American singer-songwriter, actress and screenwriter Carrie Brownstein was BOTD in 1974. Born and raised in Seattle, Washington to a middle-class family, and began playing guitar in her teens. She studied at Western Washington University and later Evergreen State College. While a student, she co-formed the all-female punk rock band Excuse 17. After the group disbanded, Brownstein and bandmate Corin Tucker formed rock band Sleater-Kinney in 1994, releasing their self-titled debut album the following year. Combining punk rock with feminist polemic and political activism, Sleater-Kinney released six studio albums, becoming a key part of the riot grrrl film. In 2006, the band went on an indefinite hiatus, during which period Brownstein formed indie rock band Wild Flag. Starting in 2011, she co-wrote and starred in the TV sketch comedy series Portlandia with comedian Fred Armisen, in which they satirised Portland hipster culture. She returned to perform with Sleater-Kinney in 2014, releasing four further albums. She had a prominent role in Joey Soloway‘s TV series Transparent as the long-suffering lesbian girlfriend of a bi-curious friend. She also had a cameo as a 1950s lesbian with a roving eye in Todd Haynes’ film Carol, based on Patricia Highsmith‘s novel The Price of Salt. She has also appeared in TV comedy series Saturday Night Love and Curb Your Enthusiasm, and the Eurotrash drama series Irma Vep. Brownstein identifies as bisexual and has had relationships with Sleater-Kinney bandmate Corin Tucker and Annie Clark (aka St Vincent).