Anastacia (born Anastacia Lyn Newkirk; September 17, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter.She was born in Chicago, Illinois. Anastacia has been highly successful in Europe, Asia, South Africa and South America, but has not had as much success in her native United States. Her debut album, Not That Kind, released in 2000, achieved multi-platinum sales in Australia, New Zealand and much of Europe. In 2005, she was recognized for worldwide sales of over 20 million albums/records. During her years of success, Anastacia has supported many charity events such as Life Ball 2006 (Europe's largest annual AIDS charity event), Make a Difference and Challenge for the Children. Anastacia suffers from Crohn's disease. Also, in January 2003, Anastacia discovered she had breast cancer. She immediately started and successfully completed surgery and radiotherapy. Anastacia subsequently established the Anastacia Fund to promote awareness of breast cancer among younger women. Anastacia was one of the fifteen artists to record their take on a Disney song on the CD DisneyMania. Anastacia recorded "Someday My Prince Will Come" from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It is also included on the Collector's Edition of her second album. Anastacia is world-renowned for her powerful soul voice, and her small stature –5 feet 3 inches (160 cm)– has also led to her being nicknamed "The Little Lady with The Big Voice". She was also known for her trademark glasses (often darkly tinted), but she had surgery to correct her vision permanently in August 2005. Anastacia has several tattoos on her back, and one below her neck saying "Forever" in an unusual font. She also has an Ankh on her lower back, which appeared on her first album. Since it represents "eternal life", to her fans it has come to symbolize her.
