Jana Kramer’s Journey From One Tree Hill to Country Music Stardom

Can you believe it’s been twelve years since country star Jana Kramer first appeared on the beloved CW teen drama, One Tree Hill? Well, who could ever forget her role as Alex Dupre, who rocked and created havoc for the residents of Tree Hill during the series’ seventh season?

Kramer’s appearance on the show was only meant to be in a recurring form, but with Dupre’s confident yet shameless behavior that very much captured viewers’ attention, her role was upgraded to a series regular.

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However, during the show’s last two seasons, Kramer announced that she would no longer appear regularly on the small screen to pursue her music career.

Here’s How Jana Kramer’s Love For Country Music Launched Her To Fame

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A post shared by Jana Kramer (@kramergirl)

Jana Kramer was born on December 2, 1983, in Rochester Hills, Michigan, to parents Nora and Martin Kramer. As a little girl, Kramer fell in love with country music while listening to Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, and June Carter at her grandmother’s kitchen.

And indeed, after signing a contract with the very popular Elektra Records in 2011, she quickly became a country star. 

Her debut single, “Why Ya Wanna,” reached No. 3 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart – making it the highest-ranking song by a new female Nashville artist since Taylor Swift’s debut. Her first four singles were also featured on the One Tree Hill series soundtrack. 

Moreover, Kramer has also bagged various nominations within her decade-long career, taking home the Top New Female Artist during the 2013 ACM Award.

The actress turned country music sensation went on with a pretty busy career. In 2016, she joined Dancing with the Stars. Though she scored tens several times during the season, she failed to enter the season 23 finale after her partner, Gleb Savchenko, caught the flu and could not rehearse with her as much as he’d wanted.

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In April 2021, Jana Kramer announced in an emotional Instagram post that she had filed for divorce from her husband, former professional football player Michael Caussin, after six years of marriage. According to some sources, Caussin’s alleged cheating sparked the split, which was also why the couple had previously separated five years ago.

Kramer and Caussin have two kids together, son Jace Joseph, 2, and daughter Jolie Rae, 5.

Kramer was previously married twice before she met Caussin. The “I’ve Done Love” songstress was first married to Michael Gambino when she was 19, and it, unfortunately, turned out to be an abusive marriage. Several years later, Kramer married actor Johnathon Schaech – a marriage that lasted less than a month. 

Now, She’s Ready To Move On

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Jana Kramer and her then-husband offered honest conversations with their fans in Whine Down with Jana Kramer – where they dish out advice about love, marriage, and parenthood on the weekly show.

But after filing for divorce from Caussin, Kramer will now lead the podcast by herself.

Kramer has spent the last year focusing on her career and family. And with the speed bumps in the road of life that she recently encountered, her creative wheels were set in motion. The country star revealed that she pulled from her real-life experiences to write her recently released songs “Voices” and “You Deserve the Perfect Family.”