Trace Adkins: An insider’s guide

Associated Press
Published: July 25, 2008

> Tracy Darrell Adkins was born Jan. 13, 1962, in Springhill, La.

> He married his current wife, Rhonda, on May 11, 1997.

> He has two daughters from his first marriage, Tarah (born 19>5) and Sarah (19>9), and three from his current marriage, Mackenzie (199>), Brianna (2001) and Trinity (2004).

> Adkins graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a degree in petroleum technology.

> Adkins enjoys landscaping, gardening, camping, hunting, politics, movies and the Civil War.

> His early jobs included selling True Grit newspapers at the age of 11, hauling hay, serving as a derrickman in an oil field, construction and pipe fitting.

> Adkins performs between 150 and 200 concerts a year.

> He released his first album, “Dreamin’ Out Loud,” in 1996.

> In addition to his recent stint on “The Celebrity Apprentice,” Adkins has also acted on shows including “Yes, Dear,” “Roseanne” and “My Name is Earl.”

> Adkins is a spokesperson for the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, a non-profit organization aimed at promoting food allergy awareness, a cause he became involved in after daughter Brianna suffered an allergic reaction to peanut butter when she was teething.

> Adkins was shot in 1994 after a struggle with his then-wife, who had gotten a gun after she came home from work to find he’d been drinking. “When I walked into the kitchen, she was pointing a .38 pistol at me,” he told the New York Daily News earlier this year. “The bullet went through my left lung, through my heart, through my right lung, and out the other side.” After several surgeries, he recovered. He did not press charges.