Avril Lavigne was born on September 27, 1984 in Belleville, Ontario, Canada, to Judith-Rosanne (Loshaw) and Jean-Claude Joseph Lavigne. Her ancestry is French-Canadian, Polish, English, Irish, and Scottish. At sixteen, she moved to Manhattan and began work on her debut album. She dropped out of high school after the 11th grade when she secured a record deal. When Avril was almost 18, she released “Complicated” from her debut album titled:
“Let Go,” which went 6x platinum. As a petite skater girl from a small town, Avril has shown she is independent, full of confidence and determination, providing a good combination to make “Complicated” and Avril a musical breakthrough. “Complicated” went to number #1 on Billboard’s Top 100 while also earning her 5 Grammy nominations, MTV music awards, MTV European music awards and many more.
But by April of 2015, her desire to bring awareness to the disease outweighed her fear of having her diagnosis coming to define her—if only slightly. And so, she appeared on the cover of People under the words “Her Secret Health Crisis: ‘I Thought I Was Dying.'” After that, there was no going back.
“I feel like I have a responsibility—I can’t just sit on my ass and do nothing,” she told Billboard a week later. “I need to talk about Lyme disease, because
it’s real, it’s out there, it was a simple bug bite and it could happen to anybody. People need to know about it, because it’s not talked about that much and a lot of the information that’s out there is inaccurate.”
And yet, she was still attempting to downplay how bad things still were for her. In the People story, she claimed to be “80 percent better.” Speaking with Billboard, she was quick to highlight the “good that has come out of it”—namely, the opportunity for downtime for the first time in her 15-year career. And her social media remained cheerful as ever. “I put on a brave face because I didn’t want it to be a part of my identity,” she told Billboard last year. “So the second I was up, I would take a picture and post it on Instagram and act like my life was f–king great.” When she went on Good Morning America two months later, however, it was abundantly clear that things weren’t f–king great.
Lavigne is set to perform her song, Fly Official Video on July 25 at the opening ceremonies of the 2015 Special Olympics Ostensibly there to promote her new single “Fly,” and the conversation naturally turned to the big revelation Lavigne had made just months earlier. And that’s when the singer known for her punk-ish, unflappable attitude absolutely lost it, breaking down in tears while describing her path towards diagnosis. “I was like, ‘I’m going to be brave and tell the world what’s going on.’ And I did it because I was releasing a song for the Special Olympics and I wanted it to do well, so I got forced to sit on camera and talk about it [on GMA],” she told Billboard. “I wasn’t ready, and I shouldn’t have done it. I was a mess.”
(Elsewhere in the profile, the author noted that Lavigne was “annoyed that I didn’t understand how misleadingly edited the GMA interview was,” though she was not directly quoted as saying such.)
Things would go from bad to worse a few months later when, on September 2, Lavigne announced that, after months of speculation regarding the status of their marriage—speculation based, primarily, on her absence from public life—she and Kroeger were separating after two years of marriage. “It is with a heavy heart that Chad and I announce our separation today,” she wrote alongside a pic from their wedding day. “Through not only the marriage, but the music as well, we’ve created many unforgettable moments.
We are still and forever will be, the best of friends, and will always care deeply for each other. To all our family, friends and fans, thank you sincerely for the support.” While Lavigne has largely kept quiet on what went wrong in the relationship ever since, always keeping talk of Kroeger remarkably positive, if she talks at all, while defending him when tired Nickleback jokes arise, a source told E! News at the time that the split was a long time coming.
“Honestly, she’s doing OK,” the insider told us. “This has been in the works for awhile.”
As the source explained, the couple, who met when her then-manager Larry Rudolph suggested they collaborate professionally—”He’s had a ton of hit songs. He plays guitar. This could be great,” she recalled to Billboard.
“A month later, I had a 14-carat ring on my finger”—”didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of things” at the end of the day. “They originally got together to make an album and that’s where the spark between them originated,” the insider continued. “But it just slowly died out.” However OK she was and however slowly the spark disappeared, it still couldn’t have felt great. What divorce do? Yet, Lavigne has magnificently found a way to keep both of her splits—she was married to Sum 41 lead singer Deryck Whibley from 2006 to 2010—not simply amicable, but downright friendly.
