Michelle was born and raised in Montana. A semester's study through the University of Montana took her to Vienna, Austria, which launched a European career lasting almost two decades. During this time Michelle also returned to the U.S. to perform.

The roles she has sung include Carmen in Bizet's Carmen, Ulrica in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera, Azucena in Verdi's Il Trovatore, Dido in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, Dinah in Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti, Suzuki in Puccini's Madame Butterfly, Tituba in Ward's The Crucible, Maddalena in Verdi's Rigoletto, Amneris in Verdi's Aida, Flora in Puccini's La Traviata, as well as many others.

Some of the opera companies Michelle has sung for are Colorado Opera Festival (Colorado Springs), Stadttheater Bern (Switzerland), Girona Opera Festival (Spain), Opera Idaho (Boise), Opera San Jose (San Jose), Opernhaus Zürich (Switzerland) and Rimrock Opera (Billings).

Michelle was recently seen at NOVA in The History of Opera, and as Julia Child in the Nova production of Bon Appétit. She was the Director for Pagliacci, and Inside Out, and assistant Director for NOVA's production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance.