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t y l e r
Photography by Styling by

By Annie Karni

Diana Scheunemann Emma Pritchard

m a d e

hair by dominick pucciarello for mizu new york salon. makeup by robert sesnek. set design by eyal baruch at anderson hopkins. shot on location at the royalton new york. on chelsea: alice+olivia dress, $396, aliceandolivia.com; hanging rope earrings, $125, pamelalovenyc.com.

With a new modeling career and a bluesy band to boot, the littlest daughter of Aerosmiths Steven Tyler is all grown up and ready to rock.

Chelsea Tyler, 23, has embraced her rockstar roots with a tattoo dedicated to her siblings.

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I WAS reSenTful of The InduSTry for STeAlIng my dAd AWAy from me, for making me feel like I couldnt just have a regular little kid life.
life. I wanted nothing to do with it. Since Chelsea was 6, offers for modeling and acting parts have popped up, she says. I didnt really think I deserved any of them because I hadnt done anything. My dad always left it up to me, and my mom [Stevens ex-wife, designer Teresa Barrick, whom he married in 1988] always encouraged me to say no. While growing up on the road was far from normal, Chelsea says she did appreciate her wild Aerosmith uncles, Joe Perry, Joey Kramer, Tom Hamilton and Brad Whitford. Four out of the five bandmates had [sons] who were a bit younger than me. But I got a bit of extra love because I was the only little girl on tour, she laughs. The band members were my family. When Chelsea was 12 and her little brother Taj was 10, their mom took them back home to Bostons South Shore while Steven continued touring and recording. It was very much like being raised by a single parent, she says of her teen years. My dad would be home about one month out of the year. But I never held it against him; Ive always understood. Her parents divorced in 2006, when Chelsea was 16. (Steven started dating then-33-year-old model Erin Brady that year, and the couple announced their engagement last December.) After graduating from high school in 2008, Chelsea shipped off to Lake Forest College in Chicago before transferring to Massachusetts College of Art and Design, where she studied painting and metalwork. She waitressed and worked briefly as a cashier at American Apparel because she loved the clothes and wanted the discount, she says. I think its really important to have a job. Im not even close to some sort of trust fund kid. When

Chelsea Tyler is standing in a Midtown coffee shop waiting for a barista to brew her latte. Her face is expressionless, then suddenly falls into a full-on pout as three cappuccinos are scooped up by people who had been in line behind her. Wearing a black beanie over her long brown hair, her strong cheekbones free of makeup, she looks like any Fashion Week model annoyed that her coffee fix has been delayed. That is, until her order arrives and a smile tears across her facea joyful grin unmasking her large teeth and revealing a face so familiar that strangers do a double take. People stop me out of the blue a lot, she says, rolling her eyes as she grabs her coffee. Thats pretty much all I ever get: You look exactly like Steven Tyler. Now 23, the youngest daughter of the legendary Aerosmith frontman has purposely kept a lower profile than her half-sisters, actress Liv Tyler and plussize model Mia Tyler. As a college art student and a waitress, shes sought to live anonymously behind a face made internationally famous by someone else. Growing up, I would lie a lot of the time when people asked me if Im related to Steven Tyler, she says. I avoided it hard for a while, because I wanted so badly to experience developing without that. But Ive embraced it now.
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This is what I was given, she shrugs, gesturing toward her face, which truly is a prettier variation of her dads famous mug. Its hard not to marvel at the uncanny likeness. I realize its a bless[ing], not a curse. Steven Tylers formerly unknown daughter has stepped into her own spotlight. Last year her dad asked Chelsea to model with him and Mia in an ad campaign for Andrew Charles, a sportswear line the rocker and Andy Hilfiger designed for Macys. Its so much fun being on a shoot with him, says Chelsea. Its just playtime just messing with each other. Then last September she signed with IMG Models and quickly scored an ad campaign for fashion brand Alice + Olivia. She also recently formed her first band, Bad Bad, featuring Chelsea on bluesy lead vocals and her boyfriend, actor Jon Foster, on guitar. The group is currently recording its first album and plans an independent release. Its a surprising bid for recognition in an industry that Chelsea, who doesnt drink, shuns drugs and considers herself an artistic homebody, once vowed to avoid. Being around my dad made me develop a resentment toward the entertainment industry, says Chelsea, who was home-schooled and grew up on the road with Aerosmith until she was 12. I was resentful of the industry for stealing my dad away from me, for making me feel like I couldnt just have a regular little kid