When she was finally ready to get back into the studio and record music for her long-awaited sixth studio album Head Over Water, released in February, it was in Kroeger’s studio where she sang her first note in years. He eventually worked on several tracks from the album, including the inspiring, spiritual title track—a track that came to Lavigne on one of the worst nights of her life. As she tells it, she was laying in bed with her mother and barely able to breathe. Fearing that it might be the end for her, the woman whose family raised her devoutly Christian began to pray. “I had accepted that I was dying,” she told Billboard. “And I felt in that moment like I was underwater and drowning, and I was trying to come up to gasp for air. And literally under my breath,
I was like, ‘God, help me keep my head above the water.'”
And that’s when she grabbed her phone, opened her Notes app,
and began to document the beginnings of what would be her comeback single.
“I wasn’t even thinking about music,” she told Entertainment Weekly.
“It just happened.” Checkout: Photos from Avril Lavigne’s Hairstyles – E! Online – CA (eonline.com) As she told People in February, “Music really lifted me up and made me feel better. I was able to take a hard time in my life and make the best out of a circumstance that I was going through…At first I didn’t know I was making an album—I just naturally turned to songwriting in a time of healing.” While Lavigne was working on the album and managing her Lyme disease—”It’s up and down. I’m doing my best to maintain a healthy lifestyle — eating healthy, sleeping well, and working out. I definitely have to pace myself. But at the same time, I have my life back now: I’m able to make music and make videos,” she told EW of her recovery efforts—a wild conspiracy theory was running rampant on the internet, resurfacing thanks to her time out of the spotlight.
The gist of the bizarre claim, which began on a Brazilian fan site (inasmuch as you can call a blog entitled Avril Esta Morta—or Avril is Dead—a fan site), asserts that after the death of her grandfather in 2003, Lavigne took her own life, unable to cope with the loss coupled with the mounting pressures of following up her wildly successful debut album Let Go. As the outlandish story goes, her record label then replaced her with a doppelganger named Melissa Vandella who had supposedly been hired to help confuse the paparazzi that were constantly following Lavigne. (Adding fuel to this wildfire is the existence of a photo of Lavigne with the name Melissa written in Sharpie on her hand during the photo shoot.)
Over the years, theorists have supported the bonkers story with perceived inconsistencies in the appearance of Lavigne’s skin, jawline, and eye corners, as well as her approach to fashion and her handwriting. You know, all normal things that tend to happen to a woman as she progresses through her 20s. For years, Lavigne had never denied or even addressed the rumors, only fanning the flames. But during a November interview with Australia’s KISS 1065, where she was asked if she’d laughed at the strange story, she finally broke her silence.
“Yeah, some people think that I’m not the real me, which is so weird,” she said. “Like, why would they even think that?”
Speaking with EW earlier this year, she elaborated on the subject when asked if it had affected her personally. “More like that it’s just a dumb internet rumor and [I’m] flabbergasted that people bought into it,” she told the magazine. “Isn’t that so weird? It’s so dumb. And I look the exact same. On one hand, everyone is like, ‘Oh my god, you look the same,’ and on the other hand people are like ‘Oh my god, she died.'”
While the internet has been foolishly debating over whether or not she’d die, the last few years have managed to give Lavigne a new lease on life.
“It put things in perspective and showed me how much the small things in life—friends, love, family, just your health—matter the most,” she told People. She’s even embarked on a new relationship, dating Phillip Sarofim, son of Texas billionaire Fayez Sarofin, since early 2018. Since its inception, they’ve done little to call attention to the romance, never confirming it publicly, but they’ve been spotted out together periodically over the last year, most recently in June. And while a quick skim of much of the press that she participated in during the lead-up to Head Above Water‘s release earlier this year makes clear that she really doesn’t want to talk about her health woes, she’s thankful that, at least, it’s allowed her to do some good.
“It was painful to face it, and I don’t like to talk about it sometimes, but to turn it into music and put it out there into positive experiences to help others has been good,” she told EW. In support of the album, which peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard 200, Lavigne was able to do something that might have seemed unthinkable just a few short years ago when she embarked on the Head Above Water Tour, a 15-stop run of shows in North America that kicked off on September 14. E! News’ Carissa Culiner visited the Grammy nominee in her rehearsal space days before her first performance in Seattle, where she admitted she was feeling “very good” and ready to give back, with proceeds from each ticket donated to her Avril Lavigne Foundation, which supports individuals with Lyme disease, serious illnesses and disabilities.
