Editing Kim Gordon

{{Short description|American musician and artist (born 1953)}}
{{redirect|X-Girl|Marvel Comics|X-Men}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = 
| image              = Sonic Youth in 2010 (5320093181).jpg
| landscape          = Yes
| alt                = 
| caption            = Gordon performing in 2010 with [[Sonic Youth]]
| birth_name         = Kim Althea Gordon
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1953|04|28}}
| birth_place        = [[Rochester, New York]], U.S.
| occupation         = {{hlist|Singer|musician|songwriter}}
| years_active       = 1981{{en dash}}present
| spouse             = {{marriage|[[Thurston Moore]]|1984|2013|reason=divorced}}
| alma_mater         = {{plainlist|
*[[Santa Monica College]]
*[[Otis College of Art and Design]]
}}
| children           = 1
| module             = {{Infobox musical artist|embed=yes
| background         = solo_singer
| years_active       = 1981–present
| label              = {{hlist|[[SST Records|SST]]|[[Geffen Records|Geffen]]|[[Matador Records|Matador]]}}
| associated_acts    = {{flatlist|
*[[Sonic Youth]]
*CKM
*[[Ciccone Youth]]
*Mirror/Dash
*[[Jim O'Rourke (musician)|Jim O'Rourke]]
*[[Free Kitten]]
*[[Harry Crews (band)|Harry Crews]]
*[[Body/Head]]
*[[Glitterbust]]
}}
| instrument          = <!-- Only primary-used instruments need mentioned here-->{{flatlist|
*Vocals
*guitar
*bass
}}
| genre               = {{flatlist|
*[[Alternative rock]]
*[[experimental rock]]
*[[punk rock]]
}}
}}
}}

'''Kim Althea Gordon''' (born April 28, 1953) is an American musician, singer and songwriter best known as the bassist, guitarist, and vocalist of [[alternative rock]] band [[Sonic Youth]]. Born in [[Rochester, New York]], she was raised in [[Los Angeles]], California, where her father was a professor at the [[University of California, Los Angeles]]. After graduating from Los Angeles's [[Otis College of Art and Design]], she moved to New York City to begin an art career. There, she formed Sonic Youth with [[Thurston Moore]] in 1981.<ref name=":0" /> She and Moore married in 1984, and the band released a total of six albums on independent labels before the end of the 1980s. It then released nine studio albums on the label [[DGC Records]], beginning with ''[[Goo (album)|Goo]]'' in 1990. Gordon was also a founding member of the musical project [[Free Kitten]], which she formed with [[Julia Cafritz]] in 1993.

Sonic Youth released its 15th and final studio album, ''[[The Eternal (album)|The Eternal]]'' (2009), on [[Matador Records]] before disbanding in 2011 after Gordon and Moore separated. After the dissolution of Sonic Youth and her divorce from Moore, Gordon formed the experimental duo [[Body/Head]] with [[Bill Nace]], which releasing its debut album, ''[[Coming Apart (album)|Coming Apart]]'', in 2013. She subsequently formed [[Glitterbust]] with Alex Knost, releasing a self-titled debut album in 2016. Body/Head released its second studio album, ''[[The Switch (Body/Head album)|The Switch]]'', in 2018. Gordon released her first solo album, ''[[No Home Record]]'', in 2019. Her sophomore solo effort, ''[[The Collective (Kim Gordon album)|The Collective]]'', followed in 2024. Released to widespread critical acclaim, it has earned Gordon her first two Grammy nominations.

In addition to her work as a musician, Gordon has had ventures in [[Record producer|record producing]], fashion, and acting, and has worked consistently as a visual artist throughout her musical career. She debuted as a producer on [[Hole (band)|Hole]]'s debut album ''[[Pretty on the Inside]]'' (1991), and founded the Los Angeles–based clothing line X-Girl in 1993. Beginning in the mid-2000s, Gordon began acting, making minor appearances in such films as ''[[Last Days (2005 film)|Last Days]]'' (2005) and ''[[I'm Not There]]'' (2007) and guest-starring on several television series. In 2015, she published a memoir, ''[[Girl in a Band]]'', by [[HarperCollins]] imprint Dey Street Books.

==Life and career==
===1953–1978: Early life===
Kim Althea Gordon was born April 28, 1953,{{sfn|George-Warren|Romanowski|2005|p=912}} in [[Rochester, New York]], the second child of Althea ({{abbr|d.|died}} 2002) and Calvin Wayne Gordon (1915{{en dash}}1998).<ref name=stage/><ref name=maron>{{cite interview|interviewer=[[Marc Maron]]|last=Gordon|first=Kim|work=[[WTF with Marc Maron]]|date=March 26, 2015|title=Interview with Kim Gordon|ref=none}}</ref><ref name=memoriam>{{cite web|work=University of California, Los Angeles|date=February 24, 1998|url=https://senate.universityofcalifornia.edu/_files/inmemoriam/html/WayneC.Gordon.htm|access-date=August 23, 2018|title=In Memoriam: C. Wayne Gordon}}</ref> At the time of her birth, Gordon's father, a native of [[Kansas]],<ref name=memoriam/> was a professor in the [[sociology]] department at the [[University of Rochester]].{{Sfn|Gordon|2015|p=15}}<ref>{{cite news|work=Democrat and Chronicle|location=Rochester, New York|title=3 Groups to Study Center for Alcoholics|page=3B|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22874476/democrat_and_chronicle/|date=March 25, 1956|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> Her mother, a descendant of [[American pioneer]]s of the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]],{{sfn|Gordon|2015|p=4}} learned to sew during her upbringing in the [[Great Depression]], and worked as a [[Dressmaker|seamstress]] throughout Gordon's childhood.<ref name=stage/><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]]|title=Rockabye Baby|url=https://people.com/archive/rockabye-baby-vol-45-no-23/|volume=45|issue=23|author=''People'' Staff|date=June 10, 1996|access-date=August 17, 2018}}</ref> She was described by Gordon as "reserved and usually anxious" and "an unfulfilled artist."<ref name=stage/> Gordon has one older brother, Keller (1949–2023),<ref name=stage/> whom she described as "brilliant, manipulative, sadistic, arrogant, almost unbearably articulate," and "the person who more than anyone else in the world shaped who I was, and who I turned out to be."{{sfn|Gordon|2015|p=14}}

