| Jenny Lewis | |
| Birth Name: | Jennifer Diane Lewis |
| Genre: | Indie rock, alternative country, indie folk, indietronica |
| Birth Date: | 8 January 1976 |
| Birth Place: | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
| Origin: | San Fernando Valley, California, U.S. |
| Instrument: | Vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass, harmonica |
| Years Active: | 1982–1998, 2008–present (acting) 1998–present (music) |
| Label: | Team Love, Warner Bros., Brute/Beaute, Saddle Creek, Barsuk, Third Man |
| Associated Acts: | Rilo Kiley The Postal Service The Watson Twins Jenny and Johnny Nice as Fuck Johnathan Rice |
Jennifer Diane Lewis[1] (born January 8, 1976)[2] is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She was the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and keyboardist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley.
Lewis gained prominence in the 1980s as a child actress, appearing in the films Troop Beverly Hills (1989) and The Wizard (1989) and the television series Brooklyn Bridge (1991–93). In the mid-1990s, Lewis semi-retired from acting to focus on her musical career, and formed Rilo Kiley in 1998 with fellow former child actor Blake Sennett. Rilo Kiley released four albums before they disbanded in 2014.[3]
Lewis has released five solo albums: Rabbit Fur Coat (2006), Acid Tongue (2008), The Voyager (2014), On the Line (2019), and Joy'All (2023). In addition to Rilo Kiley and her solo career, Lewis has been a member of The Postal Service, Jenny & Johnny, and Nice as Fuck.[4]
Lewis was born in Las Vegas. Her mother, Linda, was a professional singer, and her father, Eddie Gordon, was a member of the Harmonica Gang.[5] [6] [7] Lewis is of Ashkenazi Jewish descent.[8]
Lewis made her professional debut in a Jell-O commercial. She later appeared in commercials for Mattel's Barbie[9] and Baby Skates[10] dolls, Toys "R" Us toy stores,[11] the Black & Decker Popcorn Maker, and Kellogg's Corn Pops,[12] among others. She was featured in the short-lived 1986 Lucille Ball sitcom Life With Lucy, where she was cast as one of Lucy's grandchildren. She also had small roles on TV shows, such as Murder, She Wrote; The Twilight Zone (1985); Baywatch; The Golden Girls; Growing Pains; Just the Ten of Us; Roseanne; Mr. Belvedere; and Brooklyn Bridge. She also appeared on a kids' week episode of the game show Card Sharks on August 6, 1987, at age 11, winning $500, but she did not win her match.[13]
Lewis appeared in over a dozen teen movies, such as Troop Beverly Hills and The Wizard in 1989. She was featured in the 1996 made-for-TV movie Talk to Me with Yasmine Bleeth, as well as the films Foxfire, Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even, and Pleasantville. She played the part of Evangeline "Eva" Saint Claire in the 1987 film version of Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, and also appeared in the 1988 made-for-TV film A Friendship in Vienna, set in Vienna at the start of the Holocaust. She played Beverly D'Angelo's daughter in the 1996 made-for-TV film Sweet Temptation. She continued acting until 1998, although her final movie – Don's Plum, filmed 1995–96 – went unreleased until 2001. In 2015, she appeared in the Netflix movie A Very Murray Christmas as a waitress and sang a few songs, including "Baby, It's Cold Outside" in a duet with Bill Murray.
In 1998, Lewis and friends Pierre De Reeder, Dave Rock, and then-boyfriend Blake Sennett formed the band Rilo Kiley. (Rock was eventually replaced by Jason Boesel.) In an interview with NPR's All Songs Considered, Lewis remarked that she wanted to name the group Love's Way (after her parents' lounge act in Las Vegas), but Sennett "didn't go for it."[14] Originally asked to sing back-up vocals by Sennett, Lewis refused to join the band unless she was able to sing lead vocals.[15]
Beginning with a country sound, Rilo Kiley gravitated toward a downbeat indie rock sound, gaining the attention of Warner Bros., who signed the band (via its own imprint, Brute/Beaute Records) for the release of their 2004 album More Adventurous, which gained the band some success. Critics such as Pitchfork attributed this to the "wise" decision to emphasize Lewis's voice and presence more so than in previous albums.[16] The song "Portions for Foxes" was a hit. Rilo Kiley's 2007 album Under the Blacklight was released directly by Warner Bros.
