Carrie Underwood has been candid over the years about her mom Carole, a schoolteacher, and dad Stephen, a mill worker. Underwood's parents celebrated 55 years of marriage in 2023, making them a picture of commitment for their youngest daughter.
Underwood has two older sisters, as well: Shanna Means and Stephanie Shelton. Though both are schoolteachers who've typically avoided the spotlight in their little sister's 17-plus year run as a celebrity, we know a little bit about both. Most of those details come from Underwood's consistent statements of gratitude for her family of five.
Though both sisters moved out of the family's Checotah, Okla. home when Underwood was young, they left a lasting impact on their youngest sibling— namely by teaching her to love the hard rock hits they blared on the radio.
Underwood called herself "the black sheep of the family" in a 2013 interview with Marie Claire because instead of pursing fame, both siblings make a huge difference on a small-town scale as elementary school teachers.
Most recently, Underwood shared a photo of herself with her sisters and mother after all four got matching heart tattoos in Las Vegas.
Read on to learn more about Means and Shelton and the impact they've made on their celebrity sister.
Both are Teachers
Means and Shelton followed in their mother's footsteps by becoming educators.
Means has been an elementary school teacher in Oklahoma since the mid-'90s. Shelton teaches elementary school in Tennessee.
Underwood has prioritized educators in her charitable ventures, including her 2009 support of the non-profit organizations Teachers Count.
"Teaching was something that ran in my family," Underwood told The Oklahoman. "I have always admired my mother and sisters for making a difference in the lives of so many."
Carrie is the Youngest
When Underwood was born on March 10, 1983, Means was age 13 and Shelton was 10. Because of both age gaps, some of Underwood's formative years came after her siblings had moved out of the family's home.
"By the time Carrie was big enough to be her own person, Shanna was already gone from the house and Stephanie went to college, so Carrie was kind of like an only child because she was so much younger," Carole told "Today" (as quoted by People).
Underwood opened up to Marie Claire in 2013 about how this circumstance shaped her personality and outlook.
"We were never a huggy family," Underwood said. "Or a 'let's talk it out' family. Technically I have siblings, but they are quite a bit older than me —I was the accident— so I have the only-child syndrome going on. I'm a little more selfish, a little more independent, a little closed."
Still, Underwood has spoken glowingly of her sisters, crediting them shaping her musical taste and fashion sense.
They Inspired Their Youngest Sister's Musical Taste and Fashion Sense
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Means and Shelton were teenagers in the '80s. Their pop culture diet at the time —from hair metal to hairspray— still shape the interest of Underwood.
On the musical front, Underwood's a noted metalhead with an affinity for regular live collaborators and recent tour mates Guns N' Roses.
During an appearance on "Today's Country Radio With Kelleigh Bannen" on Apple Music Country, Underwood credited this to her older sisters because they typically "controlled the radio."
"They thought it was funny for me to sing, like, 'Smokin' in the Boys' Room' [by Mötley Crue] as a 3-year-old, so I did," Underwood said.
As her sisters got swept up in teenage fashion trends of the time, it shaped Underwood's love of clothing and cosmetics.
"I had teenage sisters when I was really young ... and I thought they were the coolest with their big '80s hair," Underwood told Marie Claire. "I was totally a human Barbie doll to them — they would dress me and put makeup on me. That's where my love affair with makeup started."
Public Appearances
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Though they've mostly stayed out of the limelight, Means and Shelton have made at least two noteworthy public appearances.
They were there in 2005 when Underwood won "American Idol," cheering their youngest sister from the front row and furthering the narrative that the season's eventual champion was a small-town dreamer with humble beginnings.
On Sept. 20, 2018, the whole family showed up for the unveiling of Underwood's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They didn't dodge the cameras, as there's multiple posed photos that show all three siblings.
During her acceptance speech in Hollywood, Underwood shouted out her entire family.
"How is this my life?" she said. "How does a girl from Checotah, Okla. end up with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? I'll tell you how— belief. I've been so blessed in my life to have... so many people who believed in me."
The Siblings and Their Mom Got Matching Tattoos
Underwood shared a rare glimpse at the whole family in July of 2023 when the three sisters joined their mother on a Las Vegas outing to get matching heart tattoos.
When your 74-year-old mother asks you and your sisters to get matching tattoos with her in Vegas, the only questions are, 'what?' and 'where?'," Underwood wrote in the caption. "I never would've thought I'd see the day that Mama Carole would be gettin' some ink!"
A carousel of photos show not just the tattoos and Underwood in one of the parlor's chairs but also a rare snapshot of the singer with the rest of the women in her immediate family.
