Name: Martha Elenor Erwin Seidel

Birth Date: October 12, 1969

Birthplace: York, Pennsylvania

Hometown: Dallas, Texas

Hair: blonde, worn short

Eyes: hazel

Height: 5' 7"

Martial Status: filed for divorce from Ted Seidel

Boyfriend: Gareth Maguire, an Irish schoolteacher she met Natalie's sisters wedding

Children: Step-son Carter

Parents: Paul Erwin and Barbera Trask; Step-dad, Farrel

Siblings: 2 sisters, Julia (older) and Emily (younger)

Instruments: fiddle, mandolin, and viola

On Dixie Chicks evolution: "We went from street corners to dance halls, from jeans and boots to tailor-made cowgirl get-ups with rhinestones. Finding Natalie was the best thing that ever happened to Emily and me."

Hobbies/intrests: skiing, horseback riding and golfing

Righty or Lefty: she's lefthanded

Martie began playing the fiddle when she was five
years old

Her first group was the teen bluegrass band Blue Night
Express

In 1987 an eighteen year old Martie won second place
at the Old Times Fiddle Convention

At twenty, Martie won third place at the National
Fiddler championship

Martie idolizes Buck Owens too

If you have coffee breath, stay away from Martie

Before making a living as a singer, Martie worked in
an ice cream parlor

In the early days with Blue Night Express, Martie
acted as manager

Favorite Fast Food: Taco Bell

Favorite Female Singers: Bonnie Raitt, Loretta Lynn,
and Tammy Wynnette

Favorite Book: Business of Music--and industry primer
she read and reread on her way to the top