Reba McEntire — Movies, TV Shows & Roles

Composer · Producer · Actor

1955-03-28 · McAlester, OK · Female

52 series in the catalog

Reba Nell McEntire ( REE-bə MAK-in-tire; 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, 24 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, her highest-selling album. 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. That 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. Since autumn 2024 she has starred 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.
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. The trio eventually included a backing band, who performed at local functions. The group was later named the Kiowa High School Cowboy Band. They also had paying gigs at bars at dance halls in nearby Oklahoma City. "We were a bunch of kids barely in puberty who didn't get to bed until almost daylight after some of our shows," McEntire remembered. The band parted ways once Reba's brother graduated from high school. In 1973, McEntire graduated from Kiowa High School.
Once finishing high school, McEntire enrolled in college at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. She majored in elementary education with a minor in music. She completed student teaching and later graduated with a bachelor's degree. She also continued to help out on her family's ranch during her college years. In 1974, McEntire's father encouraged her to take a job opportunity singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City. She contacted family friend and rodeo announcer Clem McSpadden, who helped her get hired for the gig. Following one of her performances, McEntire was heard by country artist Red Steagall who was impressed by her singing. Reba, her siblings, and her mother later joined him at a hotel party the same week. At the hotel, Reba performed an a cappella version of Dolly Parton's "Joshua". Jacqueline McEntire asked Steagall if he was able to help get all her children a recording contract. After going back to Nashville, Steagall contacted her in early 1975, and said, "I can't take all three. But I could take Reba. She's got something a little different."
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…