“I think it’s just bringing awareness to the fact that it exists. A lot of people don’t know about it,” she explained when asked to share the biggest misconceptions about the disease. “I didn’t know about it and I was four-wheeling through the woods all the time and I was hiking. I didn’t know ticks had Lyme disease and it was a thing and I got a bug bite and it changed my life forever.”
After the last few years, Lavigne finds herself with a whole new outlook. “My approach now is one day at a time. Don’t overwork myself—just ease back into it,” she told People earlier this year. “I’m in a good place.” Inside Avril Lavigne’s Dramatic Last Few Years – E! Online – CA (eonline.com)
Avril Lavigne Opens Up About Her Struggle With Lyme Disease | Good Morning America By Matt Bagwell Last Updated June 30, 2015
Avril Lavigne has given an emotional interview on US television as she shared an update on her health since being diagnosed with Lyme disease. The 30-year-old singer broke down in tears during the chat with ‘Good Morning America’ as she talked about her debilitating illness for the first time on camera. “This is my second shot at life,” she told interviewer Jesse Palmer. “I’m about halfway through my treatment. I’m doing a lot better,” she said as tears rolled down her face. “Seeing a lot of progress… I’m just really grateful to know that I will make [a] 100 percent recovery.”
The ‘Complicated’ singer was diagnosed with Lyme disease, a debilitating bacterial infection that comes from a tick bite, in 2013 and became bedridden for five months.. “I literally became bedridden last October,’ she explained. “They would pull up their computer and be like, ‘Chronic fatigue syndrome’ or ‘Why don’t you try to get out of bed, Avril, and just go play the piano?’ It’s like, ‘Are you depressed?’ This went on and off for a month.” The ‘Sk8ter Boi’ singer was eventually diagnosed with Lyme disease after seeking out a specialist.
“The thing is, when you’re a specialist, you also really know the disease inside and out and you can diagnose their symptoms,’ she said. “There is hope. Lyme disease does exist. And you can get better,’ she added. “This is my second shot at life. I really just want to go out there and truly do what I love. So, I’m so excited for life after this.
Avril Lavigne – Head Above Water @ Good Morning America 15/02/2019
Avril Lavigne ABC Nightline – Bing video
Avril Lavigne ABC Nightline – Bing
Avril Lavigne: ‘I’m Doing a Lot Better’ After Lyme Disease Treatment – ABC News
Avril Lavigne Talks Managing Lyme Disease: ‘I’ve Gone Through So Much’ but ‘I’m in a Good Place’ – Bing
The pop star’s health crisis informed her sixth album Head Above Water
By Jeff Nelson February 13, 2019.
After nearly four years out of the spotlight, Avril Lavigne is back — and ready to tell her story. Happy and healthy after a devastating battle with Lyme disease, the pop star, 34, reveals how the medical crisis changed her life in the new issue of PEOPLE. “I’ve gone through so much,” says Lavigne, whose struggles inform her new album Head Above Water (out Feb. 15). “It gave me a purpose,” she adds of her journey, “and made me find myself all over again.”
Avril Lavigne at home in L.A (Feb. 5, 2019) | CREDIT: CLIFF WATTS
As she exclusively revealed to PEOPLE in an April 2015 cover story,
Lavigne had been quietly suffering from Lyme disease after disappearing from the public eye in the fall of 2014. RELATED: What Is Lyme Disease? Everything You Need to Know About the Tick-Borne Infection. Earlier that year, while on tour, Lavigne began feeling weak, but doctors at first cited dehydration and exhaustion. Months later — as her symptoms worsened and she struggled to even move — she visited a Lyme specialist who diagnosed her with the disease, a bacterial infection contracted from a tick bite that causes symptoms ranging from moderate fatigue and muscle pain to debilitating dementia.
The illness left Lavigne bedridden for two years — and at one point, she was convinced she was dying. “When you go through something like that, you realize how fulfilling simple things are — things I could do anymore, like being able to get up in the morning and go to the kitchen and grab a cup of coffee,” she says. “It taught me patience; it taught me to be more present. That was a beautiful lesson.” During her darkest moments fighting the disease, Lavigne leaned on her parents, grandmother and Christian faith. “I’m a very spiritual person, and I definitely did turn to God during that experience,” she says of praying for relief.
Lavigne also copied by writing songs, including the empowering anthems
“Head Above Water” and “Warrior,” which appear on her new record.
