Kriti Mehrotra
As a Chris Smith directorial documentary revolving around tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson as he attempted to step into immortality, Netflix’s ‘Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever’ is unlike any other. That’s because it explores the strict regimen some have for over 150 days with over 100 supplements of different kinds, all to potentially conquer the aging process. Among those to thus be mentioned in this original was his ex-girlfriend and ex-fiance Taryn Southern.
Taryn Southern Has Been in The Public Eye Since the 1990s
Although not much regarding Taryn’s early years is known as of writing, we do know he was raised in Wichita, Kansas, which is where he first began composing music at the age of 10. According to reports, she did so with computer software, only for her to then find herself in the pre-broadway musical Jane Eyre as Young Jane, opening countless doors for her. This resulted in him making and releasing her first LP, Hello World, while she was still in high school.
It thus comes as no surprise that by the time Taryn was 17, she was competing in the semi-finals of ‘American Idol’ and getting a real insight into the world of entertainment. Nevertheless, she never once let her studies slip, either. In fact, Taryn attended the University of Miami on an academic scholarship, graduating magna cum laude with a double degree in anthropology as well as in mixed media journalism. This was also around the time when she was given a grant to travel to Peru to study the shamanic use of ayahuasca among rainforest communities.
Taryn Southern Was an Influencer Before Being an Influencer Was a Thing
It was in 2007 when Taryn uploaded her first video on YouTube, where she spoke of not just music but also her travels, which subsequently helped her develop a reputation as a millennial marketing whiz about all things entertainment and technology. She then established a one-woman consulting company in 2013, Happy Cat Media, all the while also creating musical comedy shows, co-hosting late-night Discovery Channel projects, and guest-starring on primetime network shows to speak about her work. As if that’s not enough, by this point, as her popularity online had grown, she even decided to spread her wings as an actress.
Apart from creating digital series from the ground up for Conde Naste, AirBnB, The Today Show, Snapchat, and Maker Studios, Taryn guest starred in shows like ‘New Girl,’ ‘Rules of Engagement,’ and ‘The League,’ all the while evolving as a presenter too. In fact, she served as a host on The American Music Awards, The Grammys’ Carpet, The X Factor Pre-Show, Discovery Channel’s Shark After Dark, and her own weekend summer countdown show for Sirius XM’s called “The Pulse.” She then also decided to create ‘Project MyWorld,’ a television series that followed her as she traveled the globe to meet her 50,000+ MySpace friends, helping her reach new heights.
It’s also imperative to note that Taryn hadn’t stopped making music at any point during these years. Her song “Crush” was in the Mediabase Top 200 radio charts in 2013, and she was featured as a “new and noteworthy artist” on Billboard. Then, her second album, ‘Flashback Friday’ (2015), which was admittedly her ode to all her favorite songs from the 1980s, got more than two million streams. As if that’s not enough, in 2017, she pushed the boundaries of her creative work and composed the world’s first AI album before finding herself in the world of visual reality and blockchains, too.
Taryn Southern and Bryan Johnson’s Relationship Was Complicated
It was reportedly around 2016 when Taryn and Bryan first came across one another thanks to both their involvement in the tech industry, unaware they would soon end up falling head over heels in love. Therefore, they actually even got engaged, with her also landing a job at his company, Kernal, before the late 2010s turned her entire world upside down in more ways than one as she got diagnosed with breast cancer. As per her accounts, she had become largely financially dependent on him by late 2017 owing to her having no source of income apart from her consultation for Kernal, which affected her a lot.
Taryn did have her documentary ‘I Am Human’ in 2019, but the success of it was marred for her owing to her cancer diagnosis not long after and the fact she and Bryan soon broke up. According to reports, it was he who broke up with her owing to his medical issues, going as far as to call her a “bad deal” and a “net negative,” but he has always denied making such comments. What followed was reportedly him asking her to sign an extensive NDA, wherein he even offered one year’s worth of financial support — $5,000 a month for rent, $7,000 a month for living expenses, plus up to $5,000 for a mover — but made it contingent to her signing a separation agreement NDA.
Her lawyer at the time advised her not to sign it, which kickstarted an entire legal battle between them, with her even making claims of him financially and emotionally taking advantage of her. But alas, since she was an employee at KErnals, her claims first had to be litigated through arbitration, and she not only lost the lawsuit but was also ordered to pay her ex’s legal bills, which came to $584,199.16. In July 2023, Bryan also filed a motion for sanctions against her lawyers for alleging that the arbitrator was corrupt, for which they were fined an additional $2,500 for making frivolous arguments. None of her appeals since then have panned out either.
Taryn Southern Is Still Shining in the Entertainment Industry
Despite the troubles within her personal life and the lawsuits it has resulted in, Taryn continues to be a proud professional in the world of AI, neurotech, and creative strategies. In fact, today, the cancer-free Los Angeles resident serves as the Founder, Keynote Speaker, and AI Strategist for her own 2018 established organization, Far Future, all the while also serving as a Chief Storyteller Officer turned Special Project Manager at Blackrock Neurotech. We should mention that while she stopped serving as a YouTuber in 2018, Happy Cat Media officially closed its doors in 2021. Yet, she remains wholly dedicated as a creative technologist and even plans on launching an AI Bootcamp in early 2025.
Read More: Ellen Huff and Richard Johnson: Where Are Bryan Johnson’s Parents Now?
