Ashley Smith (singer)

Ashley Taylor Smith^[2] (neè Horn; born October 12, 1992 in San Bernardino, California), formerly known by her stage names Bambi Monroe, Princess Bambi Monroe and Taylor Horn, is an American entrepreneur and a former singer-songwriter, actress and vlogger/blogger and one-half of the English-American alternative punk duo The Trending (formerly Civilized Tears). She was once compared to then-fellow Kentwood native and singer Britney Spears by various media sources early on in her career; she was dubbed by English media as somewhat of a Britney wannabe or clone by the British media.^{[3][4][4][5][6][7]}

Smith was born in San Bernardino, California. In the course of her singing career, Smith has transitioned from performing country-western music to bubblegum pop to alternative punk rock music. Smith was an occasional actress, having appeared in an unaired PBS made-for-TV movie and two music videos for the band Civilized Tears, which she shot before she joined the band. In addition to her music and acting careers, Smith also filmed videos as a makeup guru, started a now defunct clothing line called Punklicious and worked as a baby photographer for a short time.^[8][9] She married Civilized Tears/The Trending founder Tim Bennett Smith in 2009 and joined the band in 2011. Smith and her husband both retired from the entertainment industry after their second child was born and gave up music, acting, blogging and vlogging altogether.

Biography and career

Smith was born in San Bernardino, California in 1992 to mother Angelina Capps-Johnson and an unknown father (last name Horn). Through her mother, she has a younger half-brother; Joey Johnson. After her parents separated, she later moved to Kentwood, Louisiana on her grandparents, Ronald and Lesley Jones' farm at the age of six. She took an interest in singing after being gifted with an old karaoke machine by her aunt. Smith then began singing locally in nursing homes, fairs, festivals and beauty pageants. She began writing songs at the age of nine and recorded her first album, taylor-made, a cover album of mostly country-western songs, in 2002. taylor-made became a minor hit in Great Britain.^[10] By 2004, she had written a country music single "There’s Somethin’ Wrong Here" and had recorded it in Nashville. During the same year, Smith made her first national television appearance on Access Hollywood.^[11] In 2004, she made a small appearance on Access Hollywood and released her first self-written single titled "There's Somethin' Wrong Here". She also filmed for the unaired PBS television film Artists in the Forest.

In 2005, Smith recorded her debut EP titled A Taylor Horn Christmas and made a brief appearance on Access Hollywood. Smith went on appear in the documentary Britney's Redneck Roots, a documentary aired in the United Kingdom, focusing on Britney Spears and the inhabitants of her hometown of Kentwood. Smith appeared alongside her grandmother Lesley and her then vocal coach, Bob Westbrook, a former vocal coach of Britney Spears.^[12] 2006 saw the first musical transition Smith made with her second album, Changes, a teen pop album. She and her grandmother Lesley Jones were detained for three hours in 2009 at John Lennon Airport while Monroe and Jones were traveling together from Nimes, France to the UK to visit friends and proceed with a promotional tour. Smith and her grandmother were later deported from the country.^[13][14]

Smith's last solo recording before her name change was the charity single "Lily's Lullaby", a song she wrote and dedicated to a young girl living with cancer. She transitioned to punk rock and changed her name from Taylor Horn to Bambi Monroe in 2011, her last solo album project to date, the EP Rock is a Drug, showcasing her new transition to punk rock. She appeared in the music videos "Unamerican" and "Anybody" for the band The Trending and later joined the band as a duo with English singer-songwriter Tim Bennett. In addition to singing in English, Smith could also sing in Spanish. ^[15]

In addition to music, Smith also dabbled as a beauty vlogger and blogger, reviewing makeup products on YouTube and her makeup blog, BambiGirlBeauty. She was named ambassador for Belleboo, a line of natural beauty products.^[16] Smith also wrote blogs for the website as a "Chatterchick".^[17]

Personal life

Smith met English singer-songwriter Tim Bennett Smith on a trip to England to a photo shoot with photographer Alan Strutt and later began dating him.^[18] She then married her husband on August 11, 2009. Smith and her family identify themselves as Christians.

Smith and her husband Tim have three children; son Luca Benjamin Bennett; born April 14, 2014, daughter Bella Lina Rose; born June 11, 2015 and son Ezri Eden Bennett; born May 11, 2017. Smith is also stepmother to her husband's eldest daughter from a previous relationship; CoCo Smith.^[19]

After the birth of her daughter in 2015, Smith and her husband Tim decided to retire from music. She currently lives in Tennessee on an off grid farm with her husband and children and is an independent distributor for Young Living's brand of essential oils and products.

Filmography

Discography

References

External links

• Official website
• Ashley Smith on IMDb