The Corrs' parents are Gerry Corr, a manager of the payroll department of the Irish Electricity Supply Board, and his wife, Jean, a homemaker, who died in 1999 while waiting for a lung transplant. They raised their family in Dundalk, Ireland. Gerry and Jean performed together as a band called Sound Affair, and often brought their children to their performances, where they played songs by ABBA and the Eagles in local pubs.

With the encouragement of their parents, Jim took guitar lessons, Sharon played the violin, Caroline studied the drums, and Andrea took up the tin whistle. They were also taught the piano by their father. Throughout their teenage years, the children would practice in Jim's bedroom at a rented house. Andrea sang lead vocals, Sharon played the violin, and Caroline and Jim played the keyboards.

While Caroline and Andrea were still attending school, Jim and Sharon began playing as a duo, often at their aunt's pub, McManus's. In 1990, Jim and Sharon added their younger siblings to their existing duo, to form a quartet. Their career took off in 1991 when they auditioned for the film The Commitments.

Jim, Sharon, and Caroline each had small parts as musicians, while Andrea had a speaking part as Sharon Rabbitte. John Hughes noticed them when they auditioned for the movie, and agreed to become their manager.

In 1994, the American ambassador to Ireland, Jean Kennedy Smith, invited them to perform at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in Boston after seeing them play a gig at Whealans Music Bar in Dublin. After an appearance at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, The Corrs joined Celine Dion's worldwide Falling into You Tour as a supporting act.

Jason Flom, Atlantic Records' vice director and producer, recommended that they meet with David Foster, a Canadian musician, producer, composer and arranger. The Corrs played live for Foster and he agreed to sign them to Atlantic Records. They extended their stay in the US for over five months to record their debut album, Forgiven, Not Forgotten.

Forgiven, Not Forgotten featured six instrumental selections among its Celtic-influenced tracks. The album sold well in Ireland, Australia, Japan, Norway and Spain. Major success in the US and the UK however was not immediately forthcoming. Eventually, the album reached platinum status in the UK and Australia, and quadruple platinum in Ireland, making it one of the most successful debuts by an Irish group.

The Corrs' next album, 1997's Talk On Corners, was produced by Glen Ballard, who was respected for his collaboration with Alanis Morissette. The Corrs also collaborated with Carole Bayer Sager, Oliver Leiber, Rick Nowels, and Billy Steinberg. The album met with lukewarm responses and was only successful in Ireland.

The Corrs performed a special remixed version of the tracks from their first two albums in a televised St. Patrick's Day appearance at London's Royal Albert Hall in 1998. After the performance, the band re-released Talk on Corners, with new remixes of "What Can I Do?", "So Young" and "Runaway". The special edition topped the charts worldwide, and again reached multi-platinum status in the UK and Australia.

In June 1998, The Corrs participated in the Pavarotti and Friends for the Children of Liberia charity concert. The concert was held in Modena, Italy and was hosted by Luciano Pavarotti. Other performers included Jon Bon Jovi, Céline Dion, Spice Girls and Stevie Wonder. The concert aimed to raise money to build the Pavarotti and Friends Liberian Children's Village, to provide refuge for children in Liberia.

The following year, The Corrs received a BRIT Award for Best International Band. They performed live on MTV's Unplugged on 5 October 1999 at Ardmore Studios, Co. Wicklow, Ireland. The resulting CD and DVD sold 2.7 million copies and featured live performances of previously released songs, plus a new song, "Radio", later featured on their third album, In Blue.