Before she was Joan Jett, she was
Joan Marie Larkin, born on September 22, 1958, outside Philadelphia. Playing guitar since the age of 13, she got her first musical break when her family moved to a Los Angeles suburb in the early 1970s. Inspired by glam rock, she was a founding member of the Runaways. She later started Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, creating the rock anthem “I Love Rock 'n' Roll” in 1981.
Today, the “Godmother of Punk” keeps things rocking. Here 53-year-old Jett performs in West Palm Beach, Florida, on May 5, 2012.