Leslie Phillips was born in 1962, in Glendale, California.
Phillips began her musical career as a vocalist in the early 1980's, singing background parts for Mark Heard, Randy Stonehill and other artists. After a short time, Phillips was signed to Myrrh Records where she went on to record four pop albums, "Beyond Saturday Night", "Dancing with Danger", "Black and White in a Grey World" and, finally, "The Turning", which teamed her with producer and future husband, T-Bone Burnett.
Although Phillips earned the nickname "Sam" as a child, she didn't start using it professionally until 1988 when she left Myrrh Records and signed with Virgin Records. Soon after, she released "The Indescribable Wow", which featured the orchestrations of Brian Wilson lyricist, Van Dyke Parks. "Cruel Inventions", which was released in 1991, included a guest appearance from close friend, Elvis Costello. 1994's "Martinis and Bikinis", was widely praised by music critics and was even nominated for a Grammy Award, which was Phillips' first nomination.
In 1995, Phillips made her silver screen debut in the Bruce Willis blockbuster "Die Hard With a Vengeance", where she played a mute terrorist.
Discography
- Beyond Saturday Night Leslie Phillips, 1983 album
- Dancing With Danger Leslie Phillips, 1984 album
- Black and White in a Grey World Leslie Phillips, 1985 album
- The Turning Leslie Phillips, 1987 album, produced by T-Bone Burnett
- Recollection Leslie Phillips, 1988 "best of" album, produced by T-Bone Burnett
- The Indescribable Wow, 1989 album, produced by T-Bone Burnett
- Cruel Inventions, 1991 album, produced by T-Bone Burnett
- Martinis and Bikinis, 1994 album, produced by T-Bone Burnett
- Omnipop (It's Only A Flesh Wound Lambchop), 1996 album, produced by T-Bone Burnett
- Zero Zero Zero, 1999 "best of" album, produced by T-Bone Burnett
- Fan Dance, 2001 album, produced by T-Bone Burnett