Alisan Porter

Alisan Porter first gained worldwide recognition as a child performer through her starring turn in the 1991 John Hughes comedy Curly Sue, though her career as a vocalist stretches back even further. After claiming victory as a young contestant on Star Search, she returned to music as an adult with the 2009 release of her debut album and later captured first place on season ten of the American edition of The Voice in 2016.

Born Alisan Leigh Porter in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1981 to musician and songwriter Ric Porter and dancer Laura Klein, she was still a small child when her mother traveled to Los Angeles to prepare a dance duo for Star Search. While the family stayed at a hotel, a producer heard the five-year-old singing in the lobby and immediately cast her on the program, making her the youngest winner in the show’s history. Over the following five years she accumulated screen credits that included a recurring part on Lynn Redgrave’s short-lived sitcom Chicken Soup in 1989, a family role in Ron Howard’s Parenthood the same year, and a supporting appearance in Lawrence Kasdan’s I Love You to Death in 1990, before landing the title character in Curly Sue at age ten.

Acting work continued on a smaller scale through her teenage years as she concentrated on academics and school stage productions. After high-school graduation she relocated to New York City in pursuit of Broadway and secured a role in the musical Footloose. She soon performed with local rock groups and formed the Alisan Porter Project; in 2006 she originated the part of Bebe in the Broadway revival of A Chorus Line and can be heard on the cast album. Having spoken publicly about her earlier struggles with alcohol, she achieved sobriety in October 2007 and began recording original material, self-releasing her self-titled debut album in 2009. She later wrote a lifestyle column and launched other ventures before marrying longtime partner Brian Autenreith in 2012 and starting a family; the Facebook community she created for mothers, Lil’ Mamas, eventually grew into a blog and commercial enterprise.

Following her move back to Los Angeles in 2015, Porter auditioned for The Voice. Her blind-audition performance of “Blue Bayou” earned turns from all four coaches—Christina Aguilera, Adam Lambert, Blake Shelton, and Pharrell Williams—and the clip quickly spread online. Throughout the season she placed multiple tracks, including covers of Aerosmith’s “Cryin’,” the Eagles’ “Desperado,” and Patty Griffin’s “Let Him Fly,” on various Billboard charts. She was crowned champion in May, securing a recording contract with Universal Music Group.