10 Fun Facts To Learn About Lainey Wilson
on Nov 09, 2023 • Updated May 17, 2024
Get To Know More About Lainey Wilson, The 2023 CMA Entertainer Of The Year & 2024 ACM Entertainer of the Year
Lainey Wilson broke onto the scene in 2020 when her single, “Things a Man Oughta Know,” was released. The track claimed the #1 spot on the Country Airplay chart, and led Wilson to win the ACM Award for Song of the Year in 2021.
Lainey is now one of the biggest stars in all of country music. She won five awards at the 2023 CMA Awards, including Entertainer of the Year.
It was Lainey’s first time being nominated in the category. She is now only the 11th artist to ever win the CMA’s Entertainer of the Year Award on their first nomination.
Lainey later went on to win the ACM’s Entertainer of the Year Award in 2024!
Want to learn a few fun facts about your reigning CMA and ACM Entertainer of the Year? Then keep reading!
1. Lainey Wilson Was Born In A Rural, Tiny Town
Lainey Wilson was born on May 19, 1992 in Baskin, Louisiana. Her beloved hometown boasts a population of only 250 people…making her a true small town girl!
Her father was a farmer, and Lainey would help him tend to his crops.
2. She Worked As A Hannah Montana Impersonator
Lainey has gone into detail about the five years she spent working as a Hannah Montana impersonator. For those who don’t know, Hannah Montana was a character played by Miley Cyrus on a popular Disney Channel show from 2006-2011.
“I started impersonating ‘Hannah Montana’ in eighth grade through 12th grade, and I would open up for myself a lot of the time,” Wilson once said. “I would do three or four birthday parties a weekend. I’ve been booked, and actually, it was funny, because for five years of doing ‘Hannah Montana,’ I was booked and busy.”
3. Lainey Wilson Lived In A Camper When She First Moved To Nashville
While Lainey experienced her breakout moment with “Things a Man Oughta Know” in 2020, she had been in Nashville far longer. Lainey moved to “Music City” in 2011, and worked hard in pursuit of her dream.
She started off living in a camper parked outside of a Nashville recording studio. The studio’s owner helped Wilson by paying for her water and electricity.
4. She’s A Huge Dolly Parton Fan
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Lainey has always admired Dolly Parton. She even wrote a song in her honor, called “WWDD,” or “What Would Dolly Do.”
Through the years, we’ve heard Lainey sing Dolly’s songs such as “9 to 5” and “Better Move It on Home.” She finally got the chance to meet Dolly at the ACM Awards in 2023. Dolly presented the award for Female Artist of the Year to Lainey.
Later in 2023, Dolly and Lainey released their first collaboration. They covered The Judds’ “Mama He’s Crazy” for The Judds tribute album.
5. She Has A Dog Named Hippie Mae
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Lainey is a dog mama to an adorable French Bulldog named Hippie Mae. Miss Hippie even has her own Instagram page with over 16,000 followers!
6. Lainey Wilson Is Dating Former NFL Star Devlin “Duck” Hodges
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Former Pittsburgh Steelers player Devlin “Duck” Hodges has been dating Lainey for some time now! In fact, she told Bobby Bones around the time of the 2023 ACM Awards they had been together for two and a half years.
But the couple didn’t make their public debut until the 2023 ACM Awards. When they did, they kept the PDA minimal, and Lainey joked about shaking Duck’s hand if she won an award.
We’ve since seen the couple together on other occasions, and they’re adorable together!
7. Lainey Wilson Has A Role On Yellowstone
Lainey’s music was featured on the popular Paramount drama series Yellowstone twice during Season 3. Creator Taylor Sheridan eventually reached out to Lainey and said he wanted to create a character for her to play.
She joined the cast in Season 5, and plays a musician named Abby. Abby is romantically involved with Ryan (played by Ian Bohen).
8. She Started Wearing Bell-Bottoms At Age 8 Or 9
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Today, Lainey is known for her signature bell-bottoms. In fact, she has a whole album titled Bell Bottom Country.
Lainey fell in love with flared pants as a child. She told PEOPLE her mom bought her first pair when she was 8 or 9 years old. They were blue with a leopard print:
“It was to the point where my mom was like, ‘Lainey, you gotta take ’em off. We gotta wash ’em.’ But I loved them. I loved the way that they made me feel. They made me feel sassy and like I could do anything.”
Now, Lainey uses her love of bell-bottoms to help her stand out:
“I was really trying to figure out what could I do to stand apart from the rest of the females in Nashville, because it’s very important to do that,” she told Variety. “And what is something that is really true to me? For me, it was the whole bell bottom throwback look. And I’m glad we did.”
9. Lainey Wilson Says She Got Her Famous Booty From Her…Dad?
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Back in 2022, a video of Lainey performing in a pair of tight leopard print bell-bottoms went viral on TikTok. The camera angle and pants highlighted her *ahem* backside in a flattering way.
It became a running joke to compliment Lainey’s “assets,” and she ran with it. While the famous saying is “I got it from my mama,” Lainey told the This Past Weekend podcast she inherited her famous hind end from her dad:
“What’s weird is, people are like, ‘Where did you get that from? I say, ‘I get the width from my mama and the depth from my daddy.’ My daddy, he’s got a little booty on him.”
Later, Lainey joined her friend Lauren Alaina for a song called “Thicc as Thieves” that directly plays into her famous reputation.
10. She Made CMA Award History In A Lot Of Ways
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Lainey earned nine nominations at the 2023 CMA Awards. Those nominations led to her making history in lots of ways.
For starters, she was only the fourth artist to ever earn nine or more CMA nominations. She was the most-nominated artist in 2023 and 2022 (with six nominations), making her the first artist to ever top the nominations in their first two years on the ballot.
Lainey was also the first artist in 13 years to score two nominations for Single of the Year.
In the end, Lainey won the awards for Musical Event of the Year, Music Video of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Entertainer of the Year. As mentioned previously, she is only the 11th artist in CMA history to win Entertainer of the Year in the first year being nominated.
Additionally, Lainey is the first female artist to win the CMA’s Entertainer of the Year Award since Taylor Swift in 2011. She is also only the seventh solo female artist to take home the trophy.
We hope y’all have enjoyed learning a little more about Lainey Wilson! This girl is a certified star!
