Taryn Southern | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1986 (age 37–38) [1] Wichita, Kansas, U.S. |
| Education | University of Miami (BS, BA) |
| Occupation(s) | Tech artist, advisor, filmmaker and speaker |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Website | www |
Taryn Southern is an American storyteller, public speaker, artist, and brand strategist who works with emerging technologies. She was formerly known for her work as a TV host, actress and YouTuber.
Southern grew up in Wichita, Kansas and landed her first starring role in a pre-Broadway theatrical production at the age of 10. [2] As a teenager, she co-hosted a regional teen talk show for WB Kansas . [3] At 20, Southern graduated from the University of Miami, earning a B.S. in Anthropology and a B.A. in Journalism. While in school, she competed in American Idol and received a grant to travel to Peru to study the shamanic use of ayahuasca among rainforest communities. [4]
In 2017, Southern received a grant from the Google Creator Lab to create experimental VR content. One piece, New World, won AT&T's 2020 Film Award [5] and another, Life Support, was nominated for a Streamy Award. [6] [7] Southern was also chosen to be an ambassador for The Geena Davis Institute Gender in Media #ShesGotDrive campaign to promote female voices in media. [8]
Southern's immersive content work led her to begin producing music with AI-based musical composition tools. In 2018, she released a music album titled I AM AI, where the instrumental backing music was generated using a variety of AI-based tools including Amper, an open source product which allows users to create music based on user generated inputs, IBM Watson Beat, Google Magenta and AIVA. [9] [10] Her first single, "Break Free", was released in August 2017, and features music generated using Amper. [11] Her song "New World" was tokenized using blockchain technology to enable hundreds of collaborators to split backend royalties on sales and streams of the track. [12] The album received international attention, and radio play in the US. [13]
In April 2019, Southern debuted her first full-length feature documentary, I AM HUMAN, which explored the co-evolution of the human brain and technology. I AM HUMAN had its worldwide premiere at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival in New York and was co-directed and produced by Southern. [14] The Winner of four Best Feature awards following its premiere, I AM HUMAN chronicled the journey of three real-world pioneers with implantable brain-computer interfaces. I AM HUMAN won numerous awards including Best of the Fest at the 2019 El Dorado Film Festival, [15] Audience Choice for Best Feature at the 2019 Eastern Oregon Film Festival, [16] Outstanding First Feature at the Tallgrass Film Festival, Best Feature at Other Worlds Austin [17] and Best Director at the Oslo Film Festival. [18] I AM HUMAN was released on March 10, 2020 on video-on-demand platforms. [19]
On July 2, 2007, Southern released her first YouTube video, which garnered more than a million views and appeared on FOX and MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews. [20]
Shortly after, Southern was appointed the face of AT&T U-Verse's entertainment channel and Cosmopolitan's first daily online series. [21] In addition, she starred in the first online series for The WB, Sorority Forever [22]
In 2009, Southern wrote/produced her first comedic musical web series, which later sold to MTV as a half-hour comedy pilot, with David Zuckerman as co-writer/executive producer. [23]
In 2013, Southern released a musical comedy album, which reached #20 on the iTunes comedy chart and was recognized by Billboard. [24] The song “Crush”, which was on the album, made it to the Top 100 in radio play that August. [25] Southern ultimately released more than 50 original songs and covers as well as an 80's inspired album, Flashback Friday. [26]
Southern launched her YouTube channel in 2012 by releasing one video per week for a year. In 2014, Southern's YouTube Channel was listed on New Media Rockstars Top 100 Channels, ranked at #52. [27] As of 2015, she had more than 450,000 subscribers.
