Mary Lambert

Mary Danielle Lambert was born on May 3, 1989, in Seattle, Washington, and raised in Everett, Washington. She began playing piano and writing songs at age six, using music as an escape from a traumatic childhood. Lambert later trained at Cornish College of the Arts, graduating with a Bachelor of Music in composition. Before gaining widespread recognition, she juggled multiple food service jobs while honing her skills as a cellist, singer-songwriter, and poet within Seattle’s spoken word community. In 2008, she represented Seattle in the Brave New Voices International Poetry Competition, and in 2009, co-founded Seattle’s Collegiate team, competing at the College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational.

Lambert’s career breakthrough came in 2012 when she co-wrote and provided vocals for Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s “Same Love,” a groundbreaking LGBTQ+ rights anthem. Her contributions, drawn from her personal experiences, earned her an MTV VMA win and two Grammy nominations in 2014 for Song of the Year and Album of the Year. The track achieved double Platinum certification in the U.S. by the RIAA and became a top ten single in six countries. Following this success, Lambert released her solo debut single “She Keeps Me Warm” in 2013, sampling her chorus from “Same Love,” which gained significant airplay. She signed with Capitol Records and released her debut major label EP, “Welcome to the Age of My Body,” in December 2013. Her studio album “Heart on My Sleeve” debuted at number 29 on the Billboard 200 in 2014, featuring the hit “Secrets,” which reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart.

After achieving public success, Lambert faced personal struggles with panic attacks and suicidal thoughts. In 2015, she departed from formal management and Capitol Records to pursue independence, focusing on poetry, acting, composing, writing, and production. She released the indie-pop EP “Bold” and a holiday EP “Happy Holigays” under her own Tender Heart Records label. In 2018, she published her second poetry collection, “Shame Is an Ocean I Swim Across,” followed by her sophomore album, “Grief Creature,” as a complementary work. This album, largely written, produced, and arranged by Lambert, featured collaborations with artists like Macklemore and Julien Baker. More recently, Lambert has ventured into acting, appearing in the Netflix animated film “Arlo the Alligator Boy” and its follow-up series “I Heart Arlo.” She also co-hosts “The Manic Episodes,” a podcast discussing queer and mental health topics, and serves as the film composer for the documentary “1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture.”