Taryn Manning Biography

A petite, pretty actress, Taryn Manning alternately appears as a blonde and a brunette and possesses both a tough girl air and a childlike vulnerability that has helped her win some interesting roles early in her career. An Arizona native who relocated to Southern California at age 12, Manning spent her early years filled with competitive karate, roller-skating and dance. The multitalented teen was also a talented singer and attended the Orange County High School of the Arts. Making her breakthrough in 1999, Manning was featured in the film drama “Speedway Junky” and landed a recurring role on the Fox drama series “Get Real”, which suffered an early cancellation. Guest shots on “The Practice” (ABC) and “Ryan Caulfield: Year One” (Fox) rounded out the year for the up and comer. Continuing to work in television, the actress appeared in the Fox TV-movie “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye” (2000) and 2001 episodes of “NYPD Blue” (ABC) and “Boston Public”, the latter a role tailor-made for her and BoomK.A.T., her musical collaboration with brother Kellin.

In 2001, Manning had a high-profile role in the teen romance “crazy/beautiful”, stealing scenes from talented co-stars Kirsten Dunst and Jay Hernandez with her energetic and charming performance as a party girl. One of the few highlights of the film (which was driven by an uninspired middle-of-the-road soundtrack) was Manning’s moment in the sun, ditching school and singing the appropriate “Bein’ Bad”, a song co-written by the actress and her brother.

Much of Manning’s career has revolved around music, from a cameo as a groupie in the 1999 ABC movie “Come On, Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story” to supporting roles opposite Britney Spears and Eminem in their feature debuts (2002’s “Crossroads” and “8 Mile”, respectively). 2002 also saw the actress take on a role alongside such luminaries as Michelle Pfeiffer, Robin Wright Penn and Renee Zellweger in “White Oleander,” Peter Kominsky’s feature adaptation of Janet Fitch’s bestseller.

Manning was center stage, alongside co-star Vincent Kartheiser, in the indie drama “Dandelion” (2004), as a pair of star-crossed small town lovers. Along with supporting roles in the minor films “Lucky 13″ (2004) and “Debating Robert Lee” (2004), Manning had notable appearances in A-list productions as well: she appeared briefly in Anthony Minghella’s acclaimed Civil War melodrama “Cold Mountain” (2003) as part of a family of would-be seductresses, and had an amusing reappearing role in the Ashton Kutcher, Amanda Peet romantic comedy “A Lot Life Love” (2005) as Kutcher’s annoying sister who makes the most out of the line “You’re a dick, Oliver.” In “Hustle & Flow” (2005), she delivered her most appealing performance yet when she played a tough-as-nails hooker whose pimp (Terrance Howard) decides to become a rap star. The movie won the Audience Award for Best Dramatic Feature at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and emerged with enough buzz to make one swoon.

• Born:
  on 11/06/1978 in Tucson, Arizona
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Singer, Dancer, Model, Ice cream parlor counterperson

Education

• Orange County High School of the Arts, Los Alamitos, California

Milestones

• 1999 Appeared as a groupie in “Come On, Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story” (ABC)
• 1999 Appeared as a prostitute in an episode of “The Practice” (ABC) and the pilot for the quickly cancelled “Ryan Caulfield: Year One” (Fox)
• 1999 Appeared in the drama feature “Speedway Junky”
• 1999 Had a recurring role on the short-lived Fox series “Get Real”
• 2000 Acted in the Fox TV-movie drama “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye”
• 2001 Guested on episodes of “Boston Public” (Fox) and “NYPD Blue” (ABC)
• 2001 Portrayed Kirsten Dunst’s drug-addled best friend in the teen drama “crazy/beautiful”
• 2002 Featured in Peter Kominsky’s adaptation of the Janet Fitch’s bestseller “White Oleander”
• 2002 Played rapper Eminem’s former girlfriend in his semi-autobiographical feature acting debut “8 Mile”
• 2002 Starred opposite Britney Spears in the coming-of-age road trip drama “Crossroads”
• 2003 Appeared in “Cold Mountian,” the war epic directed by Anthony Minghella
• 2005 Cast opposite Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet in the romantic comedy “A Lot Like Love”
• 2005 Starred in Craig Brewer’s “Hustle & Flow” opposite Terrence Dashon Howard
• Relocated with family to Cardiff, California at age 12
• Spent early childhood in Tucson, Arizona