She’s only 24, but she already has a "Greatest Hits" album – on top of a dozen that have come out since she was just 13, and a new one, the much-anticipated "Family," that will hit the stores on Oct. 9.

LeAnn Rimes made a household name for herself 11 years ago with her first number one hit, "Blue," and she’s still going strong. Not surprising for a young lady who learned to tap dance when she was 2 and started singing at 3 years old.

By age 5 she was winning talent competitions. By age 7 she had cut her first album, sold at the shows she was playing. And by age 14, she was the youngest artist to be nominated for the Country Music Awards. When, still at 14, Rimes was voted Best New Artist of 1997 at the Grammy Awards, she became the youngest person to win that award.

Already quick on her feet, her comment was, "I’m not an overnight success, I’ve been at this since I was 6."

A year later at 15, she released a second album, "You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs," which broke all records by debuting on three Billboard Magazine charts at the same time: pop, country, and contemporary Christian (a feat that had never been achieved before by a country singer). Her single "How Do I Live" would set a record by remaining number one on Billboard Magazine’s Hot 100 Chart for 69 weeks. At the same time, she won an American Music Award, two Grammy awards, three Academy of Country Music awards, and four Billboard Music awards.

Oh, yes, and she also broke into another kind of performing, starring in the television movie "Holiday In Your Heart," which she had co-written. She was still just 15 years old.

At 17, Rimes released a namesake CD, offering her interpretations of 11 country western standards, including "Crazy" and "I Fall to Pieces." At 18, she made a cameo in the cult film "Coyote Ugly" and recorded four Diane Warren songs for it, including "Can’t Fight the Moonlight." Since then, she’s been seen in "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde" and in a couple of episodes of "Smallville." This year, she recorded "Ready for a Miracle" for the new comedy "Evan Almighty" featuring Steve Carell.

So now she’s all of 24, married to actor and dancer Dean Sheremet, living in Nashville, and she’s made a few more movies and written a couple more books. Recently she finished up work on a new album, her 13th, which will be released in October and has already generated a lot of buzz, with the single "Nothin’ Better to Do" featured as a special download from People magazine.

And of course she’s singing, having already toured in August to California, Colorado, Georgia, Ohio and Ontario. She appeared on the CMA Music Festival TV Special in July, and was also in Atlanta to act in an independent movie, "Good Intentions," with Luke Perry.

In October, LeAnn Rimes will be honored with the Humanitarian Award at the International Entertainment Buyers’ Association Awards Banquet in Nashville. "LeAnn has demonstrated a sincere effort to help others through her continued involvement with such charities as The Children’s Miracle Network, The Coalition to Salute American Heroes and numerous animal-friendly organizations throughout the U.S.," according to the association. As a spokeswoman for the Children’s Miracle Network, she met privately with President George W. Bush to discuss the charity, and later performed for him on Air Force One.

Writing, whether it’s her books or the new songs she’s written for "Family," is giving Rimes an additional voice, she says. "I do feel like I’ve become this artist and not just this voice," she says. "I think that people have known me for that. I accept that and I appreciate that, but there’s this whole other side of me that’s always been there. I’ve been writing my whole life, but never have I felt confident enough. The confidence I felt in my singing is now how confident I feel in my writing. That’s an exciting place to be and a new place to be."

Some people still picture LeAnn Rimes as the pretty 13-year-old with the incredible voice who first burst on the national scene with the hit "Blue," but as her horizons have continued to widen, Rolling Stone magazine’s prediction rings ever more true: "Don’t be surprised if her defining moment has nothing to do with country music at all. Just expect to have your socks knocked off."