At the age of five, Gordon and her family relocated to [[Los Angeles|Los Angeles, California]] when her father was offered a professorship in the sociology department at the [[University of California, Los Angeles|University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://senate.universityofcalifornia.edu/inmemoriam/WayneC.Gordon.htm|work=University of California|title=Wayne C. Gordon|access-date=September 20, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055009/http://senate.universityofcalifornia.edu/inmemoriam/WayneC.Gordon.htm|archive-date=September 21, 2013|df=mdy-all}}</ref>{{sfn|Gordon|2015|p=14}} where he later became the [[Dean (education)|Dean of Faculty]].<ref name=stage/> As a child, Gordon attended [[UCLA Lab School|University Elementary School]], a progressive elementary school affiliated with UCLA, which she described as "learn[ing] by doing. So we were always making African spears and going down to the river and making mud huts, or skinning a cowhide and drying it and throwing it off the cliff at [[Dana Point, California|Dana Point]]."<ref name="Lizzy"/> In her memoir, Gordon recounts spending summers with her family in [[Klamath, California]], near the [[Oregon]] border.{{Sfn|Gordon|2015|pages=25–26}} The family also lived in [[British Hong Kong]] for one year during her childhood.<ref name=stage/>

Gordon attended [[University High School (Los Angeles, California)|University High School]] in Los Angeles, and dated classmate [[Danny Elfman]] while a student there.<ref>{{cite news|work=The New York Times|title=Kim Gordon, Sonic Youth's Antifrontwoman, on the Band and Breakups|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/19/books/kim-gordon-of-sonic-youth-writes-about-her-band-and-breakups.html|access-date=August 17, 2018|last=Coscarelli|first=Joe|date=February 18, 2015 }}</ref> After graduating high school, she attended [[Santa Monica College]] for two years<ref name=nr>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[The New Republic]]|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/120936/kim-gordon-girl-band-review-when-riot-grrl-grows|title=Even Kim Gordon Doesn't Have It All|last=Friedman|first=Ann|date=February 4, 2015|access-date=August 14, 2018}}</ref> before transferring to [[York University]] in [[Toronto]], Ontario, Canada.<ref name="Barclay">{{cite web|title=Sonic Youth Time Takes Its Crazy Toll|url=http://exclaim.ca/Features/Timeline/sonic_youth-time_takes_its_crazy_toll-2|work=Exclaim.ca|publisher=Ontario Media Development Corporations|access-date=April 29, 2013|last=Barclay|first=Michael|date=July 2002}}</ref> Gordon soon grew homesick and chose to drop out of York at the end of the school year and return to Los Angeles.{{sfn|Gordon|2015|pages=72–73}} "I was less and less happy as the bleak Toronto winter moved in," she recalled. "Without the benefit of California sunshine, my hair grew darker and darker, and I had no idea how to dress for the cold."{{sfn|Gordon|2015|p=73}} She decided to enroll at the [[Otis College of Art and Design]],{{sfn|Gaar|2002|p=370}} which she said "changed my life."{{sfn|Gordon|2015|p=73}} Gordon lived in [[Culver City, California|Culver City]] and [[Venice, Los Angeles|Venice]], Los Angeles, and worked at an [[Indian cuisine|Indian]] restaurant to pay her tuition.{{sfn|Gordon|2015|p=73}} She also briefly worked for [[art dealer]] [[Larry Gagosian]] as a side-job.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/03/kim-gordon_n_3838068.html|title=Kim Gordon works with Larry Gagosian|last=Brooks|first=Katherine|work=The Huffington Post|date= September 3, 2013|access-date=August 14, 2018}}</ref> She graduated with a [[Bachelor of Fine Arts]] degree in 1977.<ref>{{cite web|work=Otis College of Art and Design|title=Interview with Alumna Kim Gordon|access-date=August 18, 2018|url=https://www.otis.edu/news/new-york-times-style-magazine-kim-gordon-wanted-to-be-visual-artist-then-she-got-%E2%80%98sidetracked%E2%80%99}}</ref>

While she was a student at Otis, Gordon's older brother Keller suffered a [[Psychosis|psychotic episode]] on the day of his graduation from the [[University of California, Berkeley]], where he had earned a [[Master's degree]] in [[classics]].<ref name=stage>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|title=Next Stage|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/06/03/next-stage|last=Halberstadt|first=Alex|date=June 3, 2013|access-date=August 17, 2018}} {{closed access}}</ref> He was subsequently diagnosed with [[paranoid schizophrenia]], and for a time lived in [[halfway house]]s before becoming a [[Ward (law)|ward]] of the state of California.<ref name=stage/> The song "Schizophrenia," which appeared on Sonic Youth's fourth studio album, ''[[Sister (Sonic Youth album)|Sister]]'' (1987), was partly inspired by her brother.<ref name=stage/>

===1979–1994: Sonic Youth and X-Girl===
{{main|Sonic Youth}}
After graduating from the [[Otis College of Art and Design|Otis Art Institute]], Gordon moved to [[New York City]] in 1980, hoping to pursue a career in art.<ref name=sidetracked/> There, she took art-related jobs to earn an income, such as working as a writer for ''[[Artforum]]'',{{sfn|Molon|2007|p=15}} and launched a "[[Do it yourself|D.I.Y.]] project called Design Office, doing low-fi artistic interventions" in friends' apartments.<ref name=sidetracked/> In 1981, she curated an exhibition at [[White Columns]] Gallery<ref name=sidetracked/> that involved contributions from [[Mike Kelley (artist)|Mike Kelley]] and [[Tony Oursler]], among others. Around 1981, Gordon became interested in "[[no wave|no-wave]]" bands, recalling: "When I came to New York, I'd go and see bands downtown playing no-wave music. It was expressionistic and it was also nihilistic. Punk rock was tongue-in-cheek, saying, 'Yeah, we're destroying rock.' No-wave music is more like, 'NO, we're really destroying rock.' It was very dissonant. I just felt like, Wow, this is really free. I could do that."<ref name="Lizzy"/>

