# Martha Wainwright
**Martha Wainwright** (born 1976 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter in the contemporary folk and indie rock tradition, the daughter of folk musicians [Loudon Wainwright III](https://www.edgepedia.org/loudon-wainwright-iii) and [Kate McGarrigle](https://www.edgepedia.org/kate-mcgarrigle) and the sister of singer-composer [Rufus Wainwright](https://www.edgepedia.org/rufus-wainwright).[1](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jan/22/martha-wainwright-things-i-regret-led-me-to-find-out-who-i-am) • [2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/martha-wainwright-mn0000367231) Her eponymous debut album (2005) and the song "Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole" established her as a songwriter whose frank, self-examining lyrics and forceful voice earned critical acclaim independent of her famous family.[3](https://marthawainwright.com/) • [4](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/8789-martha-wainwright/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1976, Montreal, Quebec, Canada[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/martha-wainwright-mn0000367231) |
| Family | Daughter of Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle; sister of Rufus Wainwright; half-sister of Lucy Wainwright Roche[1](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jan/22/martha-wainwright-things-i-regret-led-me-to-find-out-who-i-am) • [5](https://exclaim.ca/music/article/wainwright_sisters_explore_motherhood_on_songs_in_dark) |
| Debut album | *Martha Wainwright*, released April 12, 2005 on Zoë/Rounder; Metacritic Metascore 80 from 20 critic reviews[6](https://www.metacritic.com/music/martha-wainwright/martha-wainwright/critic-reviews) |
| Signature song | "Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole," named by the Sunday Times one of the best songs of 2005[3](https://marthawainwright.com/) |
| Later albums | *I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too* (2008), *Come Home to Mama* (2012), *Love Will Be Reborn* (2021)[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/martha-wainwright-mn0000367231) • [7](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/martha-wainwright-review-villagers-album-b1903912.html) |
| Memoir | *Stories I Might Regret Telling You*, published March 29, 2022; on the national best sellers list within a week of release[3](https://marthawainwright.com/) |
| Recent activity | 20th Anniversary Tour of her debut album announced in October 2024 for North America in spring 2025[3](https://marthawainwright.com/) |
## Family and early life
Wainwright was born into one of folk music's best-known families. Her father, Loudon Wainwright III, is a singer-songwriter and satirist; her mother, Kate McGarrigle, performed with her sister Anna as the McGarrigles, whose debut album *Kate and Anna McGarrigle* (1975, Warner) came out the year before Martha's birth.[8](https://www.amoeba.com/martha-wainwright/artist/125979/bio) The household orbit extended to figures such as Anna McGarrigle, Leonard Cohen, Suzzy Roche, Richard and Linda Thompson, and [Emmylou Harris](https://www.edgepedia.org/emmylou-harris), and every family drama, as Wainwright has described it, was refracted through song.[3](https://marthawainwright.com/)
Her parents' songs were written about her, and she answered in kind. At 14 she moved from Montreal to New York to live with her father.[9](https://citizenfreak.com/artists/104999-wainwright-martha) Her parents divorced in 1979, and she and Rufus were raised by their mother; as children the two toured with the McGarrigles, and Martha started writing songs around age 17.[10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-apr-12-ca-49929-story.html) Loudon's song "I'd Rather Be Lonely," detailing the ways she displeased him, was later met with her furious reply, "Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole."[11](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/mar/31/stories-i-might-regret-telling-you-by-martha-wainwright-review-a-hilariously-candid-memoir) She has appeared on albums by the McGarrigles and her father.[10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-apr-12-ca-49929-story.html)
