Jenny Lewis
Birth Name: Jennifer Diane Lewis
Born: 8th January 1976, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S
Bands: Rilo Kiley (1998-Present)
Early Life
Jenny Lewis was born January 8, 1976 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her parents were both musicians and performed in a Las Vegas based lounge act called "Love’s Way" and also had their own early 1970s television series. Following her parents divorce she moved with her mum, Linda, to Los Angeles, California where she was encouraged to pursue a career in acting. After appearing in various TV commercials, including Kellogg’s Corn Pops and Toys "R" us during the early eighties she made her acting debut in 1985 thanks to a guest starring role in an episode of The Twilight Zone. Over the next five years Lewis was cast in small roles in a string of popular TV shows including The Golden Girls, Mr. Belvedere and Growing Pains. She also made a successful transition onto the big screen with well-received roles in Trading Hearts (1987) and Troop Beverly Hills (1989). She also played the part of Evangeline "Eva" Saint Claire in the 1987 film version of Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin. Throughout the 90’s Jenny found more success on the hit shows Roseanne and Baywatch. Despite her popularity, Jenny eventually grew disenchanted with the industry and later stated "She only acted for practical and financial purposes".
Musical Career In 1998, Lewis and her then boyfriend and former child actor Blake Sennett formed the band Rilo Kiley with Los Angeles based musicians Pierre De Reeder and Dave Rock. Their first release was a self titled EP that was put out by the band independently in 1999. They re-pressed it with altered artwork and track-listing for a re-release in 2000 under the name "The Initial Friend EP". The songs "Frug" and "85" were included in the soundtrack to the Christina Ricci & Kate Hudson movie Desert Blue, which led to the band's heightened popularity and eventual signing to Barsuk Records. Lewis was to share the lead vocals with Sennett on Rilo Kiley's debut full-length album, "Take Offs and Landings" which was released in 2001 to moderate reviews. Shortly after Dave Rock left the band and was replaced with Jason Boesel. More turmoil was to hit the band in late 2001 when Lewis announced she and Sennett had split. However after a few months hiatus the band returned to the studio to record their next album, "The Execution of All Things" which marked their debut on an up-and-coming Nebraska label Saddle Creek. Expanding on their previous efforts sound of guitars, vocals, percussion and pianos, "The Execution of All Things" saw the band incorporate heavy electronica sampling into their songs. The album is also strung together by a song that is broken into pieces and that trails between several tracks. Called "And That's How I Choose to Remember It", tells the story of Lewis's childhood and parents' divorce. This theme is visited throughout the album, which is lyrically filled with childhood recollections of loss, displacement, anger, and hopelessness. Rilo Kiley’s 2004 album More Adventurous saw the band find their first big mainstream success. Critics such as Pitchfork Media attributed this to the "wise" decision to emphasize Lewis's voice and presence more so than in previous albums. The song "Portions for Foxes" was a hit, and in 2005 the band was signed up by Warner Bros. The band also supported for English band Coldplay on their U.S. tour in 2005 and spent the summer playing the famed Coachella Festival in Indio, California, and the Glastonbury Festival in England.
Following her new found success Lewis embarked on a side project recording with Kentuckian country folk act The Watson Twins. In 2006 they released "Rabbit Fur Coat", under the name Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins. The album also saw a cover of the Travelling Wilburys song "Handle With Care", featuring Ben Gibbard (of Death Cab for Cutie), Conor Oberst (of Bright Eyes) and M. Ward. Following a successful tour with The Watson Twins and Sennett releasing his own solo album, Sun, Sun, Sun, Rilo Kiley released their fourth full-length studio album "Under the Blacklight" in August 2007. The album saw the band take a step away from the Alt Rock scene even including a Latin Beat and Fleetwood Mac homage. Critics praised the band's move into a newer sound and the album ranked was #8 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007. The album peaked at #22 on The Billboard 200. Trivia Jenny Lewis Links BabeInvasion | Bestzilla | Celebrity Link | Chickipedia | Famous Hookups | Net Glimse | Romanum | Star Pages
