Brandi Carlile, a singer-songwriter long known and beloved for her work across folk rock, country, Americana, and classic rock, has won 11 Grammy Awards and two Emmy Awards to date.
In 2025, Carlile marked a major year in her career with the release of two albums: a solo LP, Returning to Myself, and a collaboration with Elton John on Who Believes in Angels?, which received a Grammy nomination for best traditional pop vocal album. She also received her first Academy Award nomination last year for co-writing “Never Too Late” from the documentary Elton John: Never Too Late. “I’m the happiest right now. I can see that I’m in a kind of sweet spot: my parents are alive, my kids are little, my wife is hot and my body doesn’t hurt,” she told The Guardian in November.
Today, Brandi is taking the stage during the Super Bowl LX pregame show in Santa Clara, California to sing “America the Beautiful.” Supporting her will be her wife, Catherine Carlile (née Shepherd). Here, five facts to know about Catherine Carlile:
1. Catherine is the daughter of British actor Jack Shepherd.
Born in 1975, Catherine grew up in London’s Hammersmith district. She is the daughter of British actor Jack Shepherd, who worked on stage and screen from the early 1960s. His credits span film and television, including The Golden Compass, Charlotte Gray, and Midsomer Murders. He died in 2025 at the age of 85.
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Brandi and Catherine at the 2018 CMT Artists of The Year event in Nashville.
Catherine attended James Allen’s Girls’ School, where she also trained in ballet. Initially inspired by her father to pursue acting, Catherine later shifted her focus to philanthropy. She went on to work as a coordinator at Paul McCartney’s foundation, which would eventually lead her to Brandi.
2. Brandi and Catherine first met over the phone.
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Catherine and Brandi at the 2016 Grammys.
After working for the Time Out Group in London for two years as an advertising executive, Catherine started working for Paul McCartney’s charitable foundation in 2001, where she stayed for a decade. (Her LinkedIn page even describes her as “Personal Assistant to Sir Paul McCartney & Coordinator of Sir Paul McCartney’s charitable endeavors.)
In 2009, Catherine called to discuss donating Beatles memorabilia to the Fight the Fear Campaign, which offers self defense training for women. Their conversation led to a friendship, and the two stayed in regular contact by phone and email over the next year. They met in person in New York City in 2010, and Brandi was surprised to learn that Catherine was younger than she had assumed.
“It was shocking to say the least. Every time I talked to her over the phone, I thought I was talking to somebody who was like 65 years old. I don’t know why,” Brandi told People in 2021. “I think because of her wisdom and her demeanor. Or maybe I thought she was Paul’s age or something. So we met backstage in New York, and we were both like 27.”
3. The couple married in 2012.
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The couple at the 2019 Grammys.
Brandi and Catherine have been married for 13 years as of 2025. The couple married in Boston in September 2012. The ceremony took place three months after their engagement announcement and shortly before the legalization of same sex marriage in Carlile’s home state of Washington. The couple also held a ceremony in London at Chelsea Old Town Hall.
However, their wedding day sounded stressful in more ways than one, which Brandi shared with fans in a Facebook post. “Bailey (the dog) had to be rushed to the vet on our wedding day, and the day before the wedding we had to put down one of our goats (RIP Tim). To top it all off our priest didn’t show up! Ha ha! (Not her fault but it’ll be one of those funny stories well [sic] be telling for years). My church friends Jason and Mandy were there and Jason performed the perfect ceremony with 15 minutes notice,” Brandi wrote. “It was truly one of our best days, completely awkward and human and beautiful. I’m married to my best friend and nothing has ever brought me more joy than that.”
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The family at the Hollywood premiere of Onward in February 2020.
They now have daughters Evangeline Ruth, 11, and Elijah, 7.
4. Catherine is also Brandi’s manager.
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Brandi and Catherine backstage at the 2019 CMA Awards.
After leaving Paul McCartney’s foundation in 2011, Catherine moved over to work for Brandi’s Looking Out Foundation, which the singer co-founded in 2008 with the musical duo Tim and Phil Hanseroth to support local communities and mental health initiatives through music resources. Catherine eventually became the foundation’s executive director, working there through 2024. Catherine then moved on to take over as Brandi’s manager and creative director in June 2024.
5. Catherine is also a musician.
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The couple at the 2024 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.
Brandi is not the only musical talent in the family. Catherine can also sing and play the guitar. “We jam at home all the time but it doesn’t really go any further than that,” Brandi told Richmond Magazine in 2012.
Rachel King (she/her) is a news writer at Town & Country. Before joining T&C, she spent nearly a decade as an editor at Fortune. Her work covering travel and lifestyle has appeared in Forbes, Observer, Robb Report, Cruise Critic, and Cool Hunting, among others. Originally from San Francisco, she lives in New York with her wife, their daughter, and a precocious labradoodle. Follow her on Instagram at @rk.passport.