Formation Deschanel and Ward met on the set of the film
The Go-Getter, in which Deschanel had a starring role.
Martin Hynes, the director, introduced them to each other and asked them to sing a duet for the film's end credits. They performed the song "When I Get to the Border" by
Richard and
Linda Thompson. The two bonded over a shared interest in albums produced by
George Martin and
Phil Spector, as well as certain
Ralph Peer groups such as the
Carter Family. Ward heard Deschanel sing in the film
Elf. He was surprised to learn that, although she wrote songs, she had not pursued a career in music. Deschanel commented in an interview with
Venus Zine: "I always thought I would be able to sing and act; but, at a certain point, it became difficult for me to share the music part. So I was writing a ton of music, but not really doing anything with it. I didn't really know exactly who to collaborate with until I met Matt, and everything seemed to fall into place.” Deschanel had done years' worth of home demos, but she was shy about becoming a big-name celebrity. On a whim, she sent them to Ward.
2006–2008: Collaboration and Volume One For
Volume One, the pair collaborated via e-mail, with Ward working in his studio in Portland, Oregon, and Deschanel in her home in Los Angeles, California. Los Angeles influenced Deschanel's songwriting, evoking long drives along the coast while listening to
Brian Wilson, golden oldies, and jam music on 1970s AM radio. She & Him performed at the
South by Southwest festival in March 2008 and went on tour during July and August 2008.
Becky Stark of the band
Lavender Diamond provided backup vocals.
2010: Volume Two On March 17, 2010, She & Him released their second album,
Volume Two. The album features eleven original songs written by Deschanel and covers of
NRBQ's 1977 single "Ridin' in My Car" and
Patience and Prudence's "Gonna Get Along Without You Now", as well as a guest appearance from the indie pop group
Tilly and the Wall on the track "In the Sun". They performed concerts throughout the United States including the music festivals
South by Southwest,
Coachella,
Bonnaroo, Savannah,
Sasquatch,
Nateva,
Verge and the inaugural
LouFest in St. Louis, Missouri, headlining with the likes of Broken Social Scene, Jeff Tweedy and Built to Spill. They also toured Europe, visiting London,
Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Berlin, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, and Amsterdam. They were chosen by
Matt Groening to perform at
All Tomorrow's Parties music festival in England.
2011–2013: A Very She & Him Christmas and Volume 3 A Very She & Him Christmas was announced on Pitchfork.com in September 2011. The twelve track Christmas album was released October 24, 2011, under Merge Records.
Amazon.com said on December 29, 2011, that the album was one of its top three best-selling MP3-albums over the Christmas period. Deschanel confirmed on Twitter that a new album would be released in early 2013.
Volume 3 was subsequently announced, with a release date of May 7, 2013 (May 13, 2013 , for Europe). She & Him toured the US and Canada in support of
Volume 3 in the summer of 2013. Supporting acts along the tour included
Tilly and the Wall,
Camera Obscura,
Emmylou Harris,
Rodney Crowell and
The Chapin Sisters.
2014–present: Record label change and Classics On June 27, 2014, it was announced that She & Him had left independent label
Merge Records and had joined major label
Columbia Records, with their fifth studio album,
Classics, scheduled to be released later in the year. The next month, Deschanel and Ward were photographed with
Brian Wilson in the studio recording his forthcoming album
No Pier Pressure which features Deschanel as a guest vocalist on the cha-cha-esque track "On the Island". On September 15, 2016, She & Him announced the forthcoming release of their second holiday album,
Christmas Party, in October of that year. On July 22, 2022, She & Him released
Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson. The group's song
I Thought I Saw Your Face Today experienced a resurgence in popularity after going viral on the video-sharing app
TikTok in late 2025 and as a result became the duo's first song to enter the
Billboard Hot 100, debuting at number 99. ==Awards and honors==