Taryn Manning's early & personal life, music career:

Taryn Manning (born November 6, 1978) is an American actress, fashion designer, and singer-songwriter. She is the vocalist for electronic duo Boomkat and co-owner of clothing brand, called Born Uniqorn. Manning gained her first major role as an actress in 2001 when she played the role of Maddy in Crazy/Beautiful. She is well-known for her film portrayals in Crossroads, 8 Mile, A Lot Like Love, Hustle & Flow, Weirdsville and Jack and Jill vs. the World. She has appeared in film genres ranging from drama and comedy to science fiction.
Early life:
Manning was born in Falls Church, Virginia to Sharyn and Bill Manning. Her parents divorced when she was two months old, and her mother took Manning and her brother Kellin to Tucson, Arizona. At the age of 12, Manning and her mother moved to California, where she attended Orange County High School of the Arts. Her mother insisted on enrolling her daughter in dance, karate, and acting classes despite their limited income. She has been the State Champion in Karate in Arizona. When she was 14, her musician father, Bill, committed suicide.

Personal life:
Manning had five small tattoos, but in 2005, she went through a laser treatment to have some of her tattoos removed. She insisted she had "grown out" of her love for skin art and wanted some of her tattoos lasered off. She was particularly glad to get rid of her 'I love boys' tattoo on her forearm because it brings back bad memories. Her favorite movies are Boogie Nights, The Silence of the Lambs and Little Miss Sunshine. She enjoys watching American Idol, The Bachelorette and MTV, even though she's not "a huge TV watcher". She has two small dogs, called 'Penguin' and 'Speakers'. In her freetime she does yoga, writes songs and likes to hang out with friends.
She was aboard the JetBlue airplane that had to make a three hour surround flight and emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport on September 22, 2005. In her own words: "it was the most surreal, out-of-body experience I ever had". After her Flight 292 experience, she planned to get engaged with her then-boyfriend actor Derek Magyar, but it never happened. The couple broke up in September 2007 after several years together. After the break-up with Magyar, she dated musician Mams Taylor.

Music career:
2003-2009: Pop music beginnings and Boomkat
In 2003, Manning and her brother Kellin formed the band Boomkat. When Manning is performing with her band, she wears stars around her eyes to separate "the actress Taryn from the singer Taryn." The band first signed a major label deal with American Idol producer Randy Jackson, but the deal fell through. Robbie Robertson then signed them to DreamWorks Records, which was Boomkat's label from 2002 to 2004. In 2002 she sang a rendition of "I'll Take You There" with Tweet in several Gap commercials directed by Peter Lindbergh. Their debut album, Boomkatalog.One, was released on March 18, 2003. Boomkat released two singles "The Wreckoning" and "What U Do 2 Me". The first single, "The Wreckoning", hit #1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The band closed out 2003 as the #5 Hot Dance Club Play Artist for the year in Billboard Magazine. Music from Boomkatalog.One has also appeared in movies, including Mean Girls, Crossroads, The Hot Chick, 8 Mile and The Italian Job.
After a hiatus, in an interview in October 2005's issue of Nylon magazine, Taryn mentioned that Boomkat would be back eventually, and that she is writing songs for the new album once they find another record label. Boomkat released their first single in four years, called "Runaway" on April 8, 2008. In early June 2008 Boomkat's second album A Million Trillion Stars became available in online stores. In October 2008 Boomkat played several shows throughout the Los Angeles area, hitting spots like North Hollywood's NOHO Scene Festival and venues such as, the Viper Room and Hotel Cafe. In December 2008 Manning recorded a version of Tom Petty's "Christmas All Over Again", which premiered on her official Myspace page. On March 3, 2009, their official first single, "Run Boy" was released along with a visually electric music video. The single premiered on People.com and received generally positive reviews. A Million Trillion Stars was officially released in stores on March 10, 2009 by independent record label, Little Vanilla Records. In 2009 Manning was featured on indie band Dreamers' song "Lonely World", as well as in their new music video called "The Dreamers". In the music video she takes on the role of Ring Master. On October 28, 2009, she announced that Boomkat is working on their third studio album.
The bands 5th music video from A Million Trillion Stars premiered on MySpace on Wednesday February 17, 2010.
2009-present: Solo career
In September 2009, Manning revealed that she is working on a solo album. The album is "dance music and it’s colorful, flamboyant, if you will. Boomkat’s a little darker, experimental, like Portishead kind of stuff," she told in an interview with Adam Bernard. She sang her first solo single, "So Talented" in an episode of Melrose Place. The song was written with the producer Linney (Darkchild Entertainment). On September 3, 2009, it was confirmed that two tracks were completed for the album.

