Photo: David Shankbone from USA / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Joan Jett matters to me less for any single song than for the door she kicked open. When the industry told a teenage girl with a guitar that rock wasn't for her, she co-founded the Runaways, and when labels rejected her solo work over and over, she built her own imprint, an act of self-determination that predates the indie ethos everyone now romanticizes. That leather-and-three-chords sound still feels honest because it was never a costume. Every woman fronting a rock band today walks a path she paved. The Godmother of Punk title is accurate, but I would go further: she is one of rock's great refusals to ask permission.
Overview
Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin; September 22, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, businesswoman, and actress. Often referred to as the "Godmother of Punk", she is regarded as a rock icon and an influential figure in popular rock music. Jett co-founded and performed with the Runaways from 1975 to 1979, with whom she released four albums.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Joan Jett
- Name (Japanese)
- ジョーン・ジェット
- Reading
- じょーん・じぇっと
- Born
- September 22, 1958 (age 67)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Virgo / Dog
- Origin
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- guitarist / singer / actor / singer-songwriter / record producer
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Wheaton High School
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Guitarist — see all → · Singer — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-11
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.