Megan Martha White (born December 10, 1974) is an American musician and singer best known for her work as the drummer of Detroit rock duo the White Stripes. Her music career began when, on a whim, she played on her future White Stripes bandmate Jack White's drums in 1997. Inspired by her minimalist and untrained drumming style, he decided to form a band with her and they began performing two months later. The band quickly became a Detroit underground favorite before achieving international fame. White has been nominated for various awards as a part of the White Stripes, receiving four Grammy Awards.
Her musical influences are wide and varied, with Bob Dylan being her favorite artist. She calls herself "very shy" and is known for keeping an extremely low public profile, also inspired by Dylan. She and Jack publicly portrayed themselves as siblings, but public records emerged in 2001 that showed they were not related; in fact, they had married in 1996 and divorced in 2000, before the White Stripes became popular. In 2009, she married guitarist Jackson Smith, the son of musicians Patti Smith and Fred "Sonic" Smith. They divorced in 2013.
While on tour in support of the White Stripes' 2007 album Icky Thump, White suffered a bout of acute anxiety and the remaining dates of the tour were cancelled. After a few public appearances and a hiatus from recording, the band announced in February 2011 that they would be disbanding. White has not been active in the music industry since.
Last Updated: June 9, 2021
