Mary "Holly" Holladay Lamar (born 1966 inAtlanta, Georgia^[1]) is an Americancountry music singer-songwriter. Lamar co-wrote "Breathe", a number one country andadult contemporary single by Faith Hill.^[2] Her songs have also been recorded bySara Evans,Wynonna Judd,Lonestar,Tim McGraw,Jo Dee Messina andJessica Simpson, among others.^[3]

In 2002, Lamar was one of the first artists signed toUniversal South.^[4] Between 2002 and 2003, she had two singles on theBillboardHot Country Singles & Tracks chart.^[1] The first, "These Are the Days", was previously recorded by Jo Dee Messina on her 2000 albumBurn.^[5] Deborah Evans Price ofBillboard gave Lamar's version of the song a favorable review, calling it "a solid song and a great performance that adds up to a promising debut from a new voice with a lot to say".^[6] Her second single, "Unkissed", also received a positive review from Price, who described it as "a shining calling card for a songwriter looking to make her own mark".^[7]

Lamar appeared on theBBC daytime TV showHomes Under the Hammer, first broadcast in 2012.^[8] She bought a house at auction in the Fulham area of London.

In 2014, Lamar lost US$600,000 in a fake investment scam by American David Plate, which, she said, left her "on the brink of bankruptcy".^[9]

In October 2018, Lamar pleaded guilty in England to two offences relating to the illegal possession of a wild and unregisteredperegrine falcon and received an 18-week sentence for each, suspended for 12 months, as well as being sentenced to 120 hours of community service.^[10][11] She was also banned from owning or being in possession of any birds classed as "Schedule 4" of theWildlife and Countryside Act 1981 which are birds that must be registered and ringed if kept in captivity.^[10]

In the United States, Lamar continued to face legal and logistical challenges to her possession of raptors. In 2022,Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency confiscated 13 birds from her possession and charged her with 30 misdemeanors. A court order declared the search warrant, seizure, and charges invalid and the birds were returned to Lamar’s possession.^[12]

• 1966 births
• American women country singers
• American country singer-songwriters
• Living people
• Singers from Atlanta
• Show Dog-Universal Music artists
• Country musicians from Georgia (U.S. state)
• 21st-century American women musicians
• Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state)

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from May 2020
• Articles with hCards