[[File:Sonic Youth (1992).jpg|thumb|upright=1|left|Gordon performing with Sonic Youth in [[Leeds]], 1992]]
In 1981, Gordon joined the short-lived band CKM,<ref>{{cite web|work=The New York Times|title=A Lasting Experiment with Music|date=September 6, 2013|last=Ratcliffe|first=Ben|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/08/arts/music/kim-gordon-ex-sonic-youth-never-trained-for-this-career.html|access-date=August 15, 2018}} {{closed access}}</ref> with Christine Hahn and [[Stanton Miranda]], and met her future [[Sonic Youth]] bandmates [[Lee Ranaldo]] and [[Thurston Moore]] through Miranda. At the time, Gordon, then 27 years old, had never played an instrument.<ref>{{cite news|work=The World|title=Gordon sonic mentor, mother|date=June 14, 1995|page=9|location=Coos Bay, Oregon|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22877301/the_world/|via=Newspapers.com|last=Hall|first=Molly|publisher=Associated Press}} {{open access}}</ref> Gordon began dating Moore and, together with Ranaldo, the couple then formed Sonic Youth in 1981.<ref name="Lizzy"/> Originally the band released their first unnamed EP (considered by the band to be their first album) in 1982 and their first two albums, ''[[Confusion is Sex]]'' (1983) and ''[[Bad Moon Rising (album)|Bad Moon Rising]]'' (1985) on Neutral and Homestead Records, respectively, before signing with [[SST Records|SST]] to release ''[[Evol (Sonic Youth Album)|EVOL]]'' (1986) and ''[[Sister (Sonic Youth album)|Sister]]'' (1987). Gordon and Moore married in 1984, three years after beginning Sonic Youth.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Rolling Stone|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/sonic-youths-kim-gordon-and-thurston-moore-announce-split-173280/|title=Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore Announce Split|last=Nagy|first=Evie|access-date=August 15, 2018|date=October 15, 2011}}</ref> In October 1988, the band released ''[[Daydream Nation]]'' through Enigma Records.

In 1989, Sonic Youth signed onto [[DGC Records]], a subsidiary of [[Geffen Records|Geffen]], and released ''[[Goo (album)|Goo]]'' (1990), which became the group's first commercial hit.{{sfn|Robins|2008|pages=258–260}} Also in 1989, Gordon, Sadie May, and [[Lydia Lunch]] formed [[Harry Crews (band)|Harry Crews]], and released the album ''Naked in Garden Hills''.{{sfn|Foege|1994|p=266}} To promote ''Goo'', Gordon toured with Sonic Youth extensively between 1990 and 1991, and a documentary titled ''[[1991: The Year Punk Broke]]'' documented the band's tour with [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]], [[Babes in Toyland (band)|Babes in Toyland]], [[Dinosaur Jr.]], [[Gumball (band)|Gumball]] and [[Mudhoney]].{{sfn|Yarm|2011|pages=297–299}} In early 1991, [[Courtney Love]], who had been influenced by Sonic Youth and the no-wave scene, sent Gordon a letter asking her to produce her band [[Hole (band)|Hole]]'s debut record, ''[[Pretty on the Inside]]''. Gordon, along with assistance from [[Don Fleming (musician)|Don Fleming]], produced the album in March 1991, which received critical acclaim and later achieved [[cult following|cult]] status.<ref name="Lizzy">{{cite web|title=Kim Gordon Sounds Off|url=http://www.elle.com/pop-culture/celebrities/kim-gordon-sonic-youth-profile|work=Elle |access-date=September 20, 2013|last=Goodman|first=Lizzy|date=April 22, 2013}}</ref> Gordon commented on the recording sessions that Love "was either charming and nice or screaming at her band" but that she was "a really good singer and entertainer and front person."{{Sfn|Browne|2009|p=272}} In 1992, Gordon released a single, "Electric Pen," with Mirror/Dash, a short-lived project she formed with Moore.{{sfn|Foege|1994|p=306}}

Beginning in 1993, Gordon co-owned, with Daisy von Furth, a women's [[streetwear]] clothing company in Los Angeles, called X-Girl.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[The Age]]|location=Melbourne, Victoria|last=Harford|first=Sonia|title=Kim Gordon rocks a male music world|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22877173/the_age/|date=December 20, 1995|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> The company was a spin-off of [[X-Large (clothing brand)|X-Large]], a men's streetwear company co-founded by [[Mike D|Michael Diamond]] of the [[Beastie Boys]].<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|date=May 30, 1994|page=50|title=The beauty of the Beasties|last=France|first=Kim|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p7oBAAAAMBAJ|issn=0028-7369|volume=27|issue=22}}</ref> The first X-Girl store was opened in Los Angeles in 1994.<ref>{{cite web|title=An Oral History of X-Girl|url=http://www.papermag.com/arts_and_style/2012/08/an-oral-history-of-x-girl.php|work=[[Paper (magazine)|Paper]]|access-date=April 29, 2013|last=Thompson|first=Elizabeth|author2=Swerdloff, Alexia|date=August 20, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130519122939/http://www.papermag.com/arts_and_style/2012/08/an-oral-history-of-x-girl.php|archive-date=May 19, 2013|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Actress [[Chloë Sevigny]] served as a model for several pieces in the clothing line.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]]|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/x-girl-kim-gordon-skater-girl-style-90s-fashion-chloe-sevigny-beastie-boys|title=The X-Girl Factor: How the Cult '90s Label Set the Standard for Skater-Girl Style|last=Johnson|first=Rebecca|date=July 1, 2016|access-date=August 14, 2018}}</ref> Also in 1993, Gordon formed the musical project [[Free Kitten]] with [[Julia Cafritz]].{{sfn|Blush|2016|p=362}} On July 1, 1994, Gordon gave birth to her only child, daughter Coco Hayley Moore, with Thurston Moore.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Rolling Stone|title=The Rolling Stone Interview: Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore|last=Fricke|first=David|date=September 22, 1994|access-date=August 15, 2018|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-rolling-stone-interview-sonic-youths-thurston-moore-95811/}}</ref>

