Suzanne Vega

American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer, best known for her folk-inspired music. The "brandy-voiced" Vega has released nine studio albums to date and won two Grammys.

Vega's music career spans more than 30 years. She came to prominence in the mid 1980s, releasing four singles that entered the Top 40 charts in the UK during the 1980s and 1990s, including "Marlene on the Wall", "Left of Center", "Luka" and "No Cheap Thrill". "Tom's Diner," which was originally released as an a cappella recording on Vega's second album, Solitude Standing (1987), was remixed in 1990 as a dance track by English electronic duo DNA with Vega as featured artist, and it became a Top 10 hit in over five countries. The song was used as a test during the creation of the MP3 format. The critical role of her song in the development of the MP3 compression prompted Vega to be given the title of "The Mother of the MP3".

In 1999, Avon Books published The Passionate Eye: The Collected Writings of Suzanne Vega, a volume of her poems, lyrics, essays and journalistic pieces.

In 2003, she hosted the American Public Media radio series American Mavericks, about 20th century American composers, which received the Peabody Award for Excellence in Broadcasting.

On 17 March 1995, Vega married Mitchell Froom, a musician and a record producer. They have a daughter, Ruby Froom (born 8 July 1994). Vega and Froom separated and divorced in 1998. On 11 February 2006, Vega married Paul Mills, a lawyer and poet. Beginning in 2010, Ruby has occasionally performed with her mother on tour.

Vega practises Nichiren Buddhism and is a member of the American branch of the worldwide Buddhist association Soka Gakkai International.