On November 6th, 1978, Taryn Manning was born in Falls Church, Virginia, a little town outside Washington, DC. Her father was a respected musician by night and a hotel manager by day. Soon after her birth, Taryn and her brother Kellin relocated to Tucson, Arizona, with their newly divorced mother.
Growing up, Taryn would return to the East Coast at every possible moment to visit her father. She got to stay in four-star hotels and even worked in them, doing menial labor like folding laundry. When Taryn was 12, Kellin went to college and she moved to San Diego with her mother.
It was in San Diego that Taryn discovered she had a knack for the performing arts. She was already a karate aficionado -- having been crowned state champion in her age group for two consecutive years -- and making the leap to dance wasn't much of a stretch. When she was 16, she became the national champion in dance.
In 1993, her father passed away and it triggered the musical bond between Taryn and Kellin: they wanted to continue the legacy of their dad. As a dance student, Taryn auditioned for the prestigious Orange County High School of the Arts and was one of the few selected people.
Still 16, Taryn spent her free time after school taking voice and acting lessons. Her classmates included Leelee Sobieski, Erika Christensen and Kirsten Dunst, so she was definitely in good company.
In 1999, her hard work paid off when she landed a guest-starring role on the hit David E. Kelley show, The Practice. That same year, she was featured as Rebecca Peabody in nine episodes of the short-lived FOX series, Get Real.
Following a guest spot on Pacific Blue, Manning had bit parts in Speedway Junky (1999), and the TV movies Come On, Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story (1999) and Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (2000). After Lucky 13 (2000) and The Specials (2000), with Rob Lowe, Taryn thought she would give music a try.
In 2001, Manning auditioned for the U.S. edition of Popstars, a reality TV show similar to American Idol, only the participants' fate is in the hands of judges rather than TV viewers. Although she tried out just for fun, she was sent packing after singing just one note.
Taryn continued acting and received critical acclaim as Kirsten Dunst's drug-addicted friend in the drama Crazy/Beautiful (2001). She was able to get even more exposure with her next project, the Britney Spears movie Crossroads (2002).
Meanwhile, Taryn was getting more serious about music and she formed the duo Boomkat with her brother, Kellin. At first it was just called "KAT" (which stood for Kellin And Taryn) but "Boom" was added for effect. They did small-time performances at first, but they soon got to perform at the Los Angeles club, The Mint.
Not only was the show a hit, but the owner of the joint, Chris Contogouris, allowed the Mannings to use his own recording studio to work on their music. Television heavyweight David E. Kelley had heard Boomkat's demo tapes, so he invited Taryn to guest star on Boston Public in 2001 and he wrote the entire episode around her high school student/aspiring singer character. The episode featured two of Boomkat's songs: "Daydreamin'" and "Now Understand This." The world was Taryn's oyster.
Later on, DreamWorks Records executive Robbie Robertson heard Boomkat's demo and instantly realized that Kellin and Taryn's sound was totally different from what was readily available on the market. They finally had a record deal. Along with music producer Martin Pradler, who was introduced to the duo by Chris Contogouris, they set out to work on their first album.
After Taryn Manning was seen in White Oleander (2002), along with Michelle Pfeiffer and Renee Zellweger, she was approached for a supporting role in the Eminem movie 8 Mile. The rapper loved her song "Wastin' My Time" so much that he selected it for the film's soundtrack.
Following her appearance in a national ad campaign for the Gap, in which she sang "I'll Take You There" with Marianne Faithfull and Tweet, Boomkat's first album, boomkatalog.one, was released April 8th, 2003.
Since then, the single "The Wreckoning" has reached #1 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. Taryn is back on the big screen in the Civil War epic Cold Mountain (co-starring Nicole Kidman and Jude Law), and in 2004, she'll be appearing in Dandelion. As if a budding movie career isn't enough, Taryn continues to focus on Boomkat's music.