===1995–2008: Music, art, and acting===
Free Kitten released their debut studio album, ''[[Nice Ass]]'', in 1995, followed by ''[[Sentimental Education (Free Kitten album)|Sentimental Education]]'' (1997), both on the independent label [[Kill Rock Stars]].{{sfn|Christgau|2000|p=109}} In 1993, Gordon co-directed [[The Breeders]]' "[[Cannonball (The Breeders song)|Cannonball]]" music video with [[Spike Jonze]],{{sfn|Mayshark|2007|p=138}} and was also involved in an exhibition entitled ''Baby Generation'' at Parco gallery in Tokyo. Gordon's exhibition ''Kim's Bedroom'' was shown at MU in the Netherlands, and included drawing and paintings alongside live music and special guests.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.mu.nl/exhibitions/21-kimsbedroom/kim-eng.html |title= MU past exhibitions: Kim's Bedroom|access-date = November 13, 2007|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070625132812/http://www.mu.nl/exhibitions/21-kimsbedroom/kim-eng.html|archive-date = June 25, 2007 }}</ref>

[[File:WikiKimGordon.jpg|thumb|upright=1|right|Gordon performing with Sonic Youth in [[Seattle]], 2009]]
As a part of Sonic Youth, Gordon released several albums in the mid–late 1990s, including ''[[Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star]]'' (1994), ''[[Washing Machine (album)|Washing Machine]]'' (1995), and ''[[A Thousand Leaves]]'' (1998), all on DGC Records.{{sfn|Bogdanov|Woodstra|Erlewine|2002|p=1041}} They subsequently released ''[[NYC Ghosts & Flowers]]'' in 2000, and ''[[Murray Street (album)|Murray Street]]'' in 2002.{{sfn|Bogdanov|Woodstra|Erlewine|2002|pages=1041–1042}} In 1999, after selling her share of X-Girl,<ref name=stage/> Gordon relocated with Moore from New York City to [[Northampton, Massachusetts]], to raise their daughter.<ref name=sidetracked>{{cite news|work=The New York Times|title=Kim Gordon Wanted to Be a Visual Artist. Then She Got 'Sidetracked.'|last=Felsenthal|first=Julia|date=July 12, 2018|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/12/t-magazine/kim-gordon-body-head.html|access-date=August 14, 2018}} {{closed access}}</ref> Around 2002, Gordon became involved with The Supreme Indifference, a musical collaboration that involved Gordon, Jim O'Rourke and Alan Licht.<ref name=pop>{{cite web|work=[[PopMatters]]|url=https://www.popmatters.com/various-fieldsandstreams-2496124527.html|title=Various Artists: Fields and Streams|last=Begrand|first=Adrian|date=July 11, 2002|access-date=August 14, 2018}}</ref> The band appeared on the 2002 compilation ''[[Fields and Streams]]'', though their contribution was deemed "annoying" and the project "self-indulgent" by critic Adrian Begrand of ''[[PopMatters]]''.<ref name=pop/>

In 2003, Gordon was featured in the [[Gothenburg]] Biennale and exhibited ''Club In The Shadow'', an [[installation art]] collaboration with artist [[Jutta Koether]], at Kenny Schachter's Contemporary Gallery in New York City.{{sfn|Molon|2007|pages=138, 271}} In 2005, she submitted another collaboration with Koether for the ''Her Noise'' exhibition in London, United Kingdom, entitled "Reverse Karaoke."{{sfn|Jones|Heathfield|2012|p=307}} In the same year, an [[artist's book]] ''Kim Gordon Chronicles Vol. 1'' was published and featured photos of Gordon throughout her life.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kim Gordon: Chronicles Vol.1|url=http://www.artbook.com/3905714019.html|website=Artbook.com|access-date=April 29, 2013|date=August 15, 2005}}</ref> The following year, ''Kim Gordon Chronicles Vol. 2'' was released and featured her drawings, collages, and paintings.<ref>{{cite web|title=Chronicles Vol.2 Kim Gordon (Northampton, USA)|url=http://www.nieves.ch/catalogue/kimgordon2about.html|website=Nieves.ch|access-date=April 29, 2013|year=2006}}</ref>

Beginning in 2005, Gordon began appearing in minor or supporting parts in films, first as a record executive in [[Gus Van Sant]]'s ''[[Last Days (2005 film)|Last Days]]''.<ref name=lastdays>{{cite web|work=[[MTV]]|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1506169/sonic-youth-revisit-their-friend-kurt-cobain-in-last-days/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219180144/http://www.mtv.com/news/1506169/sonic-youth-revisit-their-friend-kurt-cobain-in-last-days/|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 19, 2014|date=July 22, 2005|title=Sonic Youth Revisit Their Friend Kurt Cobain in ''Last Days''|access-date=August 15, 2018|last=Perez|first=Rodrigo}}</ref> She then had a small role portraying a textile exporter in the 2007 French thriller film ''[[Boarding Gate]]'',<ref name=boarding>{{cite web|work=[[The Oregonian]]|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/movies/2008/04/review_boarding_gate_a_portal.html|date=April 4, 2008|title=Review: "Boarding Gate" a Portal to Nowhere|last=Levy|first=Shawn|access-date=August 15, 2018}}</ref> and in [[Todd Haynes]]'s ''[[I'm Not There]]'' (2007), inspired by the life of [[Bob Dylan]].<ref name=notthere>{{cite web|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/21/movies/21ther.html|title=Another Side of Bob Dylan, and Another, and Another ...|date=November 21, 2007|last=Scott|first=A.O.|access-date=July 9, 2018}} {{closed access}}</ref> The same year, she played a street troubadour in the season six finale of the television series ''[[Gilmore Girls]]'', along with husband Moore and their daughter Coco, performing the song "What a Waste" from the album ''[[Rather Ripped]]''.<ref name=gg/>