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The eyes. That hair. Those lips. Remind you of anyone?

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I Would lIe A loT of The TIme When people ASked me If Im relATed To S T e v e n T y l e r . I wanted so badly to experience developing without that. But Ive embraced it now.
it comes to that stuff, were very much on our own. Im lucky in my life to have certain things, but I lived as a broke, dirty college kid for four years. It was in a painting class at college, far from the probing flashbulbs of photographers, that Chelsea saw modeling in a new light. We had nude models in class, she says. Modeling suddenly appeared to me as an art form rather than an industry. Last fall she took a leave from school to pursue work in front of the camera. Shes taken to it naturally, vamping it up at photo shoots, but Chelsea says modeling is more a job than a passion. The music is what lights my fire, she says. Thats what makes me feel connected to everything else. Chelsea says she plans to eventually finish school. Many rockstar offspring have tried to take the stage themselves, to varying degrees of success. Jakob Dylan played with the Wallflowers before releasing solo albums, Sean Lennon became a singer-songwriter like his dad, Stings daughter CoCo Sumner fronts the poppunk band I Blame CoCo, and Alexa Ray Joel is working to establish herself as a singer-songwriter. Chelsea says she realizes that being a daughter of cuts both ways. My worst fear is people thinking Im doing it because I have an easy route, she says. Any little slip-up is so quickly jumped on. Seeing my dad onstage for so long made me really scared of the stage. I thought, thats his thing. But modeling has given her confidence, she says, and it was boosted further when she met Foster, 28, last summer. The couple have been dating since they were introduced by her childhood friend Zoe Kravitz (another famous daughter of her parents are rocker Lenny Kravitz and actress Lisa Bonet). Its absolutely fantastic, she says, her face
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Chelsea and her lookalike dad, Steven Tyler, appear in an ad for Andrew Charles sportswear, designed for Macys by Andy Hilfiger and the Aerosmith frontman.

inset: macys. on chelsea: missoni top, $465, missoni, 1009 madison ave.; cynthia steffe lydia skirt, $245, 212-403-6200; erickson beamon necklace (on chelseas hand), $645, 601 w. 27th st.

bursting again into that megawatt grin. But Chelsea bristles at the idea of ever achieving Aerosmith-level fame. I dont know how my dad does it, to be honest, she says. Its so exposing. At first, Chelsea admits, she encouraged her father to turn down the offer to judge American Idol. The deal, signed in 2010, nets him a reported $10 million per season and introduced Steven Tyler, 63, to a brand-new generation. I was definitely pushing toward a no when he got the offer, Chelsea says. I thought it was a little cheesy, and I didnt know what he was going to do with it. But Chelsea says shes become a convert and a huge fan of the show. I didnt realize the heart he was going to put into it. Thats really him, and I have a tendency to want to keep him private. Its daunting to share him like that, but you realize how much good hes doing and how much he loves his fans. The Tyler brood is unconventional, even by rocknroll standards. Chelseas oldest sister, Liv, 34, only discovered her

fathers identity when she was 8 years old. Her mother, Playboy pin-up BeBe Buell, who had a fling with Tyler in the late 70s, told Liv that her father was rocker Todd Rundgren. But Liv noticed that she looked like Stevens daughter Mia when they met as kids at an Aerosmith show in 1988. (Mia was born to Tylers first wife, ex-model Cyrinda Foxe, whom he married in 1978 and divorced in 1987). Both of Chelseas sisters were already grown up when she and her brother Taj were born to Stevens second wife, Teresa. Theres four kids with three moms involvedwe think. At least so far, Chelsea laughs. Of course when theres exes involved, theres a tendency to want to keep the kids separate. We got to skip all the bratty part of growing up together. Mia and I have been close forever, and my relationship with Liv has gotten stronger. In the past five years its reached a new level of closeness. Chelsea shows off a relatively new tattoo of her siblings names she sports on her right wrist, a sign that shes no longer

