Reba McEntire

It's impossible to imagine the '80s country music scene without Reba McEntire—but thanks to her tireless work ethic and potent combination of talent and charisma, the Oklahoma native grew into a pop culture icon whose relevance transcends eras and genres. Born in 1955, she first entertained audiences as a teen on the rodeo circuit alongside her siblings in The Singing McEntires; her performance of the national anthem at the 1974 National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City led to a record contract. Her self-titled debut arrived in 1977, and six years later she reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the first time, with the stomping “Can’t Even Get the Blues No More.” From there, McEntire became a mainstay of the decade's new traditionalist movement, thanks to wistful, slide guitar- and fiddle-propelled songs like “Somebody Should Leave” and “You're the First Time I've Thought About Leaving” that highlighted her mournful but muscular alto. McEntire landed a spot at the Grand Ole Opry in 1986, but her ambition and magnetic presence helped her land crossover success. She kicked off her Hollywood career with a hilarious role in Tremors (1990), took a turn on Broadway as Annie Oakley in the 2001 revival of Annie Get Your Gun, and then launched her hit sitcom Reba later that year. McEntire hasn't stopped releasing new music; in 2019, she proved herself as energetic and adaptable as ever with the Grammy-nominated gospel album Stronger Than the Truth. "Who I am is who I want to be," she declares on Reba's theme song, "I'm a Survivor," which has proven to be an apt summary of her career.