In September 2008, Gordon launched a limited-edition fashion line called Mirror/Dash (also the name of a musical side project that was created with Moore),{{sfn|Foege|1994|p=306}} inspired by [[Françoise Hardy]] and based on the idea that "there's a need for clothes for cool moms."<ref>{{cite web|title=Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon launches clothing line|url=https://www.nme.com/news/sonic-youth/39872|access-date=February 7, 2025|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817125139/https://www.nme.com/news/music/sonic-youth-62-1322622|work=NME|archive-date=August 17, 2018|date=September 22, 2008}}</ref>

===2009–2011: Dissolution of Sonic Youth; personal struggles===
Sonic Youth released their final studio album, ''[[The Eternal (album)|The Eternal]]'', in 2009.{{sfn|Weglarz|Pedelty|2016|p=158}} ''Rolling Stone'' journalist Will Hermes wrote of the album: "It's amusing to think that the fiercely freaky Sonic Youth were a major-label act for nearly 20 years. ''The Eternal'' marks their literal return to indie rock – and that's no big whoop, since they've always done pretty much what they want anyway. The irony is that ''The Eternal'' might be their most concise record ever. It's also a rock & roll ass-kicker."<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Rolling Stone|title=The Eternal|last=Hermes|first=Will|date=May 26, 2009|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/the-eternal-252675/|access-date=August 15, 2018}}</ref> The same year, Gordon, along with the rest of Sonic Youth, made an appearance in the television series ''[[Gossip Girl (TV series)|Gossip Girl]]'' and performed an acoustic version of the song "[[Starpower (song)|Starpower]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/2012/12/kim-gordon-couldnt-keep-up-with-gossip-girl.html|work=Vulture|title=Kim Gordon Just Couldn't Keep Up With Gossip Girl|date=December 11, 2012|last=Vineyard|first=Jennifer|access-date=August 15, 2018}}</ref>

In 2011, Gordon and Moore separated after 27 years of marriage.<ref>{{cite web|last=Tartar |first=Andre |url=https://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/10/sonic_youths_moore_and_gordon.html |title=Sonic Youth's Moore and Gordon Separating|work=New York Magazine|date=October 15, 2011 |access-date=February 19, 2012}}</ref> The next month, bandmate Ranaldo said Sonic Youth had disbanded,<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Perpetua|first1=Matthew|title=Lee Ranaldo on the Future of Sonic Youth|date=November 28, 2011|magazine=Rolling Stone|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/lee-ranaldo-on-the-future-of-sonic-youth-77247/|access-date=August 15, 2018}}</ref> after having been together 30 years.{{efn|Sonic Youth was founded by Gordon and Moore in 1981, and the group formally disbanded in 2011.}} After their divorce was finalized in April 2013, Gordon revealed that she had confronted Moore about a text message from another woman which was then followed by counseling sessions, and the separation occurred because Moore continued his extra-marital relationship. Gordon said her ex-husband was "like a lost soul."<ref name="Lizzy" />

She also said she had been diagnosed with [[Ductal carcinoma in situ|DCIS]] [[breast cancer]] during her divorce, which was successfully treated with surgery.<ref name="Lizzy" /><ref>{{cite web|work=The Guardian|location=London|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/apr/23/kim-gordon-split-thurston-moore|title=Kim Gordon reveals why she split from Thurston Moore|last=Michaels|first=Sean|date=April 23, 2013|access-date=August 15, 2018}}</ref>

===Since 2012: Body/Head and other projects===
[[File:Kim Gordon in Brooklyn, NY.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1|Gordon performing with Body/Head, 2018]]
Following the announcement of Sonic Youth's hiatus, Gordon commenced touring with [[Ikue Mori]], Tokyo-born drummer of late-1970s band [[DNA (American band)|DNA]]—Gordon had performed with Mori previously at events such as the NoFunFest in 2004.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kim Gordon / Ikue Mori / DJ Olive: self-titled|url=https://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/gordonkim-st/|work=PopMatters|publisher=Spin Music, a division of SpinMedia|access-date=April 29, 2013|last=Dav|first=Heaton|year=1999–2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=SYR4: GOODBYE 20th CENTURY|url=http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/lp/lp15.html|work=Sonic Youth|access-date=April 29, 2013|year=2013}}</ref><ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/nU4sHeMSr24 Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20130921064818/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU4sHeMSr24 Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web|title=Ikue Mori & Kim Gordon w/ The Sweet Ride (NoFunFest 2004)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU4sHeMSr24|work=YouTube|publisher=Google, Inc|access-date=September 9, 2013|author=HolgerXregloH|format=Video upload|date=July 4, 2010}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The duo completed a European tour in mid-2012 and Gordon explained during a corresponding interview: "You sorta want to get lost and you hope that the audience gets lost with you&nbsp;... You can feel if they're listening, you can feel if there's some connection."<ref>{{cite web|title=A gig to remember: Kim Gordon and Ikue Mori live in Belgrade|url=http://bturn.com/9096/a-gig-to-remember-kim-gordon-and-ikue-mori-live-in-belgrade|work=B turn|access-date=September 9, 2013|last=Lunch|first=Lily|date=July 27, 2012}}</ref> Together with Bill Nace, Gordon and Mori were selected for the June 2013 [[All Tomorrow's Parties (festival)|All Tomorrow's Parties]] event that was curated by the band [[Deerhunter]].<ref>{{cite web|title=ATP curated by Deerhunter|url=http://www.atpfestival.com/events/deerhunter.php|work=All Tomorrow's Parties Festival|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150817234840/http://www.atpfestival.com/events/deerhunter|archive-date=August 17, 2015|access-date=September 9, 2013|date=June 2013}}</ref> Around 2012, Gordon formed a noise guitar project with Nace, entitled [[Body/Head]], and a single called "The Eyes, The Mouth" was released in 2012 on Belgian label Ultra Eczema.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kim Gordon's Body/Head Announce European Tour|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/47626-kim-gordons-bodyhead-announce-european-tour/|work=Pitchfork|access-date=September 9, 2013|last=Pelly|first=Jen|date=August 23, 2012}}</ref> The band's debut album ''[[Coming Apart (album)|Coming Apart]]'' was released on September 10, 2013, on the [[Matador Records]] label and the band completed a U.S. tour during the fall of 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=Body/Head Via Pitchfork Advance|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/52109-stream-the-debut-album-from-kim-gordons-band-bodyhead-via-pitchfork-advance/|work=Pitchfork|access-date=September 9, 2013|author=''Pitchfork'' Advance|date=September 2, 2013}}</ref>

