Hillary Scott

Hillary Scott Bio

Hillary Dawn Scott-Tyrrell (born April 1, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter best known as the co-lead vocalist of the country music group Lady A. Born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, she is the daughter of country artist Linda Davis and musician Lang Scott, and she grew up surrounded by the music industry. She first reached a wide audience through Lady A, whose chart-topping singles and albums earned the group multiple industry honors including Grammy Awards. In 2016 she released the gospel project Love Remains with the Scott Family, an album that reached number 7 on the Billboard 200. Hillary Scott continues to record and tour with Lady A while pursuing solo work in country, country-pop, and gospel styles.

Early Life and Background

Hillary Dawn Scott was born on April 1, 1986, in Nashville, Tennessee, to country music artist Linda Davis and musician and entrepreneur Lang Scott. She has a younger sister, Rylee Jean Scott, who was born in 2000, and the family is of Scottish and Native American descent. Because her parents toured for her mother’s musical career, Scott was homeschooled for kindergarten on the road and lived with her grandparents during stretches of that time.

She attended elementary school and high school at Donelson Christian Academy in Nashville, where she graduated in 2004. After joining her mother on stage for a Christmas show, she was convinced to pursue a music career, and at the age of 14 she decided to become a country singer. She also carries a tattoo of the number 14 on her right wrist, marking both that age and the age gap between her and her younger sister.

Path to Music

After high school, Hillary Scott attended Middle Tennessee State University, where she worked with singer-songwriter Victoria Shaw and earned early publicity but was unable to secure a major label contract. She auditioned for American Idol twice without advancing to the judges round, an experience that pushed her toward a different route into the industry. During this period she also performed background vocals on recordings and continued to sharpen her songwriting.

In May 2006, Scott ran into Charles Kelley at a Nashville bar, having discovered his music on MySpace. After she introduced herself and complimented his work, the two agreed to write together, and they soon brought in Dave Haywood. Their first collaboration, “All We’d Ever Need”, convinced the trio that they were strongest as a group, and they formed Lady Antebellum, now known as Lady A. The group first performed together in August 2006 and signed with Capitol Nashville in 2007.

Hillary Scott Career

Early Career (2000–2007)

Scott has listed her career start year as 2000, but her first major break came in 2006 when she co-founded Lady Antebellum with Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood. The group signed a record deal with Capitol Nashville in 2007, and their debut single “Love Don’t Live Here” was released on October 2, 2007. The song entered Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart that year and peaked at No. 3 in early 2008, giving Scott her first taste of mainstream success.

Beyond her work with the band, Scott co-wrote songs for other country artists during these early years, including Sara Evans’s “A Little Bit Stronger” and Blake Shelton’s “Suffocating”. “A Little Bit Stronger” was released in September 2010, was featured in the 2010 film Country Strong, and topped the Hot Country Songs chart in May 2011 for two weeks, becoming Scott’s first Number One hit recorded by another artist.

Breakthrough (2008–2016)

Lady A’s self-titled debut album arrived on April 15, 2008, and debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. Singles such as “I Run to You” became the trio’s first No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart in July 2009, and the album was certified platinum by the RIAA in October 2009. In August 2009, the group released “Need You Now” as the lead single off their sophomore album, a song that topped the Hot Country Songs chart for five weeks in late 2009 before reaching No. 2 on the Hot 100 in early 2010.

The album Need You Now was released on January 26, 2010, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of nearly 481,000 copies, and it was certified triple platinum by the RIAA in October 2010. Follow-up singles “American Honey”, “Our Kind of Love”, and the title track kept the group at the top of the country charts, and “Just a Kiss” from their third album Own the Night, released in 2011, became a multi-week No. 1 as well. By the time they released albums such as Golden in 2013 and 747 in 2014, Lady A had become one of country music’s leading acts.

In 2016, Scott stepped out as a solo artist with the gospel album Love Remains, recorded with the Scott Family and produced by Ricky Skaggs. The album debuted at number 7 on the Billboard 200, and at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, Love Remains won Best Contemporary Christian Album while its lead single “Thy Will” won Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song.

Notable Works and Milestones

Signature works in Scott’s catalog include “Love Don’t Live Here” (2007), “Need You Now” (2010), “Love Remains” (2016), and “Thy Will” (2016). Her milestones include nine Grammy Awards, seven ACM Awards, six CMA Awards, a Billboard Music Award, and SESAC Songwriter of the Year honors in 2008, 2010, and 2011.

Hillary Scott Award Nominations

Across her career with Lady A and as a solo artist, Hillary Scott has earned a long list of industry nominations that reflect the group’s chart success and her work as a songwriter. Her Grammy nominations span categories such as Best Country Album, Best Country Duo/Group Performance, and Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song, while her ACM and CMA nominations have included vocal event, song, and album of the year categories. The full scope of individual nominations is broad, and her recognition is anchored by multiple wins in each major body of work.

Hillary Scott Awards Won

Hillary Scott has accumulated nine Grammy Awards, seven ACM Awards, six CMA Awards, one Billboard Music Award, and SESAC Songwriter of the Year honors in 2008, 2010, and 2011. Lady A was also named CMT Artists of the Year in 2010, 2011, and 2018. As a producer and songwriter, Scott has also earned ACM recognition tied to the album and single “Need You Now” and to her songwriting on that title track.

Hillary Scott Family

Scott was born to country music artist Linda Davis and musician and entrepreneur Lang Scott, and she has a younger sister, Rylee Jean Scott. Her parents and sister joined her on the gospel album Love Remains, billed as Hillary Scott & the Scott Family, and the project reflects the close musical ties she shares with her parents and sister. Her mother Linda Davis is a country music artist in her own right, and her father Lang Scott is a musician and entrepreneur.

Personal Life

Hillary Scott married Nashville-based drummer Chris Tyrrell on January 7, 2012, after the two first met in college and reconnected when their bands opened for Tim McGraw on his Southern Voice tour in early 2010. They began dating in July 2010, became engaged on July 2, 2011, during a family vacation in east Tennessee, and later settled in Brentwood, Tennessee, where Scott also makes her home. Tyrrell joined Lady A as a full-time member in October 2011 and has remained their drummer.

Scott and Tyrrell have four daughters. Their first daughter was born on July 22, 2013, in Nashville, Tennessee, and their twin daughters were born on January 29, 2018. After a miscarriage in 2015, Scott wrote the single “Thy Will” about the experience, and the song became part of the Love Remains album. Their fourth daughter was born on July 25, 2025.