Angel Olsen

Angel Olsen Bio

Angel Olsen (born Angelina Marie Carroll; January 22, 1987) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer from St. Louis, Missouri, who is currently based in Asheville, North Carolina. Across a career that began in 2009, she has built a body of work that draws on art pop, indie folk, indie rock, and alternative country, earning critical praise and a devoted international audience. She has released six studio albums, contributed to film soundtracks, and collaborated with a wide range of independent artists. Olsen is also recognized for her work as a backing vocalist early in her career and for her growing role as a record producer.

Beyond her recorded output, Olsen is known for her distinctive vocal style and her willingness to reinvent her sound from album to album. Critics have drawn comparisons between her work and acts such as the Cure, Cocteau Twins, and Siouxsie and the Banshees, particularly on her 2019 record All Mirrors. She performs vocals, guitar, and keyboards, and she has toured extensively across North America and Europe in support of her releases.

Early Life and Background

Angel Olsen was born on January 22, 1987, in St. Louis, Missouri. At the age of three, she was adopted by a foster family that had cared for her since shortly after her birth. The age gap between Olsen and her adoptive parents left a lasting impression on her, and she has spoken about her interest in her parents’ earlier lives, both of whom died in 2021.

As a teenager in St. Louis, Olsen regularly attended punk rock and noise music shows at the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center and the Creepy Crawl, as well as Christian rock events across the city. She began learning piano and guitar during this period and started writing her own songs. At the age of sixteen, she joined a local band called Good Fight, a group she later described as a meeting of early No Doubt and punk rock. She graduated from Tower Grove Christian Academy before relocating to Chicago to pursue music full-time.

Path to Music

After moving to Chicago, Olsen became involved in the city’s indie and folk scenes, where she befriended country rock singer-songwriter Bonnie “Prince” Billy. The older artist invited her to tour as his backing vocalist, an experience that introduced her to life on the road and connected her to a wider community of songwriters and performers. During this period she also worked with the Cairo Gang and other figures in the Chicago indie circuit.

Olsen’s collaborations expanded during this era to include Tim Kinsella of Cap’n Jazz, LeRoy Bach of Wilco, Cass McCombs, and Chicago poet Marvin Tate. A joint project with Kinsella, Bach, and Tate, titled Tim Kinsella Sings the Songs of Marvin Tate by Leroy Bach Featuring Angel Olsen, was released on the Indianapolis label Joyful Noise Recordings on December 3, 2013. These early partnerships helped establish Olsen as a versatile collaborator before she moved into leading her own studio projects.

Angel Olsen Career

Early Career (2009-2014)

Olsen began her recording career in the early 2010s, releasing her debut EP, Strange Cacti, in 2011 on Bathetic Records. Her first studio album, Half Way Home, followed in 2012 and introduced her voice and songwriting to a wider independent audience. The record showcased her folk roots and earned attention for its intimacy and emotional directness.

In the years that followed, Olsen continued to develop her profile through collaboration and live performance, building a reputation as a compelling stage presence. Her growing body of work drew the interest of the Indiana-based independent label Jagjaguwar, setting the stage for a major step in her recording career.

Breakthrough (2014-2019)

In 2014, Olsen signed a recording contract with Jagjaguwar and released her second studio album, Burn Your Fire for No Witness, on February 17, 2014. The record was her first full-band project and broadened her sound, drawing praise from critics and expanding her audience. Its closing track, “Windows”, was later featured in the final episode of the first season of the Netflix original series 13 Reasons Why in 2017.

Olsen released her third studio album, My Woman, on September 2, 2016. Critics described the record as her most ambitious and personal work to that point, with reviewers calling it a startling and honest collection. The album further cemented her standing as one of the most distinctive voices in American indie music.

Her fourth studio album, All Mirrors, arrived on October 4, 2019, to widespread critical acclaim. Reviewers described the record as breathtaking and challenging, noting its theatrical qualities. The release marked a clear evolution in her sound and production approach, and it was followed on August 28, 2020, by Whole New Mess, a more intimate rearrangement of songs from the All Mirrors sessions. In 2019, Olsen also appeared on British producer Mark Ronson’s fifth studio album Late Night Feelings, alongside Miley Cyrus and Camila Cabello.

Recent Work (2020-2022)

On August 20, 2021, Olsen released her fourth extended play, Aisles, a collection of five cover versions of popular songs from the 1980s. The EP was described as an unusual departure for a songwriter known for her original material. In 2021, she also received the Libera Award for Best Folk/Bluegrass Record from the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) for her album Whole New Mess.

Olsen’s sixth studio album, Big Time, was released on June 3, 2022, preceded by the lead single “All the Good Times” and followed by the title track. On April 14, 2023, she released her fifth EP, Forever Means, which contained four previously unreleased tracks originally recorded for Big Time. Earlier in 2020, Olsen collaborated with film composer Emile Mosseri on a cover of “Mr. Lonely” for the soundtrack of the Miranda July film Kajillionaire, and in 2021 she released the single “Like I Used To” with Sharon Van Etten.

Notable Works and Milestones

Across her career, Angel Olsen has released six studio albums, including Half Way Home, Burn Your Fire for No Witness, My Woman, All Mirrors, Whole New Mess, and Big Time. Her work has drawn comparisons to major alternative acts, and she has been recognized with a Libera Award for Best Folk/Bluegrass Record in 2021. Her songs have appeared in film and television, and her collaborations have spanned figures from Bonnie “Prince” Billy to Mark Ronson.

Angel Olsen Award Nominations

Verified details on specific award nominations for Angel Olsen are limited within available sources. She has been recognized within the independent music community for her releases on Jagjaguwar, but exact counts of nominations across her career are not confirmed in the available record.

Angel Olsen Awards Won

Angel Olsen has received a Libera Award for Best Folk/Bluegrass Record in 2021 for her album Whole New Mess, presented by the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM). The award reflected the strong critical reception of the record and her standing within the American independent music community.

Angel Olsen Family

Angel Olsen was adopted as an infant by a foster family in St. Louis, and the age difference between her and her adoptive parents shaped her early sense of family. Both of her parents passed away in 2021, a period that coincided with a number of her most personal releases. Beyond this, Olsen has not publicly detailed other family relationships within available sources.

Personal Life

On April 16, 2021, Angel Olsen publicly stated that she is gay. In 2022, she revealed that a previous relationship with Beau Thibodeaux had ended and that she had briefly dated musician Meg Duffy in 2020. In a 2022 interview, Olsen said she now identifies as pansexual, and in August 2023 she celebrated one year with singer-songwriter Maxim Ludwig, who co-directed the lyric video for “Nothing’s Free” and served as a support act on her 2023 North American tour. Olsen and Ludwig married in 2024. She lives in Asheville, North Carolina.