{{quote box|align=right|width=22em|quote=I almost feel like I'm making up for lost time. I feel like I owe it to myself. Because my whole life I wanted to be a visual artist. I really got sidetracked into music.|source={{en dash}} Gordon on her artistic aspirations being precluded by her career as a musician, 2018<ref name=sidetracked/>}}

Gordon also immersed herself in producing art, having felt that music had "sidetracked" her career as a visual artist.<ref name=sidetracked/> She held several art exhibitions in 2013, including "The Show Is Over," at [[Gagosian Gallery]] in London, and the survey "Design Office with Kim Gordon–Since 1980," at White Columns, New York,<ref name="Lizzy" /> the latter a revival of a project she had begun in 1980.<ref name=sidetracked/> In 2014, she presented newly created ''Wreath Paintings'' throughout [[Rudolph Schindler (architect)|Rudolf Schindler]]'s iconic Fitzpatrick-Leland House under the byname of Design Office.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gagosian.com/exhibitions/kim-gordon--april-05-2014|title=Kim Gordon: Design Office "Coming Soon", April 5 - 26, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140422232920/http://www.gagosian.com/exhibitions/kim-gordon--april-05-2014|archive-date=April 22, 2014 |publisher=[[Gagosian Gallery]], Los Angeles|access-date=August 15, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> In January 2014, she appeared in the season three premiere of the series ''[[Girls (TV series)|Girls]]'' as Mindy, a recovering drug addict in a rehab support group.<ref name=girls>{{Cite web|work=NME|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/kim-gordon-8-1229111|title=Kim Gordon appears on opening episode of 'Girls' series three|last=Cooper|first=Leonie|date=January 13, 2013|access-date=August 15, 2018}}</ref> She then appeared as herself in a March 2014 episode of ''[[Portlandia (TV series)|Portlandia]]''.<ref name=portlandia/>

Gordon published a [[memoir]], ''[[Girl in a Band]]'', on February 24, 2015, by [[HarperCollins]] imprint Dey Street Books.<ref>{{cite web|work=The New York Times|title=Kim Gordon's 'Girl in a Band'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/15/books/review/kim-gordons-girl-in-a-band.html|date=March 15, 2015|author=Questlove|author-link=Questlove|access-date=August 14, 2018}} {{closed access}}</ref> The memoir explores her childhood, life in art and [[Sonic Youth]], and marriage to and divorce from [[Thurston Moore]]. Its title, ''Girl in a Band'', stems from a lyric in "Sacred Trickster" from Sonic Youth's final album, ''[[The Eternal (album)|The Eternal]]'' (2009). The lyric goes, "What's it like to be a girl in a band?/ I don't quite understand."<ref name="Pitchfork Media Inc">{{cite news|last1=Pelly|first1=Jenn|title=Kim Gordon's Memoir Girl in a Band to Be Published in February, Cover Art Revealed|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/56998-kim-gordons-memoir-girl-in-a-band-to-be-published-in-february-cover-art-revealed/|access-date=October 9, 2014|agency=Pitchfork|date=October 8, 2014}}</ref> The same year, Gordon appeared in ''[[The Nightmare (2015 German film)|The Nightmare]]'' (2015), a German [[horror film]] in which she portrayed a schoolteacher, which was released at the [[Locarno International Film Festival]]. She also contributed to its soundtrack.<ref name=nightmare/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/60659-kim-gordon-lands-role-in-german-body-horror-der-nachtmahr-contributes-to-soundtrack/|title=Kim Gordon Lands Role in German Body Horror ''Der Nachtmahr'', Contributes to Soundtrack|website=Pitchfork|date=August 4, 2015}}</ref> In November that year, Gordon relocated from the Massachusetts home she had shared with Moore and their daughter to her hometown of Los Angeles, purchasing a home in the [[Franklin Hills, Los Angeles|Franklin Hills]] neighborhood.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2015/dirt/real-estalker/kim-gordon-buys-los-angeles-house-1201638010/|work=Variety|title=Alt Rock Queen Kim Gordon Snags L.A. Base|last=David|first=Mark|date=November 11, 2015|access-date=July 29, 2017}}</ref>

