Ashley Smith (singer)

Ashley Taylor Smith (née Horn; born October 12, 1992 in San Bernardino, California, United States), formerly known by her stage names Bambi Monroe, Princess Bambi Monroe and Taylor Horn, is an American blogger, vlogger, entrepreneur and a former singer-songwriter and actress. She was one-half of the English-American alternative punk duo The Trending (formerly Civilized Tears). She was compared to Kentwood-native singer Britney Spears by various media sources early on in her career.

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. 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.

Biography and career
Smith was born in San Bernardino, California, in 1992, to 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 moved to Kentwood, Louisiana. She lived on her grandparents, Ronald and Lesley Jones', farm from the age of six. She took an interest in singing after being given an old karaoke machine by her aunt. Smith sang 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, Smith made her first national television appearance on Access Hollywood. She also filmed for the unaired PBS television film Artists in the Forest.

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

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 (sometimes using the form Princess Bambi Monro) in 2011. Her last solo recording, the EP Rock is a Drug, showcased her new sound. She appeared in the music videos "Unamerican" and "Anybody" for the band Civilized Tears 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.

In addition to music, Smith also appeared 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. Smith also wrote blogs for the website as a "Chatterchick". She now runs a blog along with her husband on Facebook titled Pioneers with Babies, which documents their lives in the mountains of Tennessee.

Personal life
Smith met English singer-songwriter Tim Bennett Smith on a trip to England for a photo shoot with photographer Alan Strutt. She then married her husband on August 11, 2009. Smith and her family identify themselves as Christians.

Smith and her husband Tim have four children: son Luca Benjamin Bennett; born April 14, 2014, daughter Bella Lina Rose; born June 11, 2015; son Ezri Eden Bennett; born May 11, 2017 and daughter Bindi Twyla Mirai; born August 1, 2019. Smith is also stepmother to her husband's eldest daughter from a previous relationship; CoCo Smith. After the birth of her eldest daughter, Bella, in 2015, Smith and her husband decided to retire from music. She currently lives in Tennessee on an off grid homestead with her husband and children and is an independent distributor for Young Living's brand of essential oils and products.

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)