Amy Lynn Hartzler (née Lee; born December 13, 1981), better known as Amy Lee, is an American singer-songwriter and classically trained pianist. She is co-founder and lead vocalist of the rock band Evanescence. She cites influences ranging from classical musicians such as Mozart to modern artists Björk, Tori Amos, Danny Elfman[3] and Plumb.[4]

Amy Lee was born to parents John Lee, a disc jockey and TV personality, and Sara Cargill. She has a brother named Robby and two sisters, Carrie and Lori. Lee had a younger sister who died in 1987 at the age of three from an unidentified illness.[5] The song "Hello" from Fallen has been reported to have been written for her late sister, as well as the song "Like You" from The Open Door.[6] Lee took classical piano lessons for nine years. Her family moved to many places, including Florida and Illinois,[7] and eventually settled in Little Rock, Arkansas, where Evanescence started. She briefly attended Middle Tennessee State University to study music theory and composition and later dropped out to focus on Evanescence.[8]

In an interview on AOL Music, Lee said that the first songs she remembered writing were called "Eternity of the Remorse" and "A Single Tear". The first was written when she was eleven years old and wanted to become a classical composer, and the second was for an assignment when she was in the eighth grade.[9]