Taryn Manning

Taryn Manning is an actress featured alongside many pop culture icons, usually within the teenage limelight. Gaining loads of attention from her role in 2002's Crossroads starring pop music superstar Britney Spears, Manning developed increasing correlations between herself as a performer and the music industry. Born on November 6, 1978, in Tucson, AZ, she moved with her family to California at the age of 12. There she attended Orange County High School of the Arts, and would go on to find career success in show business just a few years after graduation. Her ties with music began early, as she would collaborate on song compositions with her brother, a practice which would itself be incorporated into a film in which Manning appeared. In 1999, she was featured in an independent film called Speedway Junkies, which gave rise to later roles on television. Besides appearances in episodes of the TV series The Practice, NYPD Blue, and Boston Public, Manning had a starring role on the series Get Real in 1999. Television stardom led to roles in major motion pictures, and she made her film debut with a part in Crazy/Beautiful starring Kirsten Dunst in 2001. A romantic teen drama dealing with racial issues, Crazy/Beautiful gave Manning a chance to make a statement as a hardcore partier named Maddy. In 2002, she played the role of Britney Spears' spunky and adventurous friend Mimi, in romantic road-trip story Crossroads, also starring Anson Mount and Zoe Saldana. Continuing her connection with pop music, she appeared in 8 Mile, a loosely biographical drama starring rap star Eminem. Rounding out her experience for the year within the realm of teen drama, she also appeared in Peter Kosminksy's White Oleander, the story of a teenager's struggle with a parent being sentenced to prison, based on a novel of the same name.

~ Sarah Sloboda, All Movie Guide