Rising Star
Taryn Manning

Claim To Fame: She bonded with Britney Spears in the movie Crossroads
Next Big Things: Two movies: White Oleander (Oct. 11), costarring Michelle Pfeiffer, and 8 Mile (Nov. 8) with Eminem. And one debut album (called Boomkatalog One) from the band, Boomkat, she formed with her brother.

"This is going to sound reall weird," says Taryn Manning, "but I think I was a black man in my past life ." Well, it does sound weird - but Taryn's a good kind of weird! She's always making kooky comme nts, and she even randomly burst into song while we chatted (cute though, not annoying). Taryn says she inherited those quirks from her father, who died when she was 13 (her album is even dedicated to him). " I believe that he passed his voice to me when he left."

Taryn gets insired in her present life by the creative people surrounding her. Most recently she connected with her 8 Mile costar - Eminem. "I felt a kindred spirit with him," Taryn says. "We were both raised by single mothers, and we both grew up poor." Though Taryn and Em are just friends, she does believe in love at first sight. Just one look at her current boyfriend on the set of Crossroads (he worked on the set) and she knew he was the one for her. "He's even into breakdancing," she says. "Some girls love a man in uniform, but I'm a sucker for a good dancer!" Hmmmm, perhaps she was an extra in Dirty Dancing in another life?