Jessica Carter Altman Explains Why She Left Law Career Behind for ‘Foolish Dream’ of Music (Exclusive)

Jessica Carter Altman left law behind to pursue her passion for music — five and a half years later — she is only looking forward.

Altman, 34, exclusively told Us Weekly what led her to make the drastic decision.

“I’ve said this before, but I wanted to be an artist. I wanted to be a singer for as long as I can remember, but it felt like a foolish dream,” Altman told Us. “I grew up in Washington, D.C., a lot of people don’t graduate high school thinking, ‘OK, I’m gonna go hit the road.’ So, I just shoved it aside.”

The “Mirror Mirror” singer decided to go to college and then law school but soon realized that she wasn’t sure if this is what she wanted to do.

“There was a moment where I kind of realized that inertia was taking over, and I hadn’t really made a decision about what it is that I wanted and what I wanted my life to look like, and I started performing again,” Altman said. “When something just feels right, it just feels right, and I was trying to figure out how [music] could be in my life.”

Altman told Us that after graduating from law school, she knew that she wanted to find a way to “really go for” music or she would always have regrets.

“I [would] go to a live show, and I love seeing live music, but I would be really sad that I just wasn’t brave enough to go do it, and you’re seeing somebody else live out a dream that you’ve had forever,” Altman said. “So it’s like, ‘OK, I guess I have to try,’ and even if I fail or fall on my face, I can’t regret never doing [it].”

Altman told Us that no one in her circle was shocked by her sudden career shift.

“I don’t think anyone was surprised. I remember my brother, because I told him that right before I started working at my law firm, and he goes, ‘Well, don’t work at your law firm. Just go, move straight to Nashville, go do the thing,’” she told Us. “And I go, ‘Well, it would be nice to have a paycheck. Let me just feel the water out a little bit and make more of a plan.’ And that’s how he and I are different a little bit. But eventually I found my way. But everybody was immediately so supportive.”

Altman is currently working on new music after the success of her 2024 album, Aftermath. She is slated to release a new single in October, with an EP coming after.