## Early performing years
Disenchanted with a musical career during high school, Wainwright chose to study drama at Montreal's Concordia University, but soon began composing her own material and playing Montreal clubs and coffeehouses.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/martha-wainwright-mn0000367231) In 1997 she released her debut effort, a cassette titled *Ground Floor*, and began touring with her older brother Rufus as a backing vocalist and musician.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/martha-wainwright-mn0000367231) After moving to New York in 1999, she released the six-song EP *Martha Wainwright*, followed by the four-song *Factory* EP in 2001.[10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-apr-12-ca-49929-story.html) Labels were slow to sign her; she has described years of playing bars and selling cassettes and EPs at her shows before the debut album was finally licensed and released in 2005.[3](https://marthawainwright.com/)
## The debut album and its reception
*Martha Wainwright* was released on April 12, 2005 on Zoë/Rounder and received generally favorable reviews, with a Metacritic Metascore of 80 based on 20 critic reviews, 19 positive and one mixed.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/music/martha-wainwright/martha-wainwright/critic-reviews) Its most-discussed track, "Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole," kicks against the overweening figure of her father with what reviewers read as cathartic defiance; the Pitchfork review judged that, family dramas notwithstanding, the album proved she had "a strong, distinct, fully formed musical identity, which would be just as impressive by any other name."[4](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/8789-martha-wainwright/) The album featured contributions from her mother, who played banjo on "Factory" and piano on "Don't Forget," and from Rufus, who sang on "The Maker."[4](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/8789-martha-wainwright/) A 2005 live review noted the voice at the center of it, an instrument "both malleable and arrestingly powerful," capable of hushing a full house.[12](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/martha-wainwright-shepherds-bush-empire-london-515564.html)
## Later albums
Her second album, *I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too* (2008, Zoë Records), drew reviews comparing it to her debut rather than to her family's body of work, which Amoeba's biography calls the greatest compliment to her talent.[8](https://www.amoeba.com/martha-wainwright/artist/125979/bio) The Guardian's notice suggested it sounded like "the one thing none of her relatives have had: a hit single."[13](https://www.metacritic.com/music/i-know-youre-married-but-ive-got-feelings-too/martha-wainwright/critic-reviews) She covered [Leonard Cohen](https://www.edgepedia.org/leonard-cohen)'s "Tower of Song" and "The Traitor" for the soundtrack of the documentary *Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man* (2006) and later recorded an album of Edith Piaf songs.[8](https://www.amoeba.com/martha-wainwright/artist/125979/bio) • [14](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/martha-wainwright-jazz-cafe-london-1867308.html)
*Come Home to Mama* (2012) took an electronic-influenced look at a period of personal turmoil, and *Love Will Be Reborn* (2021), written after her divorce from producer Brad Albetta after 10 years of marriage, explored the aftermath of the separation and the joy of finding new love; the Independent gave it four stars.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/martha-wainwright-mn0000367231) • [7](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/martha-wainwright-review-villagers-album-b1903912.html) In 2025, [Le Monde](https://www.edgepedia.org/le-monde)'s album roundup noted her album *House on Fire*.[15](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2025/09/26/selection-albums-oskar-c-posa-alexandre-de-villeneuve-patrick-watson-cass-mccombs-weval-guillaume-latil-matheus-donato-et-radio-tarifa_6643034_3246.html)
## Family collaborations
Wainwright has made music with her extended family throughout her career. With her half-sister Lucy Wainwright Roche, whose mother is Suzzy Roche of the Roches, she recorded *Songs in the Dark* as the Wainwright Sisters, a collection of songs that soothe and scare, including lullabies with a deep family connection such as "Go Tell Aunt Rhody," sung to Martha by her mother, and "Lullaby For a Doll," which her mother wrote about her.[5](https://exclaim.ca/music/article/wainwright_sisters_explore_motherhood_on_songs_in_dark) • [16](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/the-wainwright-sisters-how-having-children-encouraged-them-to-collaborate-a6751021.html) She and Rufus also appeared together on the 2024 Linda Thompson tribute album *Proxy Music*, on which family and friends sing her songs.[17](https://apnews.com/article/4d131bc4490f25198b31eb53ab27ef23)
