Jane Bainter

Was She or Wasn't She?

Muse for not only the signature Jane's Addiction song 'Jane Says,' but also for the name of the band. The song was written by Eric Avery and Perry Farrell in 1985. Jane was a close friend of the band and roomed at the Wilton House along with Farrell and others. The song has become iconic to the point where its analysis is popping up in college classrooms.

The thing is, depending on who you talk to, it is up for debate if Jane ever really was a whore, at all. The one thing that is agreed upon, is the fact that she had a drug habit; hence, the band's tribute to it: 'Jane's Addiction.' Reputedly, Jane was a functioning heroin addict who worked at a management consulting firm during the day who donned a wig, partied and got high at night.

According To Perry Farrell

In an excerpt from BAM magazine, #522, 11/21/97, Perry discusses Jane, "I think we picked a great subject, because Jane is a very beautiful woman here (points to his heart). She could also be called 'Plain Jane;' -- thick glasses, very outcast, very insecure, a lot like us here. I look at her like a tragic figure. She's a Smith graduate. She's extremely intelligent, which is very unappealing to most men. She still hasn't found love, which is pretty much like us."

"And every time I see Jane, she's just not quite right, but she's always hopeful that something great is about to happen. 'I'm gonna' kick tomorrow.' Every time I see her, I just feel like I wanna' cry. She's a very warm person; she'd give you her last apple if it was in her sack of lunch. At the same time, no one really appreciates her and she can't quite get herself together. She's one of these people that lives slightly out of linear time. There's us and then there's Jane. She can talk to you and she can see you, but she's always slightly somewhere else. I don't know, maybe everybody feels like that and that's probably why people can relate to that song."

Jane, In Her Own Words Beginning in 2001, Jane Bainter broke her silence and set the record straight; thanks to Jane's Addiction, her cult celebrity was gaining mythic proportions.

During an interview that took place between Jane and A. Patino in late July, 2003, Jane spoke about the impact this has had on her life. She doesn't try to obtain special privileges and ordinarily is not in the habit of offering the information that she is the famous 'Jane'. She's found herself in awkward situations with friends and family members.

When Jane was asked about the relationship her and Perry had (at the time of the interview in 2003), she replied: "You know, I haven't had a conversation with Perry in over ten years. I know because that is how long I've been sober and the last time we were together he treated me like a cheap prostitute because that is all he had been hanging around with. I hear that perry has gotten clean occasionally but if he has he sure hasn't made any amends or even extended an apology to me. I think Perry surrounds himself with his own people now and really doesn't want to talk to or support any people from that period of time. In essence, he's the same guy. It is just that his motives have taken him to a different place."

• Jenna Jameson
• Jane Says
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