Pennie Ann Trumbull (born July 3, 1954), also known as Pennie Lane, is an American

socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

, businesswoman, and

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

. During the 1970s, she formed ''The Flying Garter Girls'', a group that traveled around the country as

groupie A groupie is a fan of a particular musical group who follows the band around while they are on tour or who attends as many of their public appearances as possible, with the hope of meeting them. The term is used mostly describing young women, a ...

s for famous rock bands. She was "the main inspiration" for the character Penny Lane in the 2000 film ''

Almost Famous ''Almost Famous'' is a 2000 American comedy drama film written and directed by Cameron Crowe, starring Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Patrick Fugit, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. It tells the story of a teenage journalist, played b ...

'', portrayed by actress

Kate Hudson Kate Garry Hudson (born April 19, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Born to singer Bill Hudson (singer), Bill Hudson and actress Goldie Hawn, Hudson made her film debut in the 1998 drama ''Desert Blue'', which was followed by supporting ...

, and its 2019 stage musical adaptation, portrayed by Solea Pfeiffer.

Biography

Early life

Trumbull was born and raised in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. She was an only child and attended Roosevelt High School, where she was an award-winning equestrian and tried out for the Olympic team. Her love of music began at an early age, and she started attending concerts at 16. Trumbull moved to Los Angeles when she was 18 with a touring keyboardist for the band Steppenwolf, and returned to Portland a few months later.

The Flying Garter Girls

In the early 1970s, Trumbull became immersed in the rock music scene. She and four other girls decided to form a group and began pursuing bands. They each gave themselves nicknames, and Trumbull chose the name Pennie Lane in part from the song by the Beatles. The other girls in the group were Marvelous Meg, Sexy Sandy, The Real Camille, Miss Julia, and Caroline Can-Can. The girls had matchbooks made with "The Flying Garter Girls" printed on them to promote themselves.

Later life

Trumbull lived in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

for many years. She obtained her bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Cal State Northridge, where she was a competitive fencer, and an MBA in Marketing from

Alliant International University Alliant International University is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university with its main campus in San Diego, five additional campuses in California (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Irv ...

in 1988. Trumbull owned her own marketing firm for a time. Upon her divorce in the early 1990s, she moved back home to be closer to her parents. Trumbull bought property on

Sauvie Island Sauvie Island is in the U.S. state of Oregon, originally named as Wapato Island or Wappatoo Island. It is the largest island along the Columbia River, at , and one of the largest river islands in the United States. It lies approximately north ...

near Portland, Oregon and built a ranch, which she describes as a "Rock n Roll Ranch." Lane owns her own wine label named Swallows and grows her own

Pinot noir Pinot noir (), also known as Pinot nero, is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name also refers to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words fo ...

grapes. She continues to be involved in the music scene in the Portland area. Trumbull is an ordained minister and officiates weddings at her ranch. Trumbull is a longtime member of the Sauvie Island Grange Association and various other community organizations.

Almost Famous

Trumbull was "the main inspiration" for the character Penny Lane in the 2000 film ''

''. The film's director

Cameron Crowe Cameron Bruce Crowe (born July 13, 1957) is an American filmmaker and journalist. He has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and Grammy Award as well as a nomination for a Tony Award. Crowe started his career a ...

and Trumbull met and became friends in the 1970s while Crowe was working as a rock journalist for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

''. When he began work on his film about their experiences during that time, ''

'', Crowe asked for her permission to use her name and likeness. In 2012, Trumbull was the special guest at the San Diego Film Festival, which featured a special screening of ''Almost Famous''. She continues to make appearances discussing the film and her life in the 1970s.

References