Taryn Manning is an actress and singer who is best known for her roles in films like 8 Mile, Hustle & Flow, and Hawaii Five-0. However, before becoming a successful entertainer, Manning had some trouble with the law that resulted in prison time. This article will give an overview of Manning’s background, discuss the issues and charges that led to her incarceration, and look at how the experience impacted her life and career.
Early Life and Career of Taryn Manning
Taryn Manning was born in 1978 in Falls Church, Virginia. Her family moved frequently during her childhood before settling in Tucson, Arizona when she was in high school. Manning got involved in dance and acting from a young age, eventually dropping out of high school at age 17 to pursue performing full time.
In the late 1990s, Manning landed small roles in films like White Boy, Speedway Junky, and 1999. Her breakthrough came in 2002 when she was cast as Alison “DJ” Jeffries in the Eminem hip hop drama 8 Mile. This kicked off a successful acting career for Manning. She went on to appear in Hustle & Flow, Jack and Jill vs. the World, Hawaii Five-0, Sons of Anarchy, and other TV shows and movies throughout the 2000s.
The Crimes and Arrests Leading to Prison Time
However, just as her entertainment career was taking off in the early 2000s, Manning also had a series of run-ins with the law that ultimately resulted in jail time.
In 2002, she was arrested for receiving stolen property and loitering but the charges were eventually dropped. In 2004, Manning was again arrested on charges of assault and obstructing an officer after getting in a fight in a bar. She spent 60 days in jail after being convicted on the obstruction charge.
Then in 2007, Manning was arrested once more for assaulting her then-boyfriend, musician Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The assault charges were eventually dropped but Manning pleaded no contest to disturbing the peace. For violating her parole, she spent 28 days in jail in Los Angeles.
Impact on Manning’s Life and Career
Being incarcerated had significant effects on Manning both professionally and personally:
Career Slowdown
- Manning’s career lost momentum while locked up as she could not audition for roles or work on projects.
Financial Difficulties
- In addition to lost income while jailed, legal fees and fines imposed additional financial stress.
Personal Relationships Strained
- The arrests stemming from fights and disputes weighed on Manning’s relationships with loved ones.
Substance Abuse Issues
- Manning has been open about past substance abuse struggles, which likely tied into her arrests.
Reputation Damaged
- Legal troubles, even if charges were dropped, hurt Manning’s reputation in Hollywood.
However, Manning has managed to recover and continue growing her career after learning from her mistakes. She says she is now clean and sober.
Manning’s Life and Work After Prison
After her release from jail in 2007, Manning worked to get her career back on track. She landed a lead role as Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Doggett in the Netflix series Orange is the New Black. This long-running and popular show has been Manning’s biggest role to date.
She has also appeared in movies like Periphery, The Perfect House, and Marauders in the years after her incarceration. In addition, Manning continues work as a musician, collaborating with artist DJ Mia Moretti.
Outside of acting and music, Manning practices Buddhism and meditates regularly. She credits her faith with helping maintain sobriety and find peace of mind after past struggles.
While certainly a challenging period of her life, Manning seems to have learned important lessons from her experiences in jail. In interviews, she is open about striving to be a better person. The arrests were a low point, but also served as a wake up call before more serious consequences occurred.
Key Factors Behind Taryn Manning’s Incarceration
Looking at the details of Taryn Manning’s arrests and convictions provides some insight into the key factors that led to her serving time:
- Hot tempered personality – By her own admission, Manning struggles to control anger, leading to violent outbursts.
- Substance abuse issues – Drugs and alcohol likely impaired Manning’s judgement and made crimes more likely during the 2000s.
- Violent romantic relationships – Toxic relationships enabled her issues and contributed to arrests related to domestic disputes.
- Reckless behavior – General irresponsibility and reckless choices resulted in arrests for theft and public intoxication.
- Hang-ups over childhood – Manning has hinted at a difficult childhood that drove her rebellious nature.
- Downward spiral tendencies – Early arrests kicked off a snowball effect of more legal trouble.
Getting locked up was almost an inevitability given the trajectory Manning’s life was on in her early career. Thankfully, she changed directions after paying the price with jail time.
Conclusion
Taryn Manning’s repeated arrests for theft, assault, and disturbance of the peace in the early 2000s ultimately led to the actress serving multiple short stints in jail, derailing her career temporarily. While certainly a difficult period filled with poor choices, Manning has learned from the experience and changed for the better in more recent years.
After being released from jail in 2007, she has resurrected her career playing significant roles in Orange is the New Black and other projects. While she dislikes discussing her criminal past, Manning is candid about overcoming former struggles with substance abuse and anger issues.
The arrests clearly served as a much needed wake-up call. While her reputation and finances took a hit, enduring these consequences earlier in life likely prevented even greater trouble down the road. Manning seems to have emerged wiser and more focused on keeping her life on a positive path.