Bambi Monroe

Ashley Smith (born Taylor Ashley Horn on October 12, 1992) is a semi-retired American singer-songwriter, actress and vlogger/blogger. Monroe is also one-half of the English-American alternative punk duo The Trending (formerly Civlized Tears). Monroe was formerly referred to Princess Bambi Monroeand Bambi Monroe briefly. She was once compared to 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.
Monroe was born in Redlands, California. In the course of her singing career, Monroe has transitioned from performing country-western music to bubblegum pop to alternative punk rock music. Monroe is an occasional actress, having appeared in an unaired PBS made-for-TV movie and two music videos for the band Civlized Tears, which she shot before she joined the band. In addition to her music, Smith also filmed videos as a makeup guru and worked as a baby photographer for a short time.Monroe started her own baby photography company called Bella Bambina Photography in 2015. She married The Trending founder Tim Bennett Smith in 2009 and joined the band in 2011. Smith and her husband retired from music after their first child was born in 2014.

Monroe was born in Redlands, California in 1992 to mother Angelina Johnson-White and an unknown father. She later moved to Kentwood, Louisiana on her grandparents, Ronald and Lesley's farm at the age of six. She took an interest in singing after being gifted with an old karaoke machine by her aunt. Smith 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. By 2004, she had written a country music single "There’s Somethin’ Wrong Here" and had recorded it in Nashville. During the same year, Horn made her first national television appearance on Access Hollywood. 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, Monroe recorded her debut EP titled A Taylor Horn Christmas and made a brief appearance on Access Hollywood. Monroe 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. Monroe appeared alongside her grandmother Lesley and her then vocal coach, Bob Westbrook, Spears' former vocal coach. 2006 saw the first musical transition Monroe 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. Monroe and her grandmother were later deported from the country. Monroe'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, recording the EP, Rock is a Drug, showcasing her new transition. 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 music, Monroe is also a fashion and beauty vlogger and blogger. Monroe reviews makeup products on YouTube and her makeup blog, BambiGirlBeauty. She was named ambassdor for Belleboo, a line of natural beauty products. Monroe also writes blogs for the website as a "Chatterchick".

Monroe met English singer-songwriter Tim Bennett Smith on a trip to England to a photoshoot with photographer Alan Strutt and later began dating him. Monroe married Smith on August 11, 2009 and gave birth to her firstborn; son Luca Benjamin Bennett on April 14, 2014. She later gave birth to her second child; daughter Bella Lina Rose, on June 11, 2015. Monroe is also stepmother to her husband's firstborn daughter from a previous relationship; CoCo. Monroe currently lives in Tennessee in an off grid home with her family as a distributor for Young Living essential oils. Monroe identifies herself as a Christian.

Albums

• taylor-made (2002) (as Taylor Horn)
• Changes (2006) (as Taylor Horn)

EPs

• A Taylor Horn Christmas (2005) (as Taylor Horn)
• Rock is a Drug (2011) (as Bambi Monroe)

Solo singles

• "There's Somethin' Wrong Here" (2004) (as Taylor Horn)
• "Sunlight in Your Eyes" (2009) (as Taylor Horn)
• "Lily's Lullaby" (2010) (as Taylor Horn)

Singles with The Trending

• "Tears in Your Eyes" (2010)
• "Stars" (2014)
• "Glitter Eyes" (2015)