Early life

Warren was born to David, an insurance salesman, and Flora Warren, as the youngest of three girls, in the Los Angeles community of Van Nuys, where she said she felt misunderstood and "alienated" as a Jewish kid growing up. Her family's surname "Warren" was originally "Wolfberg", but her father changed the name because it sounded too Jewish. She says she was rebellious as a child and told NPR's Scott Simon that she got into trouble and ran away as a teen but returned because she missed her cat. As a child, she loved listening to the radio and dreamed of performing on the radio herself. She was also influenced by music through her parents and her two older sisters who would play music. She began writing music when she was 11 but took a more serious approach at 14, commenting "music saved me." Warren has said that her mother asked her to give up her dream of a songwriting career and take a secretarial job. However, her father continued to believe in her and encouraged her. In addition, he bought her a 12-string guitar and a metal shed for her to practice and took her to music auditions. She wrote the song "Because You Loved Me" as a tribute to her father for his encouragement. She briefly attended college at Los Angeles Pierce College and California State University, Northridge but considered it a waste and spent more of her time writing songs while attending.

On the 2016.02.12 edition of All Things Considered, Warren stated that she had been molested at age 12, and had later experienced sexual harassment / assault by a sound engineer during her working career.

Career

Her first hit was "Solitaire", which Laura Branigan took to No. 7 in the US pop charts in 1983.

She's actually more like the Emily Dickinson of Pop. As in the case of the great nineteenth-century reclusive New England poet known for her simple yet eloquent verses, Warren leads a life focused almost entirely on her art.

— Alanna Nash, Good Housekeeping, 1998,

The original name for her publishing company, Realsongs, was "Warren Piece" because "War and Peace" was already taken. In 1998, Realsongs and its international partner, EMI Music Publishing, distributed "A Passion For Music," a six-CD box set that showcased her music. EMI Music's London office assisted in distributing 1,200 copies of the box set primarily to the film and television industry for consideration in soundtracks and other commercial endeavors. It was not marketed to consumers. As of 2011, her music has appeared in the soundtracks of over 60 films. She was awarded a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2001.

The Diane Warren Foundation, in conjunction with the ASCAP Foundation and the VH1 Save the Music Foundation created a joint initiative, beginning in 2000, called Music in the Schools. The initiative provides sheet music, band arrangements, folios, and method books to each of the schools that are already recipients of musical instruments from the VH1 Save the Music Foundation.

In 2004 she released a compilation album of love songs, titled Diane Warren Presents Love Songs, which includes several of her award-winning hits.

She continues to write hit songs for and with artists of all mainstream genres, including Whitney Houston, Marcia Hines, Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé, TLC, Aaliyah, Elton John, Cher, Tina Turner, Bryan Adams, Air Supply, Olivia Newton-John, Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack, Roy Orbison, Trisha Yearwood, Patti LaBelle, Michael Bolton, 'N Sync, Gloria Estefan, Reba McEntire, Enrique Iglesias, Paloma Faith, Russell Watson, Rod Stewart, RBD, Aerosmith, The Cult, Kiss, Ricky Martin, Faith Hill, Meat Loaf, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Exposé, Leigh Nash of Sixpence None the Richer, LeAnn Rimes, Kierra Sheard, Lady Gaga and so on, producing some of the songs as well. Her songs have been covered by artists including Joe Cocker, Weezer, Edwin McCain, Milli Vanilli, Mark Chesnutt, and so on.

Also in 2009, she co-wrote the United Kingdom's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest with Andrew Lloyd Webber the song "It's My Time". It was sung by Jade Ewen and achieved 5th place, the best for the UK since 2002.

In 2010, Warren partnered with Avon Products as a celebrity judge for Avon Voices, Avon's first ever global online singing talent search for women and songwriting competition for men and women. For the competition, Warren wrote a special anthem which was recorded by the finalists and produced by Humberto Gatica. Diane Warren has been recognized six times ASCAP Songwriter of the Year and four times Billboard’s Songwriter of the Year.

In 2014, Paloma Faith released "Only Love Can Hurt Like This", which was written by Warren.

Warren has had nine of her compositions hit #1 in the US Billboard Hot 100, all by different artists, and overall more than 30 of her songs have hit the US top ten. She has had an even bigger success on the US Adult Contemporary charts, where sixteen of her songs have gone to #1, and overall more than 40 songs have hit the top ten on that chart. In the UK, Warren has had three #1 hits, and more than 20 top ten hits.

