Carrie Brownstein facts for kids

{{Infobox person | name = Carrie Brownstein | image = Carrie Brownstein (cropped).jpg | caption = Carrie Brownstein in 2012 | birth_name = Carrie Rachel Brownstein | birth_date = (1974-09-27) September 27, 1974 (age 50) | birth_place = Seattle, Washington, U.S.

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| module = Musical career

Carrie Rachel Brownstein (born September 27, 1974) is an American musician, actress, writer, and comedian. She became well-known as a member of the band Excuse 17. Later, she helped form the rock trio Sleater-Kinney.

During a break from Sleater-Kinney, she started another band called Wild Flag. Around this time, Brownstein also created and starred in funny video sketches with Fred Armisen. These sketches grew into the popular TV show Portlandia (2011–2018). The show won important awards like the Emmy and Peabody Awards.

Sleater-Kinney eventually got back together. As of 2023, Carrie Brownstein was touring with the band. She was also promoting her new book about her life.

Contents

• Early Life and Music Start
• Music Career Highlights

• Excuse 17: A New Sound
• Sleater-Kinney: A Main Focus
• Other Music Projects
• Music Awards

• Writing Career
• Acting Career
• Personal Life
• Filmography
• See also

Early Life and Music Start

Carrie Brownstein was born in Seattle, Washington. She grew up in Redmond, Washington. Her parents divorced when she was 14. She was then raised by her father. Carrie has a younger sister. Her family is Jewish.

She went to Lake Washington High School. For her last year, she moved to The Overlake School.

Brownstein started playing guitar at age 15. She took lessons from Jeremy Enigk. She later shared that her parents made her save her own money for the guitar. This made her stick with it.

After high school, she went to Western Washington University. She then transferred to The Evergreen State College. In 1997, Brownstein graduated from Evergreen. She focused on how language is used in society. She stayed in Olympia, Washington, for three years. Then she moved to Portland, Oregon.

Music Career Highlights

Carrie Brownstein performing at Lollapalooza in 2006.

Excuse 17: A New Sound

While at Evergreen College, Brownstein met other students like Corin Tucker and Kathleen Hanna. With Becca Albee and CJ Phillips, she formed the band Excuse 17. This band was important in the riot grrrl movement. This movement was about women in punk music. It played a big role in third-wave feminism, which focused on women's rights. Excuse 17 often toured with Tucker's band, Heavens to Betsy.

Sleater-Kinney: A Main Focus

After Excuse 17 and Heavens to Betsy ended, Sleater-Kinney became Brownstein and Tucker's main band. They recorded their first album in early 1994. This was during a trip to Australia. The album was released the next spring. They played with different drummers. Janet Weiss joined the band in 1996.

After their first album, they released six more studio albums. They took a break in 2006. In 2012, Brownstein said Sleater-Kinney still planned to play music. On October 20, 2014, she announced a new album, No Cities to Love. It came out in January 2015. They also released a music video for their first song, "Bury Our Friends."

Music critics like Greil Marcus and Robert Christgau called Sleater-Kinney one of the most important rock bands of the early 2000s. In 2015, a music editor called them the greatest rock band of the past two decades.

Other Music Projects

Carrie Brownstein performing with Sleater-Kinney in London in 2023.

Brownstein also worked with Mary Timony from the band Helium. They called themselves The Spells. They released an album called The Age of Backwards E.P. in 1999.

In 1999, Brownstein, Lois Maffeo, and Peter Momtchiloff released a song as The Tentacles.

In 2009, Brownstein and Janet Weiss worked on music for a documentary film. It was called !Women Art Revolution.

In September 2010, Brownstein shared her newest band, Wild Flag. It included Janet Weiss, Mary Timony, and Rebecca Cole. Brownstein said she needed music again. She called her friends, and they formed the band. They released their self-titled album in September 2011. They toured in 2011 and played at the CMJ Music Marathon.

Music Awards

In 2006, Rolling Stone magazine asked its readers to name the 25 "Most Underrated Guitarists of All-Time." Carrie Brownstein was the only woman on that list.

Writing Career

Brownstein started writing before Sleater-Kinney took a break. She interviewed famous people for The Believer magazine. She also wrote reviews for music-related video games for Slate.

From 2007 to 2010, Brownstein wrote a blog for NPR Music called "Monitor Mix." She wrote a final post to thank her readers.

Brownstein's book about her life, called Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl, came out on October 27, 2015. It was published by Riverhead Books.

In 2020, Ann Wilson, the lead singer of the band Heart, said that Brownstein was writing the script for a movie about Heart.

Acting Career

Carrie Brownstein with Fred Armisen at the 2011 Peabody Awards. Their show Portlandia won an award.

Brownstein has acted in several projects. She calls acting a "hobby." She was in short films like Fan Mail and Getting Stronger Every Day. Brownstein and Fred Armisen made funny video skits as a comedy team called "ThunderAnt." She also starred in the 2010 independent film Some Days Are Better Than Others.

After their ThunderAnt videos, Brownstein and Armisen created Portlandia. This was a sketch comedy show filmed in Portland. They both starred in the show and wrote for it. The show started in January 2011. It was very popular and ended after its eighth season in 2018.

From 2014 to 2019, Brownstein played the character Syd in the Amazon Studios show Transparent.

In 2015, Brownstein played Genevieve Cantrell in the film Carol. Most of her scenes were cut from the final movie. The film first showed at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2015.

Brownstein has also been a guest on shows like Saturday Night Live, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Man Seeking Woman.

Brownstein starred in and wrote the movie The Nowhere Inn. This 2020 film was a mockumentary (a fake documentary) thriller. She worked on it with Annie Clark, also known as St. Vincent.

Personal Life

When Carrie Brownstein was 21, Spin magazine wrote an article that shared she was bisexual. The article mentioned she had dated her bandmate Corin Tucker when Sleater-Kinney first started. The song "One More Hour" is about their breakup.

In a 2010 interview, Brownstein said she identifies as bisexual. She said people often just assume things about her. She added, "It's like, 'OK. I'm bisexual. Just ask.'"

Brownstein and Fred Armisen have a very close friendship. They developed it while working on ThunderAnt. Brownstein has called it "one of the most intimate, functional, romantic, but nonsexual relationships [they have] ever had." Armisen said their relationship has everything he ever wanted, except for the physical part.

Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Carrie Brownstein para niños

• List of LGBT people from Portland, Oregon