Peerless and fearless, Fender-wielding Canadian punk-pop princess Avril Lavigne has reigned over the pop charts since first striking platinum (multi-platinum, actually) at age 17 with her 2002 debut, Let Go. 2004’s Under My Skin and 2007’s The Best Damn Thing both shot to number one, and Lavigne scored chart-topping singles hits with “Complicated,” “Sk8er Boi,” “I’m with You,” “My Happy Ending” and “Girlfriend.”

Born in Napanee, Ontario, Canada, in September 1984, Lavigne showed musical talent from a very young age. She first attracted local attention by singing country covers; in her early teens she won a competition to appear onstage with fellow Canadian Shania Twain, with whom she sang at a 1998 concert in Ottawa, Canada.

Lavigne signed to Arista Records at age 16. Pop-punk 2002 debut album Let Go became a monster multi-platinum hit, earning eight Grammy Award nominations and four Juno Awards—including Album of the Year and New Artist of the Year, spawning several anthemic hit singles (“Complicated,” “Sk8ter Boy” and “I’m With You”) and selling more than 16 million copies. She was named “Best New Artist” at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards.

Second album Under My Skin appeared in 2004, debuting at number one in the United States, U.K. and several other countries. Single “My Happy Ending” reached the top ten in the U.S. Lavigne won two World Music Awards that year (“World’s Best Pop/Rock Artist” and “World’s Best-Selling Canadian Artist”). She toured throughout much of 2005 and earned three more Juno Awards that year.

Lavigne’s third album, 2007’s The Best Damn Thing, was yet another smash success, debuting at number one in the United States and containing her first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, “Girlfriend.” The album was co-produced by Lavigne's husband, Sum 41 guitarist/vocalist and fellow Fender artist Deryck Whibley, whom she married in summer 2006.

The Squier^® Artist Series Avril Lavigne Telecaster^® guitar appeared in summer 2007, designed to her specs and featuring her signature on the headstock, her distinctive star logo inlayed at the fifth fret and a checkerboard pickguard.