StyleLikeU/YouTube video Annakim Violette Petty in a 2011 YouTube video.
The late Tom Petty had two daughters, Adria Petty and Annakim Violette Petty. Both followed their father into the arts, with Adria becoming a successful music video and documentary director and the 35-year-old Annakim becoming an artist.
Annakim’s mother is Petty’s first wife, Jane Benyo. The two were married from 1974 to 1996. Petty later married Dana York Epperson in 2001.
Annakim wrote a WordPress blog until October 2010. You can follow her on Instagram.
Here’s what you need to know about Annakim Violette Petty.
1. She’s Been Sharing Her Favorite Moments With Her Dad on Instagram
Annakim has turned her Instagram page into a tribute for her father, posting personal photos and other images from his legendary career. She revealed that the members of The Heartbreakers were at the hospital with their family.
“One week ago today I was watching my dad play,” she wrote on Instagram just hours before Petty’s death. “We showed up rushed to our seats. I got stoned had a beer the lights went dark, sat watching realizing I grew up on these songs, everyone grew up on these songs. [This] is real American Art made from the roots of real people who deeply love life. My father loves music more than anything and always put music first. It’s going to be healing to know I will never go a day without hearing his music. I love his class honesty and how strange and funny he is. Tom Petty is an American Icon because his heart has always put human rights first. We are one. I love you dad your songs are dreams manifested.”
She also posted the lyrics to her father’s song “Alight for Now,” a track from Petty’s solo album Full Moon Fever.
“Thank you for the love,” she wrote.
2. She Called Herself a ‘Love Terrorist’ in a 2010 Interview
Annakim’s work makes it clear that she does not like to follow the crowd when it comes to fashion or art. In an interview with L.A. Weekly in 2010, she called herself a “love terrorist” and she refused to wear a normal wardrobe at the time.
“Unapologetically, I love costumes,” she says. “But I hate the fashion industry. I don’t have a standard. My low is my high, basically.”
She also has a fascination with dystopian and apocalyptic themes.
“It’s not that I don’t see a dark side, but the dark side doesn’t look any different to me than the light,” the Los Angeles native told L.A. Weekly in 2010 of her personal philosophy. “The brighter the light, the darker the shadow.”
In 2011, Annakim told StyleLikeU.com on a tour of her closet. In the interview, she said that since she traveled a lot while growing up, she doesn’t feel like a part of any one world. However, she believes that some people can connect, even if they have different personal experiences.
“You can take people that are in different places in the world, have never met, and have a collective that could be so similar that it’s terrifying, yet their experiences are completely distinct from the people around them,” she told StyleLikeU.
Annakim also thinks that a person’s fashion taste should be like music, bringing the world together.
“Music is like liquid, and I feel like clothing should be more like music. It’s like a song that you love. It shouldn’t be about something that’s trying to fit in or out of the world. It should be something that’s bringing people closer to the world,” she said in 2011. “It’s one of those things where it makes me not take life so seriously. I feel like clothing should be the opposite of anxiety.”
3. She Also Produced a Short Film Called ‘Dual’
While Adria has had more success in the film world, her younger sister also attempted to break into that medium. As The Los Angeles Times reported in 2010, Annakim appeared in a short film by designer Alia Raza called Dual.
In her 2011 L.A. Weekly interview, Annakim said she was producing a film called Garden of Eden, written by Rachel Kolar and directed by Maximilla Lucas.
4. She Loves Wearing Vintage Clothing
Getty Tom Petty.
Annakim has said in interviews that she also loves vintage clothing.
“I’m really into texture,” she said in a 2011 interview. “I think women are hypersensitive to their body type and I just want to wear some outfit that is going to make me feel like a Muppet. There’s a fine line, but I’m always attracted to color, or whatever weaknesses and strengths I have at the moment, I always like to rub salt on it.”
In that same interview, she also said she loves vampires.
“My privacy has always been invaded and I feel like I live in a world where people are stupid when it comes to social manners, and there is always a third party involved in the conversation in some way, but I do love them [vampires],” she explained.
5. Annakim’s Mother Is Petty’s First Wife, Jane Benyo
Annakim’s mother is Petty’s first wife, Jane Benyo. They were married from 1974 to 1996.
Petty and Benyo met at age 17, which was the basis for Stevie Nicks’ hit song “Edge of Seventeen.” According to Songfacts, Nicks said Benyo told her that she met Petty at the “age of seventeen.” Nicks thought Benyo said “edge of seventeen.” Nicks said in a 1981 interview that she knew it was a great song title.
“It’s got to be ‘edge.’ ‘The Edge of Seventeen’ is perfect. I’m going to write a song,” Nicks recalled.