Rain Joan of Arc Phoenix (née Bottom; born November 21, 1972) is an American actress, musician, and singer. She is the older sister of Joaquin, Liberty and Summer Phoenix and younger sister of River Phoenix.

Early life

Phoenix was born Rain Joan of Arc Bottom in Crockett, Texas, the second child of John Lee Bottom and Arlyn Sharon (née Dunetz). Her mother was born in New York to Jewish parents from Russia.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]} Her father was from California.^[2] Before Phoenix was born, her mother moved to California, meeting Phoenix's father while hitch-hiking. They married in 1969 and joined The Children of God cult working as missionaries in South America. It was there, at the age of three, that Phoenix (accompanied by elder brother River on guitar) first began to sing. They would perform on the streets of Caracas, Venezuela, while handing out Children of God flyers to passers by. The family set out for California in order for the children to enter the entertainment industry. In West Los Angeles, Phoenix and her siblings would perform on the streets for crowds of people. Arlyn took a job at NBC and eventually secured all five Phoenix children with an agent.

Phoenix sang with brother River as an audience warm up act on the show Real Kids (1982). Various bit parts followed in TV shows, including an episode of Amazing Stories in 1986 (billed sometimes as Rainbow Phoenix) and Family Ties in 1987. Also in 1987, Phoenix landed a part in the feature film Maid to Order alongside Ally Sheedy.

At 15, Phoenix returned to her roots in music and formed the band Aleka's Attic with her then 17-year-old brother River. River, along with bass player Josh McKay, wrote music and lyrics while Rain sang backup. The band secured gigs in and around their home town of Gainesville, Florida. By this time, River's career had taken off and so the band was often put on hold for River's demanding schedule. In 1988, Aleka's Attic were signed to a development deal with Island Records and in 1989 released the track "Across The Way" on a benefit album for the animal rights group PETA. In 1991, they made a tour of east coast clubs and colleges. At this time, Phoenix joined her brother River on the set of his tenth movie, My Own Private Idaho. She met director Gus Van Sant, to whom River suggested she would be perfect for a role in his upcoming project, a film adaptation of Tom Robbins's cult novel Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. She was cast as head cowgirl Bonanza Jellybean, alongside Uma Thurman.

River Phoenix's death

A few months after the completion of Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Phoenix flew to Los Angeles with her brother Joaquin to meet River during a break from Dark Blood. On the evening of October 30, 1993, they set out, joined by River's girlfriend Samantha Mathis, for a night at the Los Angeles club The Viper Room. It would be the last evening Phoenix would spend with her brother; he died later that night from, according to the coroner's report, "acute multiple drug intoxication", namely an overdose of heroin and cocaine, a concoction called a "speedball".

Phoenix dealt simultaneously with the loss of her older brother and the media circus that followed. Aleka's Attic, by that time consisting of a different line-up, had been working on an album that River had been funding himself. The album was near completion so Phoenix began the long process of mixing and producing the scraps of recordings. The album has never been released.

Late 90s and 2000s

In 1994, Phoenix joined R.E.M. in the studio to record backup vocals on the song "Bang and Blame", to be released on the 1994 album Monster, an album dedicated to River. In 1995 Phoenix joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers as a backup singer on their One Hot Minute tour. Chili Peppers bassist Flea, who appeared in My Own Private Idaho, was close friends with River, and was there the night he died. The band wrote their song "Transcending" as a tribute to River. She also features in the video for R.E.M.'s "At My Most Beautiful".

In 1997, Phoenix joined the punk/new wave band The Causey Way, which also included her younger sisters Summer and Liberty. They disbanded in 2001 after the release of two albums and two EPs.

Phoenix returned to acting in 1998 with parts in I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998), O (2001), Harry and Max (2004) and Hitch (2005).

Music

Social initiatives

Phoenix, together with her brother Joaquin Phoenix, is on the board of directors for The Lunchbox Fund, a non-profit organization which provides a daily meal to students of township schools in Soweto, South Africa. Phoenix also serves on the board of River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding founded by her mother and stepfather. Phoenix also works closely with the artists charity The Art of Elysium.

Filmography

Discography

River (2019)

References

External links

• Official website
• Rain Phoenix at IMDb