Harry (Joseph Harry Fowler) Connick Jr. was born in New Orleans on September 11, 1967, to his mother Anita, a New Orleans lawyer and judge, and his namesake father, Orleans Parish District Attorney (1973 to 2003), and was raised in the Lakeview Neighborhood. Connick started learning keyboards at age three, playing publicly at age five, and recording with a local jazz band at ten. His musical talents were developed at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and under the tutelage of Ellis Marsalis Jr. and James Booker.
Connick moved to New York City to study, and he met a records executive who persuaded him to sign with Columbia. He soon acquired a reputation in jazz and was asked to provide a soundtrack for the 1989 romantic comedy, When Harry Met Sally... . The soundtrack achieved double-platinum status in the United States, and Connick won his first Grammy Award for Best Jazz Male Vocal Performance. His 1990 big-band album We Are in Lovewent double platinum and earned him his second consecutive Grammy for Best Jazz Male Vocal. Songs I Heard, his 2001 big band re-working of children's show themes, won Connick another Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Album. Connick has sold over 28 million albums worldwide and is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States. He has had seven top 20 US albums, and ten number-one US jazz albums, earning more number-one albums than any other artist in US jazz chart history.
"Promise Me You'll Remember", his contribution to the Godfather III soundtrack, was He has been nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, an Emmy, and a Tony. As if a wildly successful music career wasn’t enough, Connick began his acting career in 1990 with the World War II film Memphis Belle. Since then he has performed in numerous films, various genres, and in both leading and supporting roles. He has appeared on Broadway and on television, including helping to organize and appearing in a live telethon concert for relief in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, as well ashosting his own talk show.
On a personal note, Connick married former Victoria's Secret model Jill Goodacre in 1994, and the couple has three daughters. Connick is a founder of the Krewe of Orpheus, a music-based New Orleans krewe, that parades on St. Charles Avenue and Canal Street on Lundi Gras. Connick is a Grammy and Emmy-award winning singer, composer, pianist, actor, and television star … and a diehard Saints fan! Who Dat!
