Southern grew up in Wichita, Kansas and landed her first starring role in a pre-Broadway theatrical production at the age of 10.^[2] As a teenager, she co-hosted a regional teen talk show for WB Kansas .^[3] At 20, Southern graduated from the University of Miami, earning a B.S. in Anthropology and a B.A. in Journalism. While in school, she competed in American Idol and received a grant to travel to Peru to study the shamanic use of ayahuasca among rainforest communities.^[4]

Emerging technology and storytelling edit

In 2017, Southern received a grant from the Google Creator Lab to create experimental VR content. One piece, New World, won AT&T's 2020 Film Award ^[5] and another, Life Support, was nominated for a Streamy Award.^[6][7] Southern was also chosen to be an ambassador for The Geena Davis Institute Gender in Media #ShesGotDrive campaign to promote female voices in media.^[8]

Southern's immersive content work led her to begin producing music with AI-based musical composition tools. In 2018, she released a music album titled I AM AI, where the instrumental backing music was generated using a variety of AI-based tools including Amper, an open source product which allows users to create music based on user generated inputs, IBM Watson Beat, Google Magenta and AIVA.^[9][10] Her first single, "Break Free", was released in August 2017, and features music generated using Amper.^[11] Her song "New World" was tokenized using blockchain technology to enable hundreds of collaborators to split backend royalties on sales and streams of the track.^[12] The album received international attention, and radio play in the US.^[13]

In April 2019, Southern debuted her first full-length feature documentary, I AM HUMAN, which explored the co-evolution of the human brain and technology. I AM HUMAN had its worldwide premiere at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival in New York and was co-directed and produced by Southern.^[14] The Winner of four Best Feature awards following its premiere, I AM HUMAN chronicled the journey of three real-world pioneers with implantable brain-computer interfaces. I AM HUMAN won numerous awards including Best of the Fest at the 2019 El Dorado Film Festival,^[15] Audience Choice for Best Feature at the 2019 Eastern Oregon Film Festival,^[16] Outstanding First Feature at the Tallgrass Film Festival, Best Feature at Other Worlds Austin^[17] and Best Director at the Oslo Film Festival.^[18] I AM HUMAN was released on March 10, 2020 on video-on-demand platforms.^[19]

Digital media and YouTube edit

On July 2, 2007, Southern released her first YouTube video, which garnered more than a million views and appearances on FOX and MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews.^[20]

Shortly after, Taryn was appointed the face of AT&T U-Verse's entertainment channel and Cosmopolitan's first daily online series.^[21] In addition, she starred in the first online series for The WB, Sorority Forever^[22]

In 2009, Southern wrote/produced her first comedic musical web series, which later sold to MTV as a half-hour comedy pilot, with David Zuckerman as co-writer/executive producer.^[23]

In 2013, Southern released a musical comedy album, which reached #20 on the iTunes comedy chart and was recognized by Billboard.^[24] The song “Crush”, which was on the album, made it to the Top 100 in radio play that August.^[25] Southern ultimately released more than 50 original songs and covers as well as an 80's inspired album, Flashback Friday.^[26]

Southern launched her YouTube channel in 2012 by releasing one video per week for a year. In 2014, Southern's YouTube Channel was listed on New Media Rockstars Top 100 Channels, ranked at #52.^[27] As of 2015, she had more than 450,000 subscribers.

By 2017, Southern had stopped posting regular content on her YouTube channel. She cited the YouTube algorithm as problematic for the digital community, and a desire to focus on other creative endeavors and experiments with emerging technology.^[28]

TV hosting, radio, acting, singing edit

When Southern was seventeen, she was part of American Idol season three's Top 50.^[29] She went on to host and executive produce DirecTV's first original series, Project My World, before landing other jobs in the entertainment industry and building a YouTube channel.^[30] She was later a live correspondent on the US version of The X Factor.,^[31] a correspondent on Discovery Channel's Shark After Dark Live, which earned the #1 ratings spot in its time slot.^[32] Southern was later hired to continue her role as correspondent for Naked After Dark on Discovery Channel, a companion late-night show to Naked and Afraid.^[33] She also debuted a series with Marriott that was later renewed for a second season,^[34][35] and launched a digital talk show with Maker Studios.^[36] The series, which launched in 2015 and 2016, was an exploration of internet culture, and featured guests ranging from celebrity/science enthusiast Seth MacFarlane and King Bach to psychedelic advocate Zach Leary and activist musician Kate Nash.^[37]

Southern's television acting roles included: a recurring role in the fifth season of the CBS comedy series Rules of Engagement, as well as guest starring on New Girl, American Dad!, The League and Guys with Kids.^[38][39]

In 2021, Southern filed a civil complaint in California Superior Court against her ex-fiancé Bryan Johnson. Half of Southern’s claims were sent to arbitration due to an employment agreement. As of September 2023, her additional claims were still pending at the state court.^[40] In the fall of 2023, the case was settled out of court.^[41]

Film/TV edit

• Flashback Friday (2015)
• I AM AI (2018)

• Official website  
• Taryn Southern at IMDb