Sept. 22: Singer-songwriter, poet, and violinist Emilie Autumn is 31 today.

Emilie Autumn is best known for her wide range of musical styles and her usage of theatrics. Born in Malibu, California, she has being surrounded by nature and sea had a lot to do with her development as a "free spirit."

At age two, Autumn was diagnosed with leukemia, which later led her to question her existence. In an interview with Metal Discovery, she asked herself, "Am I actually alive or did I die when I was two and had leukaemia, and I‘m a very convincing ghost? Because, the truth is, I don’t know, and I sometimes wonder, I don’t know if I’m alive."

After she recovered from the illness she started to play the violin at four. At the age of nine she went to Colburn School of Performing Arts, where she became friends with the violinist Nigel Kennedy.

At fourteen, she attended the Music Conservatory at Indiana University. After two years at the university, she left because she disagreed with their views on individuality and classical music.

She began singing at age seventeen and learned piano by herself. After an unpleasant experience with a music producer, she created her own independent record label, Traitor Records. he first record produced was her 1997 classical album On a Day: Music for Violin & Continuo. The title is a reference to Shakespeare and that the album took only a day to record.

She released several more EPs and albums. November 2006 saw the release of the double feature EP Liar/Dead Is the New Alive, which featured remixes of songs from Opheliac and new material. Her March 2007 album, Laced/Unlaced, consisted of two discs: Laced, her take on classical violin pieces, and Unlaced, new songs for the electric violin. In August 2007, she released A Bit O' This & That: a collection of her covers, including songs from The Beatles and The Smiths, classical pieces, and her own songs.

Autumn has been a guest artist on the Adult Swim cartoon "Metalocalypse," in which she performed all violins as the London Philharmonic Orchestra in the episode "Detharmonic."

She also appeared on HGTV's "Crafters Coast to Coast," showing viewers how to create Fairy wings and Sushi soap.

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