Actress and singer Clare Bowen was born May 12, 1984 in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. A childhood cancer survivor, she grew up listening to everything from Paul Simon to Dolly Parton, and was drawn to the arts, eventually graduating from the University of Wollongong in 2007 with a degree in creative arts. In 2009 she had a lead role in the Australian film The Combination, and major parts in the films The Clinic (2010) and Not Suitable for Children (2012), and appeared in the Australia TV shows The Cut, Chandon Pictures, All Saints, Gangs of Oz, and Home and Away. Equally at home on the live stage, she had roles in productions of Candide, Our Town, The Good Doctor, Metamorphoses, Peer Gynt, and Spring Awakening, among others. In 2012 she was cast as songwriter Scarlett O'Connor in the ABC television series Nashville, and thanks to her charismatic singing style in the show, found herself in a recording studio with fellow cast member Sam Palladio. Two singles, both produced by Buddy Miller, "If I Didn't Know Better" and "Fade Into You," featuring county duets between the Australian-born Bowen and London native Palladio singing in character, were released in 2012, and both flirted with the country Top 100 list and garnered airplay. ~ Steve Leggett