She made her solo debut with 2002's I'm Sorry That Sometimes I'm Mean, a collection of spare tunes performed mostly on the acoustic guitar, and continued releasing her own albums after the Moldy Peaches took a hiatus in 2004. Along the way, she contributed eight songs to the chart-topping Juno soundtrack, which brought her music to a wider audience, and made a foray into children's music.

The quirky songwriter was born and raised in Bedford Hills, NY, where her parents ran a day-care center from their home. Dawson and fellow Moldy Peach member Adam Green met in 1995 at a record store in Mt. Kisco, NY, where she worked. For the next four years, Dawson moved back and forth between New York and Washington, but she and Green began writing songs together whenever time allowed. In 1999, Green followed Dawson to Washington, where they formed the Moldy Peaches. Green returned to New York after a year, with Dawson following later. Eventually, the Moldy Peaches -- now featuring a lineup that included Dawson, Green, drummer Strictly Beats, bassist Steve Mertens, and guitarists Jack Dishel and Toby Goodshank -- began playing the city's anti-folk circuit.

The group released their self-titled debut in 2001 to critical acclaim. All the songs were co-written and sung by both Dawson and Green, and the band toured the States and abroad in support of its release. Dawson also began working with other artists by contributing backing vocals to Ben Kweller's 2002 solo debut, Sha, Sha. Later that same year, the Moldy Peaches began a hiatus of indefinite length when both Dawson and Green's (Garfield) solo albums were released. I'm Sorry That Sometimes I'm Mean was well received by critics, and Dawson embarked on a tour of Europe and the United States.

In 2004, Dawson released two more albums of material culled from her bedroom sessions: Knock-Knock Who? and My Cute Fiend Sweet Princess. Later that year, Hidden Vagenda arrived on K Records. Dawson resurfaced in 2006 with the Kimya Dawson/Matty Pop Chart EP, as well as a full-length album titled Remember That I Love You. Her career took a slight but surprising turn in 2008, when the Juno soundtrack became a multi-platinum success and K Records released her first children's album, Alphabutt, which included the songs "Wiggle My Tooth," "Little Monster Babies," and "Pee Pee in the Potty." ~ Christina Saraceno