Chelseas relationship with her eldest half-sis Liv (top) has gotten stronger over the past few years, and she lives in Boston with sister Mia, who shes been close with forever.

trying to hide her ties to her famous family. When shes home in Boston, Chelsea lives at her dads house with Mia, 33, and Taj, 21. And, she says, she relies on her sisters, both veterans of the modeling world, for advice on her new career. I didnt even know what to wear to attend Fashion Week, she laughs. She says she knows its a faux pas to wear the T-shirt of a band to their concert, but didnt know if you wear the designers to go to their shows, or if thats weird. (Her sisters advised her to support the designers by wearing their clothes to the runway.) Liv and Mias experiences also convinced Chelsea to wait until she was older to get into the modeling game.
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A lot of models start when theyre 14, before you have a strong sense of self, she says. Liv started early and that affected her personal life. Steven Tylers lifelong battle with drug abuse also had its effects on Chelsea. In his 20s, Steven was spending $2,000 a week on heroin, cocaine and alcohol, according to authorized biographies, often passing out on stage and coughing up blood in the bathroom after a show. His drug addiction got so bad that his own band staged an intervention with him in 1986 and sent him to rehab. Its one thing to hear drugs are bad and consume your life, Chelsea says. When you experience the level to which it can demonize someone, and that per-

from top: julien hekimian/wireimage; flashpoint/wenn.com. on chelsea: dolce & gabbana bodysuit, $1,725, and booties, $1,295, dolce & gabbana stores; mawi necklace, $1,096, boutiqueluduvine.com.

I ThoughT [AmericAn idol] WAS A lITTle cheeSy. I was definitely pushing toward a no when [my dad] got the offer. I didnt realize the heart he was going to put into it.

son is your parent, it instills a truth about it in you that its not really worth it. Im not going to say I havent had my moments of weakness, she admits candidly, but [my family] has made me more aware of the things in life that make you feel good and make you feel sh--ty later on. After years of sobriety, Tyler wiped out onstage and broke his shoulder during a show in South Dakota, cancelling the rest of the tour and checking into rehab for an addiction to painkillers. Though he has reportedly been sober since, hes still haunted by tour-related spills, most recently in Toronto in 2010 and South America in 2011. That was a little bit scary, Chelsea says of the Toronto incident. Im always worried about him because he pushes himself so hard. For her part, she says, she spends 90 percent of my time at home making art and music with my lover. Id way rather do that than be at a bar where I cant hear anybody anyway. Chelsea prefers to live in places like Boston or Los Angeles that make her feel healthy. I love New York, and a move to Brooklyn is in the works, she says, explaining that its best for her modeling career. But she wants to stay in the outer borough because the tall skyscrapers of Manhattan make her anxious. She might not be attracted to the hard partying that defined her dads 20s, but Chelsea is an unabashed fan of his music. I love Aerosmith! she says enthusiastically. Ive heard the music so much that I cant listen to the songs most people know. But she gets a kick out of still discovering new, lesser-known tracks. Just the other day I was downloading Cry Me a River by Natalie Cole, and I was looking through the different people who have done versions and Aerosmith popped up. It was so good. Now that shes exercising her musical talents and getting comfortable in the limelight, Chelsea says she also dreams of one day taking the stage to sing with her dad. Not, like, in an at the Grammys kind of way, she says with another flashbulb smile, but to do something with him, it would just be amazing.