Avril Ramona Lavigne (/ˌævrɪl ləˈviːn/ AV-ril lə-VEEN, <small>French: </small>[avʁil laviɲ]; born September 27, 1984)^[2] is a Canadian-French singer, songwriter, and actress. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain, and by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more than $2 million.

Her debut studio album, Let Go (2002), emphasized a skate punk persona that has earned her the title "Pop Punk Queen", from music publications.^[3]^[4] Lavigne is considered a key musician in the development of pop punk music since she paved the way for female-driven, punk-influenced pop music in the early 2000s.^[5]^[6]

Lavigne's breakthrough single, "Complicated", reached number one in several countries worldwide and made her the youngest female soloist to have a number-one album in the United Kingdom. Her second studio album, Under My Skin (2004), became Lavigne's first album to reach the top of the Billboard 200 chart in the United States, going on to sell 10 million copies worldwide. The Best Damn Thing (2007), Lavigne's third studio album, reached number one in seven countries worldwide and saw the international success of its lead single "Girlfriend", which became her first single to reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Her fourth and fifth studio albums, Goodbye Lullaby (2011) and Avril Lavigne (2013), were both certified gold in Canada, the United States, and other territories.^[7]^[8]^[9] In February 2019, Lavigne released her sixth studio album, Head Above Water, through BMG.

In addition to music, Lavigne voiced Heather, a Virginia opossum, in the animated film Over the Hedge (2006), and made her screen acting debut in Fast Food Nation (2006).