Gretchen Peters (born November 14, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter. She was born in New York, where she wrote her first song with her sister at the age of 5. In 1970, her parents broke up, and Peters moved with her mother to Boulder, Colorado. There, she discovered a lively music scene, and began playing at local clubs.In 1988 she moved to Nashville. She found work as a songwriter, composing hits for Martina McBride, Etta James, Trisha Yearwood, Patty Loveless, George Strait, Anne Murray, Shania Twain, Neil Diamond and co-writing songs with Bryan Adams. In addition, Peters has released nine studio albums of her own. The title track of her 1996 debut album The Secret of Life was later recorded by Faith Hill in 1999.
Peters was inducted to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame on October 5, 2014.