text: scout taylor - compton scout taylor - compton ( born february 21 , 1989 ) is an american actress . she has appeared in numerous small television roles and in feature films that range from dramas to those in the horror genre giving her the reputation of a scream queen . her most notable roles include laurie strode in the horror films halloween ( 2007 ) and halloween ii ( 2009 ) , as well as lita ford in the film the runaways ( 2010 ) . in addition to taking vocal lessons and singing the theme song for her film chicken night ( 2001 ) , taylor - compton is recording her debut rock album . taylor - compton had also provided voice over work in other films , including the core ( 2003 ) , and the princess diaries 2 : royal engagement ( 2004 ) . personal life scout taylor - compton was born starr compton in long beach , california , and is half mexican american on her mother 's side . her father is a mortician . taylor - compton says she " grew up in that whole [ horror ] genre and visiting my dad at the mortuary . i have no problem with that stuff . whether it was a coffin or my dad bringing his work home . " andy biersack from black veil brides , her ex - boyfriend whom she dated for six years , composed the song the 's daughter about her . she has 8 tattoos and is known for her tomboy fashion . previous to acting , taylor - compton had been a competitive swimmer and had plans to participate in the aau junior olympics . she enjoys volleyball , cheerleading , dance , gymnastics and roller - blading , and has several cats and dogs . taylor - compton is a fan of horror films , especially those featuring michael [ myers ] , jason [ voorhees ] and chucky . she also enjoys ghosts , halloween 4 and halloween 5 . she is a fan of the lead actress in the latter two films danielle harris ; the two later going on to appear together in the halloween remake and its sequel . compton also writes song lyrics . career in 1998 , taylor - compton began her acting career with an appearance in the film a.w.o.l. with david morse , and later in the short film thursday afternoon . she went on to have small roles in both television and film including ally mcbeal , er , frasier , the guardian and the division . she appeared in several student films , commercials for fuji film and the disney cruise line , and various skits on the jay leno show . november 2000 saw taylor - compton make her stage debut as the title character in a production of annie warbucks at the grove theatre in upland , california , and a stage production of footloose at the simi valley cultural arts center . in 2001 , she had a recurring role as clara forrester , the younger sister of dean forrester ( jared padalecki ) in the television series gilmore girls , appearing in a total of four episodes until 2004 . taylor - compton was nominated for " best performance in a tv series – recurring young actress " for her portrayal of clara . she made a comedic appearance in the film four fingers of the dragon ( 2003 ) playing herself auditioning for a role in a fictional kung fu film . later in 2004 , she appeared in the teen comedy sleepover , which had been her first large hollywood film role . the cast of the film was nominated for " best performance in a feature film – young ensemble cast " at the young artists award . sleepover did poorly at the box office . following sleepover , she appeared in numerous television series including hidden howie , ( 2 episodes ) , cold case , that 's so raven , charmed ( appearing in 8 episodes between 2000 and 2006 as various fairies ) , and without a trace ( in which she portrayed a runaway teenager ) . in 2007 , taylor - compton joined the cast on abc 's friday night live . that year as well , she starred in the drama tomorrow is today and the horror film wicked little things . tomorrow is today features taylor - compton as julie peterson , a girl who saves the life of and befriends a hapless drifter . the film won over six awards at various festivals which included the california independent film festival , the garden state film festival , method fest independent film festival , and the rhode island international film festival . she won " best actress " for her performance in the film at the method fest independent film festival . wicked little things was one of the films featured in after dark 's 8 films to die for and saw taylor - compton star as sarah tunny . following these films , she appeared in standoff and close to home . in 2007 , taylor - compton appeared in the film an american crime which told the true story of suburban housewife gertrude , who had kept a teenage girl locked in the basement of her indiana home during the 1960s . after losing the lead role in the pang brothers film the messengers to kristen stewart , taylor - compton then returned to the horror genre as laurie strode in rob zombie 's remake of the classic halloween . she endured a long audition process , but as director zombie explains , " scout was my first choice . there was just something about her ; she had a genuine quality . she didn 't seem actor - y . " halloween currently stands as the highest grossing overall film in the halloween franchise . she starred in the television movie love 's unfolding dream which premiered on november 24 , 2007 . she stars in the horror film april fool 's day , a remake of the 1986 film of the same name , filmed in north carolina with a march 25 , 2008 dvd release . taylor - compton explains on the starring in the role of torrance : " i 'll just be playing another wholesome ' good girl ' that screams a lot . " she has another horror film in production , the 2009 film murder world in which she will have a cameo as carrie lain . in an interview conducted in july 2007 , taylor - compton reported that after completing april fool 's day , she wants to stay away from roles in the horror genre for her next film projects . although she has received many horror film scripts , she believes that she " need [ s ] to move on from horror . just drift away a little bit and do something else so i don 't get stuck in that " and although she " love [ s ] doing horror films " and are her " favorite " , she 'd " like to do other stuff in between . " she has recently been influenced by the career of scarlett johansson , wanting to choose scripts and roles based on personal interest as she views johansson does . taylor - compton went on to explain , " that 's what i kind of want to do . i love just being passionate about something rather than just caring about the money or who 's in the movie . 2009 saw taylor - compton alongside helen mirren and joe pesci in love ranch . then , she went on to star in the film obsessed alongside beyoncé knowles . her most recent film to hit theaters was halloween ii , rob zombie 's sequel to the 2007 remake . the film opened the same day as the final destination , another high profile horror film , and had disappointing box office returns as a result . in 2010 , she appeared in the runaways where she plays lita ford , alongside kristen stewart , dakota fanning , and stella maeve . other work in 1998 , she appeared in the adventures of lily music video for " femme fatale " . in 2001 , taylor compton provided voice overs for i am sam , and continued with voice over work with appearances in the core ( 2003 ) and the princess diaries 2 : royal engagement ( 2004 ) . the next year , she provided voice over work for the teen hero comedy sky high . she sang the theme song " jet set " for her film chicken night ( 2001 ) . 2002 saw taylor - compton appearing briefly in the will smith music video for " black suits comin ' ( nod ya head ) " for the men in black ii soundtrack . she appeared in the music video for " sweet valentine " by the band born the sky in 2007 . in 2003 , taylor - compton had taken vocal lessons with diane gillespie and vocal power institute . she had taken guitar , drums , and keyboard lessons , and was member a theatre group called " shenanigans , " where she performed and took weekly tap and jazz lessons . she attended the hollywood pop academy for additional vocal training . taylor - compton is currently working on her debut rock / pop album , in which she will sing and play drums . she cites cyndi lauper , gwen stefani , madonna , kelly osbourne and the band green day as musical influences . taylor - compton has been working with era productions and " with a very well known punk / pop singer " , vitamin c. while on the set filming halloween ( 2007 ) , taylor - compton had received " a few pointers " from director rob zombie , who had also fronted a band and continues his singing career . she has stated that singing is a side project and " is just a little talent that i have on the side , and if it does something then i 'll do that , but i 'm not gonna give up acting . " taylor - compton has five songs that can be streamed on her official profile . all songs were recorded and posted for listening in 2005 . the songs featured are " bad girl " , the first song she wrote with her era producers , " waiting for the heartbreak " and " where do we go " , written with vitamin c , " freak show " , written by adam and produced taylor - compton along with era productions , and " words " . she did minor modeling for the teenage clothing brand limited too and the cellular phone service sprint pcs . filmography film television