Born Malinda Gayle McCready in Fort Myers, Florida, McCready began singing in her local Pentecostal church at age 3[5] and graduated from high school at the age of 16 to begin her music career early.

This song, in turn, was succeeded by "Maybe He'll Notice Her Now", a duet with Richie McDonald, then the lead vocalist of Lonestar.

[6] In 1997, she was nominated for Top New Female Vocalist at the Academy of Country Music Awards, but lost to LeAnn Rimes.

[10] In June 2009, McCready signed on to appear on the reality series Celebrity Rehab with Dr.

[12] She later discussed her recovery and possible studio work with Todd Gaither on a March 2010 episode of The View.

She also appeared on the December 9, 2011, episode of 20/20, where she discussed her son Zander, her producer boyfriend David Wilson, and new music.

[7][16] After reporting to People magazine that she had cut ties with McKnight, McCready was found unconscious in a hotel lobby in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida, after attempting suicide in July 2005.

[19] On December 17, 2008, paramedics were called to McCready's Nashville home after an apparent suicide attempt; they transported her to a hospital after finding wounds on her wrists.

[21] On May 25, 2010, McCready was hospitalized in Cape Coral, Florida, for a possible drug overdose; she may have had a reaction to Darvocet her mother had given her.

[23] A pornographic videotape of McCready and an ex-boyfriend referred to as "Peter"[24] went on sale by Vivid Entertainment in 2010.

[26] The child's father, record producer David Wilson, was found dead on January 13, 2013, at McCready's home, of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The Cleburne County, Arkansas, sheriff's department opened an investigation into Wilson's death.

[29] In April 2008, the New York Daily News reported a possible long-term relationship between McCready and baseball star Roger Clemens that began when she was 15.

[32] In August 2004, McCready was arrested in Tennessee for using a fake prescription to buy the painkiller OxyContin.

Although she initially denied the charge, she pleaded guilty and was fined US$4,000 (equivalent to $6,500 in 2023), sentenced to three years of probation, and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.

[47] On February 17, 2013, McCready's neighbors called the Sheriff's Office of Cleburne County, Arkansas, reporting gunshots.

McCready was found dead on her front porch from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the same place where David Wilson, her former boyfriend and the father of her younger son, had fatally shot himself one month prior.