In 2011, Sennett hinted that Rilo Kiley had disbanded.[17] Lewis confirmed the band's split in 2014.[18]
A retrospective of Lewis's career by Jessica Roy in 2016 commented that Lewis was a style icon to a certain type of music-loving young people in the 2000s. Roy commented:
For a particular brand of suburban girl who fancied herself cooler than her peers, Jenny was a fire-haired figure of worship. With her endless supply of cool sunglasses, vintage dresses, and hats ... she was a beacon of hope for introspective teens ... as a microgenerational sad-girl touchstone, many of us have our own Jenny Lewis Anecdote, our lives touched by her magnificent tweeness in different ways.[19]
In 2004, Conor Oberst invited Lewis to record a solo record for record label Team Love. Described by Lewis as "a kind of soul record", Rabbit Fur Coat (released January 24, 2006) features contributions from Oberst, M. Ward, and Maroon 5 guitarist James Valentine. Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie guests on a cover of The Traveling Wilburys' "Handle With Care." The Watson Twins provide accompaniment on the album, billed as Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins. Lewis toured with the Watson Twins in support of the album three times in 2006 and appeared with her band on the Late Show with David Letterman, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Late Night with Conan O'Brien and Later with Jools Holland. They also appeared on a Washington, D.C.-based children's music program called Pancake Mountain, performing the song "See Fernando". The album received positive reviews, with Entertainment Weekly writing, "Consider Lewis the Emmylou Harris of the Silverlake set"[20] and Rolling Stone commenting that "her girlishly seductive vocals are more versatile than ever".[21] The A.V. Club, Spin, and NPR music critic Meredith Ochs named it among the best albums of the year.[22] [23] [24]
In 2008, Lewis released a second solo album, this time without the Watson Twins, titled Acid Tongue.
On July 29, 2014, Lewis released The Voyager. The album took five years to complete and is a reflection on Rilo Kiley's break-up and the death of her father.[25] The release of the album was preceded by the single "Just One of the Guys".[26] The music video for "Just One of the Guys" was released on July 15, 2014, through GQ and stars Lewis, Anne Hathaway, Kristen Stewart, Brie Larson, and Tennessee Thomas, former drummer of The Like (now disbanded).[27] Lewis also directed the music video.
On July 8, 2014, Lewis began "The Voyager" tour at the Ottawa Bluesfest in Ontario, Canada. She spent July of that year touring the United States. Her tour included performances at Newport Folk Festival, Lollapalooza, Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival, the Red Rocks Amphitheatre, the 2014 ITunes Festival in London, two performances at the Austin City Limits Music Festival, and the Life Is Beautiful Festival in Las Vegas.
On January 23, 2019, Lewis announced the release date of her new album On the Line would be March 22, 2019.[28] The lead single "Red Bull & Hennessy" garnered positive acclaim.[29]
On June 9, 2023, Lewis released a new album, Joy'All. She'd started writing for Joy'All while on tour to promote her previous album On the Line (2019), shortly before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Work resumed on the album in early 2021, when Lewis participated in a virtual songwriting workshop hosted by Beck.[30] The album was produced by Dave Cobb, who Lewis met while visiting Lucius at RCA Studio A in Nashville, Tennessee.[31]
In 2002, Lewis was asked to contribute vocals for the band The Postal Service. Lewis performed in the video for "We Will Become Silhouettes", and toured with the band in 2013 and again in 2023.
In 2003, Lewis contributed vocals to several tracks on the Cursive album The Ugly Organ.
In 2005, Lewis contributed to the UNICEF benefit song "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?", along with Sennett and Jimmy Tamborello.
In 2006, Lewis made a cameo in Episode 25, Season 1 of Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour, and six of her songs (three with the Watson Twins and three with Rilo Kiley) were featured in various episodes of the show.
In 2007, Lewis contributed vocals to various songs on Johnathan Rice's album Further North, and she appeared in the music video for "We're All Stuck Out In The Desert (And We're Gonna Die)". She provided vocals for a track on Dntel's Dumb Luck LP.
In 2008, Lewis contributed backing vocals to several songs on the Elvis Costello and the Imposters album Momofuku.
Later that year, Lewis voiced the role of the assistant director for Walt Disney Pictures' animated film Bolt (2008), and she also provided the song "Barking at the Moon."[32]
In March and April 2009, Lewis traveled to Australia for the first time, as an act for the V Festival, as well as a supporting act for Snow Patrol and performing one solo Sydney show.
On April 18, 2009, Lewis performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California.
On May 5, 2009, Lewis performed on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.[33]
Lewis makes an appearance on the track "Hard Enough", taken from the 2010 album Flamingo by fellow Las Vegan Brandon Flowers.
In 2013, Lewis created the music score for Tribeca Film's feature Very Good Girls. She provided original music and also included older music from her previous band, Rilo Kiley, such as the song "Go Ahead".[34]
In 2014, Lewis contributed an exclusive track to HBO's Girls, in collaboration with Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij titled "Completely Not Me". The song was featured in the Season 3 premiere "Females Only". The song is the second track on Girls Volume Two: All Adventurous Women Do.[35]
In 2016, Lewis contributed to She & Him's second Christmas album, Christmas Party, appearing on the track "Winter Wonderland".[36]
On June 25, 2019, Lewis performed "Wasted Youth" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.[37]
On October 28, 2019, Lewis is featured on the fifth issue of Archie Comics' comic book series Jughead’s Time Police, released on October 30.[38]
On November 13, 2019, it was announced Lewis would be an opening act for Harry Styles on the North American leg of his 2020 Love On Tour.[39]
In 2023, Lewis toured to support her new album Joy'All. She also made appearances on dates for The Postal Service reunion tour.[40]
In 2010, Lewis formed the duo Jenny and Johnny with her then-boyfriend, musician Johnathan Rice, and the pair released an album titled I'm Having Fun Now on Warner Bros. Records. In 2015, Rice and Lewis wrote the song "Cold One" for the film Ricki and the Flash.
