1991–2012: Early life and career beginnings Lauren Elizabeth Jenkins was born on September 16, 1991, in
Arlington, Texas, and raised in
South Carolina. She has a younger sister whom she considers one of her role models. When Jenkins was six years old, her father took her to her first concert and around the age of eight, she began writing songs. As a child, she often attended concerts with her father. Jenkins stated that her musical inspirations include "acts like
Tom Petty and
The Allman Brothers Band". Jenkins also briefly resided in
Charleston, South Carolina, and
Charlotte, North Carolina. She began
homeschooling so she could travel and pursue a career in music. Jenkins sang in
nightclubs using a
fake identity document on the
East Coast following her relocation to Memphis. After performing regularly in the latter city, Jenkins would settle there to attend the
William Esper Studio school for acting. It received generally negative reviews from
film critics.
2013–2019: Signing with Big Machine and No Saint Trey Bruce, Jenkins's producer, sent
demos he had worked on with her to various record labels in 2013. Bruce received a phone call from
Big Machine Records's CEO
Scott Borchetta which resulted in Jenkins booking a flight to
Nashville, Tennessee, the next day. The aforementioned label released a
Mötley Crüe tribute album titled
Nashville Outlaws: A Tribute to Mötley Crüe in August, which includes a
country cover of the band's "
Looks That Kill" by Jenkins. Chuck Dauphin from
Billboard named her in January 2015 one of the "10 Hot Country Artists to Watch in 2015". In March 2016, it was reported that she would be one of the acts performing at the
Carolina Country Music Fest held in June. On May 27, 2016, Big Machine released
The Nashville Sessions EP as Jenkins's debut
extended play (EP) which "captures [Jenkins's] love of country,
Southern rock and
Americana", according to James Reed of
Rolling Stone. She co-wrote four of the songs and included her covers of
Robert Palmer's "
Addicted to Love" and "Looks That Kill" on it. On November 16, Jenkins announced that her debut studio album, titled
No Saint, was set for release on March 15, 2019. Big Machine released the single "Maker's Mark and You" on the same day. Jenkins performed at country music festival
C2C: Country to Country in March. Two days before her first album's release, Jenkins premiered its accompanying short film
Running out of Road (2019), which she co-wrote, co-produced, and starred in, at the Violent Crown Cinema during the
Austin City Limits Music Festival.
No Saint was issued on March 15 by Big Machine.
No Saint was released to positive reviews, and peaked at numbers 7 and 18 on Billboard's
Heatseekers Albums and
Top Country Albums charts, respectively. On September 15, Jenkins sang at
O2 Academy Glasgow.
2020–present: Departure from Big Machine and Miles on Me In early 2020, Jenkins was the supporting act for the European leg of
Brett Eldredge's tour. On March 5 Jenkins learned from a Big Machine staffer that the label had dropped her. Her first
independent release was "Ain't That Hard", which was unveiled in May 2020. Jenkins revealed in July 2021 that her second EP,
Miles on Me, would be released in three parts, with its first part being released in the same month. She told
American Songwriter that when the
COVID-19 pandemic began, she abandoned work on her second studio album and instead conceived
Miles on Me over three studio sessions throughout 2020. ==Artistry and personal life==