Avril Lavigne – Head Above Water (Official Video) – YouTube
“Music really lifted me up and made me feel better,” she says. “I was able to take a hard time in my life and make the best out of a circumstance that I was going through. … At first I didn’t know I was making an album — I just naturally turned to songwriting in a time of healing.” Lavigne says she treated her Lyme disease with antibiotics and herbs for two years. Still managing her Lyme disease today, “I’m feeling pretty good,” says Lavigne, who watches her diet — she’s a fan of juices and eats organic — and practices yoga and meditation.
Lavigne’s respite from the spotlight (and her nonstop career) was her first break since she skyrocketed to fame 17 years ago with her breakout 2002 single “Complicated.” She tells PEOPLE her health battle gave her a new lease on life. “It put things in perspective and showed me how much the small things in life — friends, love, family, just your health — matter the most,” says the singer, who hopes to raise awareness with The Avril Lavigne Foundation, which has partnered with Global Lyme Alliance the LymeLight Foundation.
5th Annual LymeMIND Virtual Conference 2020 – Mothers and Children Panel
Stress in America™ 2020: A National Mental Health Crisis
https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2020/report-october
Among people of color 7, more than 2 in 5 (44%) report discrimination is a significant source of stress in their life, compared with 38% of people of color who said the same in 2019. Looking at races individually, Black Americans are the most likely to report discrimination as a stressor (48% vs. 43% Hispanic, 42% Native American, 41% Asian and …
Preventing noncommunicable diseases – WHO | World Health …
https://www.who.int/activities/preventing-noncommunicable-diseases
Reducing the major risk factors for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) – tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet and the harmful use of alcohol – is the focus of WHO’s work to prevent deaths from NCDs. NCDs – primarily heart and lung diseases, cancers and diabetes – are the world’s largest killers, with an estimated 38 million deaths annually.
How are vaccines developed? – World Health Organization
https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/...
Dec 08, 2020 · Phase 1. The vaccine is given to a small number of volunteers to assess its safety, confirm it generates an immune response, and determine the right dosage. Generally in this phase vaccines are tested in young, healthy adult volunteers. Phase 2. The vaccine is then given to several hundred volunteers to further assess its safety and ability to …
Confronting the Judocracy: The Six Stages of …
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/more...
May 07, 2021 · More evidence that the Wuhan lab–leak theory is the correct one.
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Nostradamus Shocking predictions for 2021 and Beyond
https://wisehoroscope.org/nostradamus-2021
Nostradamus also predicted the 2008 crisis, and in 2021, things are not great: the exchange markets are in free fall and have reached panic levels. the end of the crisis is still out of sight.
Why private capital will benefit from the crisis …
https://www.ft.com/content/b104940f-bf3b-4090-bcb2-50aef67da564
The Great Resignation is a good story — but not what most people want How management fashions can change the world Oxford’s vice-chancellor on the subtle science of …
Coronavirus is causing a historic rise in mental health …
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/05/04/mental-health-coronavirus
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US-China tech war: Beijing’s secret chipmaking champions …
https://www.ft.com/content/795060b7-1932-4491-af6f-d983e3cffb50
Naura Technology Group, China’s largest chip equipment maker, generated a record profit in 2020, up more than 73 per cent from a year earlier. Meanwhile, despite being added to the US trade
Suicide risk and prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic …
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(20)30171-1
Apr 21, 2020 · The mental health effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic might be profound1 and there are suggestions that suicide rates will rise, although this is not
Why We’re Losing the Battle With Covid-19 – The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/magazine/covid-19-public-health-texas.html
Jul 14, 2020 · Why We’re Losing the Battle With Covid-19. The escalating crisis in Texas shows how the chronic underfunding of public health has put America on track for the worst coronavirus response in the …
The Democracy Crisis: Could This Be Joe Biden’s Big …
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/10/the...
Oct 06, 2021 · The current deliberations do look messy, but there’s still plenty of time to concoct a compromise that expands education, health care, and other important social welfare programs
You Know Who Else Opposed Vaccine Mandates? Hitler.
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2021/09/vaccine...
Sep 18, 2021 · The talk of vaccine mandates as fascism is a function of the dumbed-down way Nazism and its legacy are used in political discourse. The Right will happily point to Hitler’s support for birth control and abortion, or the Nazis’ use of public-works programs, business regulation, and social welfare policies, to argue doing anything similar now .
Why COVID-19 will end up harming the environment
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/...
Jun 18, 2020 · Why COVID-19 will end up harming the environment. Even though the air has been cleaner as a result of the global lockdowns, a more polluted future has been brewing while we