Trivia

Her catalog of more than 1,000 songs brings her about $20 million in royalties each year.

She has written more than 90 Billboard top ten hits. 38 of those songs have reached #1.

She writes her songs in a room of her publishing business that has not been cleaned in over 17 years because she is superstitious. She calls this room her "secret world." She didn't even clean this room after the Northridge earthquake.

She is the first songwriter in Billboard history to have seven songs on the Hot 100 simultaneously.

A songwriter of many popular songs including "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith, "When I See You Smile" by Bad English, "Time, Love and Tenderness" by Michael Bolton, "Un-Break My Heart" by Toni Braxton, "How Do I Live" by LeAnn Rimes and "Because You Loved Me" by Céline Dion.

If she comes up with a good song in a place where she can't record it, she calls her home and sings the song to her answering machine.

She is autistic and believes being neurodivergent has made her a better songwriter.

Holds the singular if dubious distinction of picking up Oscar and Razzie nominations for the same song two years in a row: in 1998 for the song "How Do I Live" from Les Ailes de l'enfer (1997) and in 1999 for the song "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" from Armageddon (1998). She didn't win either award in either year.

Diane Warren and Jennifer Hudson were nominated for a 2019 Academy Award in the Best Original Song category for their work on "I'll Fight" from RBG (2018) but lost to Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt and Benjamin Rice for "Shallow" from A Star is Born (2018).

She is the only female writer in history to be named ASCAP's Writer of the Year three times.

Her songwriting hero is the immortal Irving Berlin who, like her, did not read sheet music.

She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on January 31, 2001.

Inducted into the American Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001.

Winner of the 2008 Ivor Novella Special International Award.

Her song "Blue Eyes Blue" was recorded by Eric Clapton.

Lost her beach house of 30 years to the Los Angeles wildfires in January 2025.