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.