## Memoir
Her memoir, *Stories I Might Regret Telling You*, published March 29, 2022, entered the national best sellers list within a week of release.[3](https://marthawainwright.com/) The Guardian's review described a book that is "acerbic, often hilarious and more candid than it should be," covering her rancorous 2018 divorce from Brad Albetta and her standing as a steadfastly cult figure despite abundant critical acclaim.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/mar/31/stories-i-might-regret-telling-you-by-martha-wainwright-review-a-hilariously-candid-memoir)
## Recent activity
In October 2024 Wainwright announced a 20th Anniversary Tour of her debut album, performing it in a live, stripped-down setting with pianist Edwin de Goeij across North America in spring 2025.[3](https://marthawainwright.com/) She has continued to tour and speak publicly about sustaining a career in music, including an appearance at [Concordia University](https://www.edgepedia.org/concordia-university)'s annual Wild Talks lecture in conversation with writer and musician Cecil Castellucci.[18](https://www.concordia.ca/cunews/offices/advancement/2026/02/03/martha-wainwright-on-authenticity-touring-and-building-a-long-lasting-career-in-music.html)
## References
1. [Martha Wainwright: 'My happiest decade is also my saddest', The Guardian (2023)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jan/22/martha-wainwright-things-i-regret-led-me-to-find-out-who-i-am)
2. [Martha Wainwright Biography by Mark Deming, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/martha-wainwright-mn0000367231)
3. [Martha Wainwright, official site](https://marthawainwright.com/)
4. [Martha Wainwright: Martha Wainwright Album Review, Pitchfork (2005)](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/8789-martha-wainwright/)
5. [The Wainwright Sisters Explore Motherhood on 'Songs in the Dark', Exclaim!](https://exclaim.ca/music/article/wainwright_sisters_explore_motherhood_on_songs_in_dark)
6. [Critic Reviews for Martha Wainwright, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/music/martha-wainwright/martha-wainwright/critic-reviews)
7. [Album reviews: Martha Wainwright – Love Will Be Reborn, The Independent (2021)](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/martha-wainwright-review-villagers-album-b1903912.html)
8. [Martha Wainwright Biography, Amoeba Music](https://www.amoeba.com/martha-wainwright/artist/125979/bio)
9. [Martha Wainwright, Museum of Canadian Music (Citizen Freak)](https://citizenfreak.com/artists/104999-wainwright-martha)
10. [For Martha Wainwright, It's Relative, Los Angeles Times (2001)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-apr-12-ca-49929-story.html)
11. [Stories I Might Regret Telling You review, The Guardian (2022)](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/mar/31/stories-i-might-regret-telling-you-by-martha-wainwright-review-a-hilariously-candid-memoir)
12. [Martha Wainwright, Shepherds Bush Empire, London, The Independent (2005)](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/martha-wainwright-shepherds-bush-empire-london-515564.html)
13. [Critic Reviews for I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/music/i-know-youre-married-but-ive-got-feelings-too/martha-wainwright/critic-reviews)
14. [Martha Wainwright, Jazz Cafe, London, The Independent (2008)](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/martha-wainwright-jazz-cafe-london-1867308.html)
15. [Sélection albums, Le Monde (2025)](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2025/09/26/selection-albums-oskar-c-posa-alexandre-de-villeneuve-patrick-watson-cass-mccombs-weval-guillaume-latil-matheus-donato-et-radio-tarifa_6643034_3246.html)
16. [The Wainwright Sisters: How having children encouraged them to collaborate, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/the-wainwright-sisters-how-having-children-encouraged-them-to-collaborate-a6751021.html)
17. [Music Review: Linda Thompson's family and friends sing her songs on 'Proxy Music', AP News (2024)](https://apnews.com/article/4d131bc4490f25198b31eb53ab27ef23)
18. [Martha Wainwright on authenticity, touring and building a long-lasting career in music, Concordia University](https://www.concordia.ca/cunews/offices/advancement/2026/02/03/martha-wainwright-on-authenticity-touring-and-building-a-long-lasting-career-in-music.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Pop and R&B singer-songwriters › Indie and alternative pop, 1990s and 2000s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license