Madeleine Peyroux (born 1974, Athens, Georgia) is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and guitarist.

Peyroux (pronounced 'Peru' or 'Pear-roo') is noted for her vocal style, which has been compared to that of Billie Holiday.

Peyroux's family was in academia, and she has described her parents as "hippies". Her father moved the family to Brooklyn when Peyroux was six so he could pursue a career in acting. She grew up in New York City and southern California; when her parents divorced, she moved with her mother to Paris.

Peyroux started singing at the age of fifteen, when she discovered street musicians in the Latin Quarter in Paris. She joined a group called the Riverboat Shufflers, first by passing round the hat, and then singing. At sixteen she joined The Lost Wandering Blues and Jazz Band and spent two years touring Europe performing jazz standards. Her experiences provided the basis for her first album, Dreamland. Read more...