener of PolyGram/Mercury Records, who was interested in signing her to a Nashville contract. Keener brought McEntire's tape and another woman's tape to PolyGram's Chicago headquarters. The label informed Keener that he could only sign one female performer. "He looked at the two tapes in his hand and handed ’em mine," McEntire told Entertainment Weekly.
Music career
1976–1983: Career launch at Mercury
In November 1975, McEntire signed a country music recording contract with PolyGram/Mercury Records. She made her first recordings for the label in January 1976. She was produced by Glenn Keener and was backed by a Countrypolitan arrangement that included a string section. McEntire's debut single released in 1976 was titled "I Don't Want to Be a One Night Stand". The track failed to become a major hit, only peaking at number 88 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart that May. It was followed by the low-charting Billboard country singles "(There's Nothing Like the Love) Between a Woman and Man" and "Glad I Waited Just for You". Mercury issued her self-titled debut album in 1977. McEntire also began touring and performing more frequently. Without a band of her own, she often relied on house bands to accompany her. In some instances, the backing bands did not know country music and McEntire would have to fill her time onstage with jokes.
McEntire's career gained more momentum by 1978. That year, she collaborated on two singles with country artist Jacky Ward. The duo's double-sided release of "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight"/"Three Sheets in the Wind" became her first top-20 hit on the country chart. Its lead single, "Today All Over Again", became her highest-charting country single yet, reaching number five. Both singles appeared on her 1983 album Unlimited. AllMusic's William Ruhlmann gave the disc 4.5 stars. Billboard magazine described McEntire on the album as being "the finest woman country singer since Kitty Wells." United Press wrote that the album "represents a victory for McEntire. She has pulled in the reins of her career, regained control of her music and her life." The album became her breakthrough recording, leading McEntire to winning 1984's Female Vocalist of the Year accolade from the Country Music Association. Along with music by George Strait and Randy Travis, the album also brought forth a stylistic change in country towards traditional arrangements and sounds. It was produced by Jimmy Bowen, along with co-production credits from McEntire herself. The album's title track reached the Billboard country top 10 along with "Only in My Mind", a song composed by McEntire herself. The album itself became her first to top the Billboard Country Albums survey. and later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of one million copies.
By this point McEntire had reached the height of her commercial stardom. The title track was the lead single from the release. It became her next number one song on the Billboard country chart Reviewer Tom Roland noted that McEntire chose material that reflected her recent divorce from first husband Charlie Battles. Both the title track and "Love Will Find Its Way to You" topped the Billboard country songs chart. Also in 1987, she played Carnegie Hall in New York City for the first time.
In the late 1980s, McEntire took more control of her career. She fired her manager and formed her own entertainment company that helped further promote her material. Other new changes included her 1988 pop-inspired release Reba. It produced the number-one Billboard country singles "New Fool at an Old Game" and "I Know How He Feels". The album featured the country hits "'Til Love Comes Again", "Little Girl", "Walk On" and a cover of "Cathy's Clown".
Rumor Has It (1990) was another pop-oriented album release featuring a mix of ballads and uptempo numbers. It was the first disc in McEntire's career to reach the top 40 of the Billboard 200 albums chart. The disc would become McEntire's highest-selling album, certifying three-times platinum from the RIAA.