Also in 2015, Gordon formed the experimental musical group [[Glitterbust]] with guitarist Alex Knost, releasing a self-titled debut album in March 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21665-glitterbust/|title=Glitterbust: Glitterbust|work=Pitchfork|date=March 9, 2016|last=Pelly|first=Jen|access-date=August 15, 2018}}</ref> Gordon then appeared in [[Tony Oursler]]'s film ''Imponderable'', which screened at the [[Museum of Modern Art]] in June 2016.<ref name=imponderable>{{cite news|author=MoMA Press|url=http://press.moma.org/2016/04/tony-oursler-imponderable/|title=Tony Oursler: Imponderable|publisher=Museum of Modern Art|access-date=August 15, 2018|date=April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314063507/http://press.moma.org/2016/04/tony-oursler-imponderable/|archive-date=March 14, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> On September 12, 2016, Gordon released her first solo single, "Murdered Out", followed on August 20, 2019, by a second solo single, "Sketch Artist". A third track, "Air BnB", was released on September 11. All tracks appear on her first solo record on Matador Records, ''[[No Home Record]]'', which was released on October 13, 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/kim-gordon-announces-solo-debut-no-home-record-shares-video-for-new-song-watch/|title=Kim Gordon Announces Solo Debut No Home Record, Shares Video for New Song: Watch|website=Pitchfork|date=August 20, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/68173-listen-to-kim-gordons-new-song-murdered-out/|title=Listen to Kim Gordon's New Song "Murdered Out"|work=Pitchfork|last=Lozano|first=Kevin|access-date=September 23, 2016|date=September 12, 2016}}</ref>
[[File:Kim gordon 2018.png|thumb|upright|Gordon in 2018]]
In 2017, Gordon had a small role on the [[HBO]] series ''[[Animals (U.S. TV series)|Animals]]'',<ref name=animals>{{cite news|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/71524-solange-killer-mike-kim-gordon-big-boi-more-set-for-hbos-animals-season-2/|work=Pitchfork|title=Solange, Killer Mike, Kim Gordon, Big Boi, More Set for HBO's "Animals" Season 2|last=Strauss|first=Matthew|date=February 10, 2017|access-date=August 14, 2018}}</ref> followed by a supporting role in Gus Van Sant's comedy-drama film ''[[Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot]]''.<ref name=faronfoot>{{cite web|work=Variety|url=https://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/dont-worry-he-wont-get-far-on-foot-review-1202670426/|title=Film Review: 'Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot'|last=Debruge|first=Peter|date=January 20, 2018|access-date=August 15, 2018}}</ref> Her album ''[[No Home Record]]'' was rated number 8 of Paste Magazine's "20 Best Punk Albums of 2019".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2019/12/best-punk-albums-2019.html|work=Paste Magazine|title=20 Best Punk Albums of 2019|last=Manno (& Paste Staff)|first=Lizzie|date=December 27, 2019|access-date=December 27, 2019}}</ref>

''Kim Gordon: Lo-Fi Glamour'', Gordon's first North American museum solo-exhibition, opened at [[The Andy Warhol Museum]] in 2019. The exhibition features a commissioned score for [[Andy Warhol]]’s 1963–64 silent film ''[[Kiss (1963 film)|Kiss]]'' in conversation with text paintings, figure drawings and erotic sculpture.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.warhol.org/exhibition/kim-gordon-lo-fi-glamour/|title=Kim Gordon: Lo-Fi Glamour|website=The Andy Warhol Museum|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-20}}</ref>

In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked Gordon the 39th greatest bassist of all time.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2020-07-02 |title=The 50 Greatest Bassists of All Time |url=https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/50-greatest-bassists-of-all-time-13565/kim-gordon-13578/ |access-date=2023-11-08 |website=Rolling Stone Australia |language=en-AU}}</ref>

In December 2021, Gordon recorded a 7" single on Sub Pop Records with [[J Mascis]] titled "Abstract Blues" backed with "Slow Boy".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://pitchfork.com/news/kim-gordon-and-j-mascis-release-new-songs-listen/ | title=Kim Gordon and J Mascis Release New Songs | website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] | date=December 10, 2021 }}</ref>

"Bye Bye" was released as a single in January 2024. The track is from Gordon's album ''[[The Collective (Kim Gordon album)|The Collective]]'', which was released in March 2024. The song is accompanied by an official video starring her daughter Coco Gordon Moore.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.destroyexist.com/2024/01/kim-gordon-bye-bye.html | title=Kim Gordon: BYE BYE | date=January 17, 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.undertheradarmag.com/news/kim_gordon_announces_new_album_and_tour_dates_shares_video_for_new_song_bye | title=Kim Gordon Announces New Album and Tour Dates, Shares Video for New Song "BYE BYE" }}</ref>

==Artistry==
Gordon possesses a [[contralto]] vocal range.<ref name=stage/> A 2016 review from ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' noted her voice as "one of the great instruments in post-punk history, though she doesn't always get credit for the variety of her technique."<ref>{{cite web|work=Pitchfork|title="Murdered Out" by Kim Gordon|last=Walls|first=Seth Colter|date=September 12, 2016|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/18521-kim-gordon-murdered-out/|access-date=August 20, 2018}}</ref> Despite her prolific career in music, Gordon told journalist [[Evan Smith (journalist)|Evan Smith]] in a 2015 interview that she never considered herself a musician, explaining that she had been "drawn into the world" of the music scenes happening in the 1980s, and that she "felt like an outsider" once part of it.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/D1SKcBTAXZs Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20180418145359/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1SKcBTAXZs&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite interview|last=Gordon|first=Kim|interviewer=[[Evan Smith (journalist)|Evan Smith]]|date=May 4, 2015|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1SKcBTAXZs|work=Overheard with Evan Smith|access-date=August 20, 2018|title=Kim Gordon - why she won't call herself a musician|ref=none}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Gordon's instrumental work as a guitarist has been described as "free-form"<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/inside-kim-gordons-latest-post-sonic-youth-experiment-104238/|magazine=Rolling Stone|title=Inside Kim Gordon's Latest Post–Sonic Youth Experiment|last=Grant|first=Sarah|date=October 26, 2016|access-date=August 20, 2018}}</ref> and experimental.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[Newsweek]]|url=https://www.newsweek.com/word-noise-was-derogatory-term-conversation-kim-gordon-514365|title='There's Not a Lot of Really Experimental Music Out There': Kim Gordon's New Noise Frontier|access-date=August 20, 2018|last=Schonfeld|first=Zach|date=October 31, 2016}}</ref>