In 2016, the trio Nice as Fuck, comprising Lewis, Erika Forster (of Au Revoir Simone), and Tennessee Thomas (of The Like), debuted at a Bernie Sanders benefit. The group opened on a number of tour dates for M. Ward.[41] [42]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Baby Makes Five | Laura Riddle | TV series; episode: "Pilot" | |
| 1983 | It's an Adventure, Charlie Brown | Ruby (voice) | TV film | |
| 1985 | Suburban Beat | Jennifer Morgan | TV film | |
| 1985 | The Twilight Zone | Sarah (ghost child) | TV series; segment: "If She Dies" | |
| 1986 | Convicted | Shelley Forbes | TV film | |
| 1986 | Webster | Kim | TV series; episode: "The Truth Hurts" | |
| 1986 | Life With Lucy | Becky McGibbon | TV series; 13 episodes | |
| 1987 | Uncle Tom's Cabin | Evangeline "Little Eva" St. Claire | TV film | |
| 1987 | The Golden Girls | Daisy (A Sunshine Cadet) | TV series; episode: "Old Friends" | |
| 1987 | The Charmings | Sara | TV series; episode: "A Charming Halloween" | |
| 1988 | A Place at the Table | Rachel Singer | TV film | |
| 1988 | Who Gets the Friends? | TV film | ||
| 1988 | My Father, My Son | Maya | TV film | |
| 1988 | Trading Hearts | Yvonne Rhonda Nottingham | Film | |
| 1988 | A Friendship in Vienna | Inge Dournenvald | TV film | |
| 1988 | Mr. Belvedere | Kimberly | TV series; episode: "Braces" | |
| 1988 | Growing Pains | Judy Jones | TV series; episode: "Ben's First Kiss" | |
| 1988 | Baby M | Tuesday | TV miniseries | |
| 1989 | Troop Beverly Hills | Hannah Nefler | Film | |
| 1989 | Just the Ten of Us | Pamela | TV series; episode: "Puberty Blues" | |
| 1989 | Have Faith | Angela | TV series; episode: "The Teacher" | |
| 1989 | Shannon's Deal | Neala Shannon | TV film; later adapted as a TV series of the same name | |
| 1989 | The Wizard | Haley | Film | |
| 1989 | Roseanne | Diane | TV series; episode: "Five of a Kind" | |
| 1989 | Free Spirit | Chris | TV series; episode: "Hallowinnie" | |
| 1989 | Baywatch | Alex | TV series; episode: "Shelter Me" | |
| 1990 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Defiant Daughter | Melanie Benson | TV film | |
| 1991 | Brooklyn Bridge | Katie Monahan | TV series; 18 episodes | |
| 1991 | Ellie | TV film | ||
| 1991 | Shannon's Deal | Neala Shannon | TV series; 11 episodes | |
| 1991 | Runaway Father | Marcia | TV film | |
| 1991 | Daddy | Melissa Watson | TV film | |
| 1992 | Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even | Corinne | Film | |
| 1994 | Murder, She Wrote | Leslie Walden | TV series; episode: "A Murderous Muse" | |
| 1994 | Runaway Daughters | Laura Cahn | TV film; originally aired as an episode of the TV series Rebel Highway | |
| 1996 | Sweet Temptation | Jade Larson | TV film | |
| 1996 | Run a Mile in My Shoes | Short film | ||
| 1996 | Foxfire | Rita Faldes | Film | |
| 1996 | Talk to Me | Kelly Reilly | TV film | |
| 1997 | Little Boy Blue | Traci Connor | Film | |
| 1998 | Pleasantville | Christin | Film | |
| 1999 | Get Real | Meg O'Donnell | TV series; episode: "Anatomy of a Rumor" | |
| 2000 | Once and Again | Jenny | TV series; episode: "Cat-in-Hat" | |
| 2001 | Don's Plum | Sara | Film; filmed 1995–96, but unreleased until 2001 | |
| 2008 | Bolt | Assistant Director (voice) | Film; also has two songs featured on the film's soundtrack | |
| 2010 | American Dad! | Amy (voice) | TV series; episode: "Merlot Down Dirty Shame" | |
| 2014 | Comedy Bang Bang | Herself | TV series; replacement bandleader, filling in for Reggie Watts (episode: "Zach Galifianakis Wears a One-Armed Jacket") | |
| 2015 | A Very Murray Christmas | The Waitress | TV film; Netflix Original | |
| 2019 | Jenny Lewis' On the Line Online | Host | JennyLewis.com streaming special |
See main article: Rilo Kiley discography.
See main article: Jenny Lewis discography.