Personal life

Warren has never married, and does not think of herself as a person of commitment. In interviews, she has stated a belief that her lack of a romantic life makes her more peculiar as a songwriter. She had a relationship with producer/songwriter Guy Roche which ended in 1992 and claims she has not had another relationship since, commenting "I've never been in love like in my songs. I'm not like normal people. I'm no good at relationships. I draw drama to me — it's the Jew in me". Although she considers herself to be cynical regarding romance, she does not let this affect her songwriting and prefers to write alone, commenting "When I write with other people the experience is different. You have to compromise, which I have problems with. I'd rather listen to my own mind".

In a 2000 interview, she explained that she never let go of music despite experiencing rejections, depression and poverty. In 1994, her house was damaged by the 1994 Northridge earthquake causing her to be miserable and homeless and moving to different shelters. She has stated that therapy helped her with songwriting. She has also revealed that she works 12-16 hours a day, always takes her keyboard whenever she travels and is self-proclaimed and more active than when she was twenty years old.

She does not usually allow anyone into her Hollywood Hills office which she describes as a "cluttered, airless room...nothing has been moved or cleaned for 17 years because she is superstitious" and prefers to think of that room as her "secret world". In that room, she records melodies with a tape recorder on which she plays them again and chooses the songs she likes the most. But in an interview with CBS News Sunday Morning correspondent, Ben Tracy, she allowed part of the interview to be taped in the office. Her mother has expressed concern that she is too immersed in her work, saying "she's always, constantly thinking of a song", and urges her to think about starting a family.

Awards

Academy Awards

Year	Recipient/Nominated work	Award	Result
1988	"Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now"	Best Original Song	Nominated
1997	"Because You Loved Me"		Nominated
1998	"How Do I Live"		Nominated
1999	"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing"		Nominated
2000	"Music of My Heart"		Nominated
2002	"There You'll Be"		Nominated
2015	"Grateful"		Nominated
2016	"Til It Happens to You"		Nominated

ASCAP

• Pop Songwriter of the Year (1990) -
• Pop Songwriter of the Year (1991) -
• Pop Songwriter of the Year (1993) -
• Pop Songwriter of the Year (1998) - for "Because You Loved Me" (Céline Dion), "For You I Will" (Monica), "How Do I Live" (LeAnn Rimes, Trisha Yearwood), and "Un-Break My Heart" (Toni Braxton)
• Pop Songwriter of the Year (1999) - for "Because You Loved Me" (Céline Dion), "How Do I Live" (LeAnn Rimes, Trisha Yearwood), "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (Aerosmith), and "Un-Break My Heart" (Toni Braxton)
• Country Songwriter of the Year (2000) - for "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (Mark Chesnutt) and "I'll Still Love You More" (Trisha Yearwood)

Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards

Year	Recipient/Nominated work	Award	Result
1999	"Music of My Heart"	Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Song	Won
2001	"There You'll Be"		Nominated
2008	"Do You Feel Me"		Nominated
2011	"You Haven't Seen the Last of Me"		Nominated
2016	"Til It Happens to You"		Nominated

Golden Globe Awards

Year	Recipient/Nominated work	Award	Result
1986	"Rhythm of the Night"	Best Original Song	Nominated
1988	"Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now"		Nominated
1997	"Because You Loved Me"		Nominated
2002	"There You'll Be"		Nominated
2011	"You Haven't Seen the Last of Me"		Won

Grammy Awards

• "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" (nominated)
• "Because You Loved Me" - 39th Grammy Awards (WIN)
• "How Do I Live" (nominated)
• "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (nominated)
• "Music of My Heart" (nominated)
• "There You'll Be" (nominated)
• "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" - 54th Grammy Awards (nominated)
• "Born To Be Somebody" - 54th Grammy Awards (nominated)
• "Silver Lining (Crazy Bout You)" - 56th Grammy Awards (nominated)
• "Til It Happens to You" (with Lady Gaga) - 58th Annual Grammy Awards (nominated)

Satellite Awards

• "Til It Happens to You" (with Lady Gaga) (WIN)
• "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" (WIN)
• "Do You Feel Me" (nominated)
• "There You'll Be" (nominated)
• "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (WIN)

Other awards and honors

• Palm Springs International Film Festival’s (PSIFF) Frederick Loewe Music Award (2011)
• Women in Film Crystal Award along with Lauren Shuler Donner and Jennifer Lopez (2006)
• Hollywood Film Festival Outstanding Achievement in Songwriting (2001)
• Billboard Music Award Songwriter of Year (1997, 1998, 1999)
• The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard’s Inaugural Film & TV Music Career Achievement Award (2008)
• Hollywood Walk of Fame Star (2001)
• Songwriters Hall of Fame (2001)

Charities

Diane Warren supports the following charitable cause: Animals.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]