14 Facts About The Coolest Runaway, Joan Jett

I Love Rock ’n’ Roll.

Published 2 months ago in Wow

Though Joan Jett may be a Grammy-winning, chart-topping Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, the music legend is more than just her accolades, inspiring social movements, scoring TV series, and Barbie doll blueprints.

From her favorite bands to tour with, to her memories of performing in a Broadway show, here are 14 facts about the coolest Runaway, Joan Jett.

1
The Original Riot Grrrl
Jett has often been touted as the inspiration behind the ‘90s Riot Grrrl movement.

2
Guitar Hero
Joan Jett was named by Rolling Stone as one of the greatest guitarists of all time in both their 2003 and 2023 lists.

3
Famous Friends
Alongside Green Day and Foo Fighters, Jett has named Alice Cooper and Motorhead among her favorite bands she’s toured with. “Motorhead just sonically is SO INTENSE,” she wrote. “You physically get knocked over. It was fun because I knew all those guys from the Runaways days, and it's fun because we're still doing this and all on the same tour. It was a blast.”
4
‘I Love Rock ’n’ Roll’
“Joan Jett saw 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll' being performed on TV seven years before it made her famous. She first released it as a B-side which was recorded with two of the S—Pistols.”

5
Barbie Girl
Jett has her own Barbie doll, released by Mattel back in 2009.
6
From Icon to Icon
Jett praised Kristen Stewart’s performance as her in ‘The Runaways,’ a 2010 biopic detailing her first band. “I do think she did a good job,” she wrote in a 2013 Reddit AMA. “I think she was extremely dedicated to it, chopped all her hair off and really immersed herself in everything she could find about the Runaways and I helped her find some things, told her some things that I had never told anybody ever, not even for the book."
7
What’s In A Name?
For several years, the musician — born Joan Larkin – asserted that her stage surname “Jett” was actually her mother’s maiden name. She later confessed that such was not actually the case.

8
'Freaks and Geeks' Fame
Jett’s song “Bad Reputation” was used as the theme song for the short-lived Judd Apatow series, "Freaks and Geeks."
9
Rocking Out
Jett said she learned to play guitar on her own, teaching herself with the help of a “learn how to play guitar by yourself book.”
10
Career Girl
Before cementing herself as a rock legend, Jett considered several careers over the years. “Before I was in a band, I wanted to be everything from a vet, an astronaut, an archeologist was a big one,” she wrote. “It could be very wide-ranging because I had a lot of different interests including music so I'm very happy where I wound up.”

11
Comic Icon
Jett and her band, The Blackhearts, inspired a character in the ‘Bloom Country’ comic strip — Tess Turbo, who played with a group known as the Blackheads.
12
Cool Ink
Jett got her first tattoo with her Runaways bandmate, Cherie Currie. “We both went out and she got a cherry on her shoulder and I got a jet on my left hip diving into the jungle type thing,” she explained. “I remember my father giving me s— when he saw the bandaid on my hip, asking ‘What did you do’ but he didn't find out.”
13
Hosting Gigs
In the early 2000s, Jett hosted show about movies and video shorts for Maryland’s PBS syndicate called ‘Independent Eye.’

14
Broadway Baby
Joan Jett played Columbia in the 2000 Broadway revival of ‘The Rocky Horror Show.’ “It was a BLAST,” she recalled of her time in the cast. “It was scary, I didn't know if I'd be able to do it, it was different and I had never done anything like it before.”