Beth Gibbons (born 4 January 1965, in Exeter, Devon) is the vocalist for the trip-hop band Portishead. She met bandmate Geoff Barrow in a Government business start-up scheme. Barrow and Gibbons joined jazz guitarist Adrian Utley, and the sessioners John Baggott, Jim Barr and Clive Deamer to record three successful and critically praised Portishead albums. Admired by artists as diverse as Dr. Dre and Robert Plant, the latter used Gibbons's musical associates in his own projects.
Gibbons has also collaborated on a separate project with Paul Webb, aka Rustin' Man. In October 2002, the album, Out of Season, was released in the UK, and in October 2003 it was released in the US.
She was reported in the spring of 2005 to be working on the soundtrack of L'Annulaire, a French language film, her Piafesque singing making her especially popular in that country. She also produced lyrics for Joss Stone.
"Suffering for your art is most definitely overrated but I do get a certain, I don't know, satisfaction from being able to deal with my paranoia and insecurity." - Beth Gibbons.
