Reba McEntire Started Driving before She Was in Elementary School
Known for Happy's Place and The Voice, Reba McEntire likes being in the driver's seat when it comes to work.
Reba McEntire has done an outstanding job steering her way through her illustrious career.
Then again, being behind the wheel for this bright star of Happy’s Place and The Voice is her comfort zone – and it has been ever since she was 5 years old.
Reba McEntire enjoys being in the driver’s seat
McEntire revealed to the Wall Street Journal that growing on her family’s 8,000-acre cattle ranch in Chockie, Oklahoma meant that there were always chores for her and her three siblings, Alice, Susie, and Pake, to get done. So, she didn’t wait to get a learner’s permit to learn to drive; she picked up that skill before grade school.
“I began working on our ranch at age 5,” McEntire said. “If Daddy needed a driver to move grain in his pickup truck, he came in and got whoever was there.” When she was chosen, a few adjustments would be made to accommodate the pint-sized cowgirl.
“I was so little that Daddy put a 50-pound feed sack on the driver’s seat before putting me on top of it,” McEntire recalled to WSJ. “I’d be on my knees to work the steering wheel.”
Her father, Clark McEntire, a champion steer roper when he was running cattle, would jump out of the vehicle after shifting into “granny gear” that enabled the truck to crawl along at a snail’s pace. “And off I’d go,” said McEntire.
Reba McEntire's big break
And she just kept on going! Even as she rolled up her sleeves and tended to livestock, McEntire envisioned herself in front of a live audience. “I always wanted to be on stage,” she shared with WSJ. Performing was a way to stand out among her siblings. “I had to carve out something for me to gain attention, and that was singing,” she said.
McEntire’s life led her to Southeastern Oklahoma State, where she majored in education, minored in music, and continued to use her vocal talents. As a sophomore in 1974, she belted out “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City and country artist Red Steagall heard her.
The following year, thanks to some nudging by her mother, Jackie, Steagall took McEntire to Nashville to record a demo tape. It launched her career as a singer. She traded cattle trucks for tour buses and an ever-evolving, award-winning career.
Reba McEntire's award-winning career on stage and screen
At 70, McEntire is a three-time Grammy-winning singer and actress who divides her time between Los Angeles and Nashville.
McEntire has a long history with The Voice. She debuted on the NBC reality competition as a Battle Advisor on Season 1, and the show clearly struck a chord. McEntire returned as a Coach for Seasons 24 through 26. She won Season 25 with contestant Asher HaVon.
On the new hit NBC comedy Happy’s Place, which premiered in October 2024, McEntire plays Bobbie, a woman who inherits her late father’s tavern and discovers she has a younger half-sister. The show has been renewed for Season 2.
McEntire has acknowledged that being busy has always been her happy place. “I am that little girl who was craving to be rich and famous,” she told Parade. “I had the drive of a competitor. I always wanted more."
