Taryn It Up

aryn Manning is a media hun'icane. Not

a lot of resumes can claim high-profile adventures in act-

ing, singing, dancing, fashion and deejaying. Ask her about life and she'll tell you it's a celebration: "I want to live in light and love and laughter and rainbows!" This is news given that she's known as a dark princess on the big and small screens. Taryn played Eminem's screwed-over ex in 8 Mile, the cornrowed hooker in Hustle & Flow and more recently a wounded wild child on Hawaii Five-O. The 32-year-old wants you to see her lighter side too, so here you have it. Born in Virginia to a musician dad and a dancer mom, Taryn caught the performance bug early. She studied jazz and ballet as a kid and earned a state karate championship while living in Tucson. When she started acting classes she met a certain student named Kirsten Dunst, with whom she later appeared in Crazy/ Beautiful (the dark princess played a drug-addled mess—quite beauti­fully). As a singer and songwriter, Taryn launched the electro-pop duo Boomkat with her brother in 2003, scoring a number one dance-club hit with "The Wreckoning." Early this summer she'll release a new CD, currently untitled. "The new music shows off the playful side of me," she says. One track, called "So Talented," aired on Melrose Place. Taryn was recently cast as Sandra Good in the feature film Manson Girls. As for her sexuality, she says, "I'm not shy about sex. I enjoy being a little out there with a Flip camera sometimes." Hey, life is a celebration. "I want to smile," Taryn says. "I want to be sexy. I want to be a one-woman show."

*-0's

is a triple

threat: actWPBfer-songwriter

and now Playboy cover girl. Climb

inside her secret fantasy retreat

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See more of Taryn at playboy.com/manning.