Taryn Manning's acting career, other ventures:

Acting career
1999-2005: Career beginnings
Manning began acting in the late 1990s, appearing in small roles in several film and television productions, including episodes of The Practice, Get Real, Speedway Junky, NYPD Blue and Popular. Shortly after she began studying acting and went to different schools to pursue her dreams. She also made a guest-appearance on the critically acclaimed TV series Boston Public, in a role that was specifically written for her. In 1999, she was featured in an independent film called Speedway Junky, which gave rise to later roles on television. She also auditioned for the American version of Popstars, which aired in early 2001 on The WB.
Television stardom led to roles in major motion pictures, and she made her film debut with a part in the Kirsten Dunst and Jay Hernandez romantic drama crazy/beautiful in which she played the best friend of Dunst's character. Crazy/beautiful was followed shortly by a prominent role in the 2002 feature film, Crossroads, where she played one of two best friends of singer Britney Spears. When talking about filming of Crossroads, Manning said: "It was absolutely insane filming that movie. We'd be trying to film a scene and that whole hour, borders of our set would be filled with screaming fans holding up signs as we're trying to go, like 'Action!'" Continuing her connection with pop music, she appeared in 8 Mile, as Eminem's former girlfriend. Next she appeared in Peter Kosminksy's White Oleander, based on the novel of the same name. Along with supporting roles in the minor films Lucky 13 and Debating Robert Lee, Manning appeared briefly in Anthony Minghella's acclaimed Civil War melodrama Cold Mountain and in the romantic comedy A Lot Like Love.
E! Online picked her for its "Sizzlin' 16" list of 2002. She has appeared on the covers of the July 2003 issue of FHM, the May 2007 issue of Stuff and was the December 2007 entry in Stuff magazine's 2006-2007 pin up calendar. She was ranked #33 in Stuff magazine's 103 Sexiest Women in 2003, #59 in Maxim`s Hot 100 Women 2003 and #60 in 2008.
2005-present: Independent films and breakthrough
Her breakthrough role was as Nola in the 2005 film Hustle & Flow, opposite Terrence Howard, playing a prostitute in Memphis, Tennessee. The film received critical acclaim and was generally considered a success. Manning was nominated in the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards for Best Breakthrough Performance. Director Craig Brewer saw Manning's picture in a photography book and was convinced that the actress who played Nola should look just like her. "There are some people who put on trashy like a wardrobe, and Taryn can play those roles with dignity and earnestness," Brewer said of Manning. Her other subsequent film roles included roles in Unbeatable Harold and When the Nines Roll Over. When the Nines Roll Over is a drama film centred around a jaded hipster A&R executive tries to steal a talented and sexy young singer away from a small label. Her next film was Weirdsville, a dark comedy co-starring Scott Speedman and Wes Bentley. Boomkat's song "It's Not My Fault" appeared on the soundtrack of Weirdsville as a duet by Manning and John Rowley. In 2007, she played Ivy Chitty on the short-lived but critically acclaimed Fox television series Drive, which was a drama about various people competing in an illegal cross-country road race. In After Sex, seven short films within one, Manning played the supporting role of Alanna. She had leading roles in the horror films Cult and Banshee; in the latter, she performed her own stunts. "I got hurt one day during one of the chase scenes, where another car crashed into my car," Manning explained of her stunts. There has been rumors of a Banshee sequel or spin-off series in the future.
Manning appeared opposite Freddie Prinze Jr in the romantic comedy Jack and Jill vs. the World. She played Rita Cherry on four episodes of Sons of Anarchy; co-star Katey Sagal called her performance fantastic. At first she made a guest appearance on the show and later rejoined, because her performance was so well-received. Later in 2008 she appeared as the female lead in Butch Walker's music video for "The Weight Of Her" and in Will.i.am's collage-style music video, "Yes We Can". She co-starred with Bill Pullman in the drama film Your Name Here, in which she played Nikki, who is based on Victoria Principal. The film is based loosely on sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick's life.
Manning's dream role would be in a musical like Moulin Rouge, because she "grew up dancing". When she was a child, she appeared in many musicals and plays. She admires her friend Gina Gershon's musical appearances. In 2009, she appeared as Rose Atropos in a dramatic music-themed film The Perfect Age of Rock 'n' Roll. The film received mostly favorable reviews from critics and fans. Manning joined forces with Ron Perlman in two 2009 films, The Devil's Tomb and The Job. She also appeared in a horror film Kill Theory, which tells the story of a group of college students, who find themselves targeted by a sadistic killer. Drama film The Job premiered at the San Diego Film Festival on September 25, 2009. Critics called the film "entertaining and fun with twists that arrives like clockwork".
She recently signed on to portray Caroline Bishop, the love interest to Kris Black's coal miner turned boxer in Five Good Years. In February 2010, she was cast in the Hawaii Five-O remake as the younger sister of main character Steve McGarrett.

Other ventures:
Boomkat's record company, Little Vanilla Records is owned by Manning. She has a clothing line called Born Uniqorn with best friend Tara Jane. The brand was founded in fall 2005. Born Uniqorn has hosted many benefits for charity organizations in Los Angeles. Her fashion icons are Kate Moss, Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett and Kate Winslet. Manning was honored with "Film Fashion Visionary" award at the 2009 Bel Air Film Festival. She has appeared in Juicy Couture's advertising campaign and in Frankie B`s spring 2009 campaign. They shot a short film, which follows a day in the life of a Frankie B. woman. The video is called "Let's Get Lost" which is the original song featured in the video by musician Gilby Clarke with vocals by Manning.
Manning also works as a DJ. She was the DJ at World on Wheels, which hosted an 80’s themed benefit for HOW (Helping Others Worldwide).
She also updates a weekly blog on younghollywood.com.