By 2017, Southern had stopped posting regular content on her YouTube channel. She cited the YouTube algorithm as problematic for the digital community, and a desire to focus on other creative endeavors and experiments with emerging technology. [28]
When Southern was seventeen, she was part of American Idol season three's Top 50. [29] She went on to host and executive produce DirecTV's first original series, Project My World , before landing other jobs in the entertainment industry and building a YouTube channel. [30] She was later a live correspondent on the US version of The X Factor ., [31] a correspondent on Discovery Channel's Shark After Dark Live, which earned the #1 ratings spot in its time slot. [32] Southern was later hired to continue her role as correspondent for Naked After Dark on Discovery Channel, a companion late-night show to Naked and Afraid. [33] She also debuted a series with Marriott that was later renewed for a second season, [34] [35] and launched a digital talk show with Maker Studios. [36] The series, which launched in 2015 and 2016, was an exploration of internet culture, and featured guests ranging from celebrity/science enthusiast Seth MacFarlane and King Bach to psychedelic advocate Zach Leary and activist musician Kate Nash. [37]
Southern's television acting roles included: a recurring role in the fifth season of the CBS comedy series Rules of Engagement , as well as guest starring on New Girl , American Dad! , The League and Guys with Kids . [38] [39]
In 2019, Southern was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer. She completed a year of treatment in the summer of 2020, and has raised funds for an organization that provides cold cap medical treatments to young women with breast cancer. [40] [41]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Project My World | Taryn | Nine episode documentary |
| 2007–2008 | The Heavy Show | Various characters | |
| 2008 | Senior Skip Day | Isha | movie |
| 2008 | Sorority Forever | Taryn Monaghan | 31 episodes |
| 2009 | Woke Up Dead | Debbie | |
| 2010 | Pound of Flesh | Dyonesia Cosa | movie |
| 2010 | Rules of Engagement | Allison | Guest Star in 5 episodes |
| 2010 | The Temp Life | Nancy Roder | 8 episodes |
| 2010 | Battle Los Angeles | Reporter on beach | movie |
| 2011–2012 | It's Fred | Judy Munsley, Fred's Mom | 9 episodes |
| 2012 | New Girl | Megan | Guest appearance in Season 2, Episode 3 "Fluffer" |
| 2012 | Guys with Kids | Erica | Guest appearance in Season 1, Episode 12 "Marny's Dad" |
| 2014 | Last Man Standing | Rachel | Guest appearance in Season 3, Episode 15 "Tasers" |
Beth Nicole Torbert is a Canadian singer best known by her stage name Bif Naked. Between 1996 and 2016, she was among the top 150 selling Canadian artists in Canada. She charted #1 on Billboard Canada for the single Spaceman and was heavy rotation on MTV TRL for the video Moment of Weakness. The album I Bificus was multiplatinum internationally.
Taryn Manning is an American actress and singer. She is best known for portraying Tiffany "Pennsatucky" Doggett in the Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019), Cherry in Sons of Anarchy (2008–2010), Nola in Hustle & Flow (2005) and Janeane in 8 Mile (2002).
Kiley Dean Bowlin is an American singer. Born and raised in Alma, Arkansas, she moved to Orlando, Florida with her parents at the age of seven. She grew up singing in school and church, which led her to singing back-up for Britney Spears' tours, "…Baby One More Time" and "Oops!... I Did It Again" as well as Madonna's tours, "Sticky & Sweet", "MDNA" and "Rebel Heart."
Laura Marie Marano is an American actress and singer. She is known for her role in the Disney Channel series Austin & Ally as Ally Dawson. Marano was one of the five original classmates in Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?. She starred in Without a Trace for three seasons and Back to You. Marano starred in the indie film A Sort of Homecoming, the Disney Channel Original Movie Bad Hair Day, the fifth installment of the A Cinderella Story film series A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish, the Netflix original movie The Perfect Date, and the Netflix interactive romcom Choose Love.
Niatia Jessica Kirkland, better known by her stage name Lil Mama, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and dancer. She experienced top 10 Billboard placements at 17 with her debut album VYP (2008), which debuted at number 25 on the Billboard 200. The album spawned her four major singles including her staple song and dance anthem "Lip Gloss", earning her two Teen Choice Awards and Monster Single of the Year nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards. Kirkland gained further attention in pop music after a collaboration with Avril Lavigne for the remix of her hit single "Girlfriend".
Catherine Cruz Gonzaga-Morada, professionally known as Alex Gonzaga, is a Filipino media personality, host, comedian, actress, businesswoman, singer and vlogger. She played the lead role of Diane Santos on the Philippine television drama series Pure Love.
Ida Maria Børli Sivertsen, better known simply as Ida Maria, is a Norwegian musician and songwriter.
