Born in Edinburgh in 1966, Shirely Manson was brought up in the Stockbridge area of the Capital and was educated at Broughton High, where she performed in school plays and musicals.
Originally she wanted to be an actress, but failed to get into the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and worked in a number of temporary jobs, before working as a shop assistant for Miss Selfridge.
Her musical career began in Scottish band Goodbye Mr Mackenzie, playing keyboard, providing backing vocals and developing an arresting screen presence that led to her record label encouraging her to front her own group called Angelfish.
A successful audition for Garbage, who saw an Angelfish music video on MTV, led to her joining the band who released their critically acclaimed and commercially successful eponymous debut album. Seven studio albums later Garbage have toured the world, sold over 17 million records and been nominated for multiple Grammy Awards.
Manson has also written and recorded solo material, as well as appearing as a Terminator called Catherine Weaver in the second season of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
Here are 13 interesting and amusing things she’s said in interviews.
1. Shirley Manson on...being a sex symbol
"I am not a sexy woman, I'm not beautiful, I'm not a sex kitten, I don't flirt with people, yet I've been tagged more of sex symbol than women who truly are and I that's solely because I don't reveal too much: people are curious." Photo: Alexandra Wyman
2. Shirley Manson on...her childhood
"I was a redhead and a middle child; both can make you feel excluded. It's like fighting to be included, in the swim of things. After a while you start to develop a bit of a victim mentality, which isn't great for a happy life." Photo: Kevin Winter
3. Shirley Manson on...imposter syndrome
"I'd never imagined myself in a band. So the fact that I've had such a long career without really naturally pursuing it is really astounding. It's taken me a long time to accept what I do for a living and actually feel like I have anything of value to add to the equation." Photo: Bruno Vincent
4. Shirley Manson on...regrets
"There's nothing I've done that I feel a lot of regret over because I stuck to my guns, even when it got uncomfortable - and it will get uncomfortable because you're going up against the wall." Photo: Victor Chavez