a monthly look at the faces that have made history
joan jett
The original riot grrrl. The godmother of punk. And now, the darling of this year's Sundance Film Festival? More on the Utah connection later, but first let's briefly revisit Joan Jett's roots. The baby-faced brunette with the shag haircut and platform boots was a fully formed badass from the day she took the stage as a founding member of the Runaways. Back in 1976, when the band played its first gig at CBGB, they were dismissed as a gimmick—there was no way five kittenish teenage girls from L.A. could really rock. Indeed, the Runaways' self-titled debut barely scraped the bottom of the Billboard charts. But the band went on to inspire countless young women to pick up guitars, and gritty tracks such as "Cherry Bomb" are now acknowledged classics. And Jett, of course, went on to become a superstar in her own right.
When the Runaways broke up in 1979, the singer packed up her sinewy guitar licks, her sexual swagger, and her world-class sneer and got to work on the songs that would make her a household name. Her biggest hit, "I Love Rock n Roll," spent seven consecutive weeks at no. 1 in 1982. Now Jett is back in the spotlight: Twilight star Kristen Stewart has donned the singer's iconic 'do in order to play her in Floria Sigismondi's biopic The Runaways, which will premiere at Sundance later this month. Put another dime in the jukebox, baby.
—Maya Singer
Beauty Icon: Joan Jett
Born Joan Marie Larkin in Pennsylvania in 1958, Joan Jett moved with her family to Los Angeles when she was 12. She didn't waste any time ensconcing herself in the city's glam rock scene, and at 15, she was discovered by Runaways manager and all-around Svengali Kim Fowley.
The Runaways lineup was in constant flux over the course of the band's five-year career. The original front woman was Micki Steele; when she left, Cherie Currie took over vocal duties. It wasn't until Currie departed the band in 1977 that Jett stepped up to the mic full-time.
Joan Jett wasn't the only member of the Runaways to have a successful music career after the band split up: Micki Steele eventually joined the Bangles, and guitarist Lita Ford notched a string of pop metal hits in the eighties.
But Jett (left, with Debbie Harry) was the only former Runaway to enter the pantheon of rock goddesses.
Jett's triumph was hard-won: Her first solo record had to be released independently, because no label was willing to sign her. Re-released under the name Bad Reputation, the album proved a sleeper hit and set the stage for Jett to round up backing band the Blackhearts and record 1981's platinum-selling I Love Rock n Roll.
When "I Love Rock n Roll" hit no. 1 in the spring of 1982, Jett had proved once and for all that a woman could tear up classic three-chord rock with as much muscle as any man.
Though she never duplicated the smash success of "I Love Rock n Roll," Jett stayed busy through the eighties, working peripatetically as an actress (she starred in Paul Schrader's film Light of Day) and a producer and returning to the charts with her 1988 hit "I Hate Myself for Loving You."
In the nineties, Jett was embraced by the new generation of riot grrrl rockers. She worked with three of her admirers, Bikini Kill's Kathleen Hanna, L7's Donita Sparks, and Babes in Toyland's Kat Bjelland, on her 1994 album Pure and Simple.
In 2006, Joan Jett returned with the stripped-down Sinner and embarked on a worldwide tour that included a headline slot at the Warped festival.
Though she made the style her own, Jett actually stole her signature shag from another influential musical figure. As a teenager in Los Angeles, Jett was obsessed with glam-rocker Suzi Quatro, who copped her shag from the likes of David Bowie.
With actress Kristen Stewart, who will portray Jett—with iconic 'do in place—in the biopic The Runaways.
With actress Kristen Stewart, who will portray Jett—with iconic 'do in place—in the biopic The Runaways.
Kristen Stewart as Jett in The Runaways, with co-star Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie.
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