Boomkat is an American electronic and pop duo, with siblings Kellin and Taryn Manning. The group released their debut album Boomkatalog.One in 2003, and their second album A Million Trillion Stars in 2009. The first single "The Wreckoning" hit No. 1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.
iamamiwhoami is an electronic music and audiovisual project led by Swedish singer-songwriter Jonna Lee in collaboration with producer Claes Björklund. Since 2009, the project has released a series of audiovisual works on their YouTube channel, which has garnered an international following. Visual collaborators include Swedish director Robin Kempe-Bergman and the visual collective Wave, which comprises Lee and cinematographer John Strandh, along with former member Agustín Moreaux.
Elena Sergeevna Katina, better known as Lena Katina, is a Russian musician who gained fame as one half of the pop/electronica duo t.A.T.u. She started her career at the age of eight, joining the Russian children's act Avenue, soon after that joining Neposedy. In 1999, producer Ivan Shapovalov chose Katina and Julia Volkova for his project t.A.T.u. The duo would later become Russia's most successful pop music act. The group produced several hits, including "All the Things She Said", "Not Gonna Get Us", and "All About Us". Their first single, "All the Things She Said", peaked at No. 1 in nineteen countries, including the UK, Russia, and Australia.
Elissar Zakaria Khoury, commonly known as Elissa, is a Lebanese singer, actress, television personality and businesswoman. Known for her romantic musical style and emotive vocal performances, she has been dubbed as the "Queen of Emotions" by fans and journalists alike. Her musical career began in 1992 when she was featured in the Lebanese talent show Studio El Fan; later being awarded the silver medal. In 1998, she released her debut studio album Baddy Doub through EMI Music Arabia. While the album was a success, the titular song’s music video initially received criticism for its racy content. Her second album W'akherta Maak (2000) featured the single "Betghib Betrouh", a duet with Ragheb Alama which achieved commercial success and won accolades.
Rhiannon Giddens is an American musician known for her eclectic folk music. She is a founding member of the country, blues, and old-time music band the Carolina Chocolate Drops, where she was the lead singer, fiddle player, and banjo player.
On My Face is a 2012 musical comedy album by actress and singer Taryn Southern. Released on October 12, it is Southern's debut studio album. Taryn Southern, who was part of American Idol's third season's Top 50, first gained national attention with her musical comedy video Hot4Hill, which was released during the 2008 Presidential race.
GloZell Lynette Green, better known mononymously as GloZell, is an American YouTube personality. GloZell established her YouTube channel in 2008, with video interviews, comedy about her life and song parodies. By 2015, the channel had accumulated more than four million subscribers and more than 700 million total views. Her most popular videos include her cinnamon challenge video, which has accumulated more than 60 million views, and "My Push up Bra will help me get my man" video, with more than 25 million views. She gained wide notice when her blog about meeting Elijah Wood was mentioned by the actor during a 2011 interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. In 2012, she appeared in the web series Dr. Fubalous.
Valeria Valeryevna Lukyanova is a Ukrainian model best known for her resemblance to a Barbie doll. She currently lives in Mexico. To enhance the Barbie effect Lukyanova uses makeup and contact lenses over her naturally green/gray/blue eyes. She has stated that she has had breast implants, but that the rest of her body is natural and slender due to daily gym workouts and a particular diet.
Lauren Henson, better known by her stage name Indiana, is a British singer-songwriter from Loughborough. Her 2015 debut album, No Romeo, includes the UK top 20 single "Solo Dancing" (2014).
Rosanna Jeanne Reardon, known online as Rosanna Pansino is an American YouTuber, actress, author, businesswoman, and singer. She is known for hosting her baking series Nerdy Nummies on YouTube (2011–present). She has written two cookbooks and released a baking line based on the show. She has won a Shorty Award and five Streamy Award nominations for Nerdy Nummies. She was listed first on Forbes'Top Influencers: Food list in 2017.
Garrett Clark Borns, better known by his stage name Børns, is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.
Margaret DeLacy Kelley is an American actress and singer. She is known for her role as Cindy Burman in the DC Universe series Stargirl.
Jordan Redford Gossamer Gray is an English comedian and singer from Essex.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