==Influences==
Several female musicians influenced Gordon. She stated in 2015: {{blockquote|Initially, I was really inspired by [[The Slits]] and [[The Raincoats]], and [[Siouxsie Sioux]], [[Patti Smith]]. Then, there was [[The Runaways]], [[Janis Joplin]], [[Tina Turner]] – who is the ultimate performer – and [[Billie Holiday]].<ref name=woodward/>}}

==Public image==

Gordon is a [[popular culture]] icon, epitomizing an "ineffable, magnetic coolness"<ref name=sidetracked/> and "a certain brand of aloof, downtown cool."<ref>{{cite web|title=Kim Gordon's Not Pretending Anymore|url=https://www.elle.com/culture/books/reviews/a26946/kim-gordon-book-review/|work=Elle|access-date=August 16, 2018|last=Grose|first=Jessica|date=February 23, 2015}}</ref> Some journalists have noted her as a public figure who has "never given much away" about herself.<ref name=woodward>{{cite web|work=[[Another Magazine]]|title=Kim Gordon on Kurt Cobain and Female Icons|last=Woodward|first=Daisy|url=http://www.anothermag.com/design-living/7268/kim-gordon-on-kurt-cobain-and-female-icons|date=April 13, 2015|access-date=August 15, 2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180826190601/http://www.anothermag.com/design-living/7268/kim-gordon-on-kurt-cobain-and-female-icons|archive-date=August 26, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Ad-Rock|Adam Horovitz]] of the [[Beastie Boys]] commented on Gordon's persona, stating: "Wherever Kim ends up, she is the coolest person in the room. But I know her, and I know she'd rather be at home grilling hot dogs."<ref name=stage/>

Gordon has also been cited as "a modest [[polymath]]" given her varied career pursuits in art, music, fashion, and acting.<ref name=after>{{cite web|work=The Guardian|location=London|title=Kim Gordon: life after Sonic Youth|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/feb/16/kim-gordon-life-after-sonic-youth|date=February 16, 2014|access-date=August 15, 2018|last=Lynskey|first=Dorian}}</ref> While observations were made by the media of Gordon being "dauntingly impressive and self-assured" during her tenure with Sonic Youth, she commented in a retrospective interview that she was "pretty insecure about my image and where I fitted in."<ref name=after/> Describing her image, she said: "I knew I couldn't achieve some kind of cool, stylised image, that just wasn't me...&nbsp; It was a reaction to corporate style. So it was kind of just being yourself, you know walking on stage wearing a t-shirt."<ref name=woodward/>

Upon the release of her 2015 memoir, Gordon received some criticism for comments made about other musicians,<ref name=outlive>{{cite web|work=Vogue|title=#JeSuisKim: Why Kim Gordon and Her New Memoir Will Outlive the Lana Del Rey Twitter Controversy|last=Bengal|first=Rebecca|date=February 20, 2015|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/kim-gordon-interview-girl-in-a-band-memoir|access-date=August 16, 2018}}</ref> among them [[Lana Del Rey]]: "Naturally, [she]'s just a persona. If she really truly believes it's beautiful when young musicians go out on a hot flame of drugs and depression, why doesn't she just off herself?"<ref name=ld>{{cite web|work=NME|title=Kim Gordon says that Lana Del Rey 'doesn't even know what feminism is'|date=February 20, 2015|last=Britton|first=Luke Morgan|access-date=August 16, 2018|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/sonic-youth-10-1207478}}</ref> Gordon also reflected on working with [[Courtney Love]] in 1991, writing: "No one ever questions the disorder behind her tarantula LA glamour – [[sociopathy]], [[narcissism]] – because it's good rock and roll, good entertainment! I have a low tolerance for manipulative, egomaniacal behavior, and usually have to remind myself that the person might be mentally ill."<ref name=ld/> Gordon clarified her comments on Del Rey in a subsequent interview, stating: "Initially it was about just seeing something in the paper... something about how rock stars should just like kill themselves with drugs, and [[Frances Bean Cobain|Frances Bean]] [Cobain] had really reacted to that and I felt really actually weirdly protective of Frances. So I was basically just trying to point out that it was a persona and I just offhandedly said what I said...&nbsp; I guess I could have articulated the whole thing a lot better."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Daisy |title=Kim Gordon addresses her controversial Lana Del Rey comments |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/27086/1/kim-gordon-addresses-her-controversial-lana-del-rey-comments |website=[[Dazed]] |date=21 October 2015}}</ref>

==Honors==
On May 21, 2015, Gordon was honored at [[The Kitchen (art institution)|The Kitchen]]'s Spring Gala.<ref>{{cite web |title='Few Artists Have The Potential To Become Meta': At The Kitchen's Spring Gala Honoring Kim Gordon and Dan Graham |first=Hannah |last=Ghorashi |date=May 22, 2015|website=[[ARTnews]] |url=http://www.artnews.com/2015/05/22/few-artists-have-the-potential-to-become-meta-at-the-kitchens-spring-gala-honoring-kim-gordon-and-dan-graham/ |access-date=May 7, 2018 }}</ref>

On May 5, 2018, she received an [[Honorary Doctorate]] from the [[Emily Carr University of Art and Design]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Announcing our 2018 Honorary Doctorate + Emily Award Recipients |publisher=Emily Carr News |date=March 26, 2018 |url=https://www.ecuad.ca/news/2018/announcing-our-2018-honorary-doctorate-emily-award-recipients |access-date=May 7, 2018}}</ref>

==Legacy==
Gordon and her contributions in Sonic Youth are considered by critics and music scholars to have been key influences in the development of [[grunge]] music and [[riot grrrl]], both musical movements which began in the early 1990s.<ref name=after/>{{sfn|Strong|2016|p=109}} Among those who have cited her as an influence are filmmaker [[Sofia Coppola]],<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Bust|url=https://bust.com/movies/192978-sofia-coppola-cover-story-2011.html|title=Sofia Coppola Interviewed By Kim Gordon: From The BUST Archives |date=June 2017 }}</ref> musician [[Kathleen Hanna]], and Irish singer [[Róisín Murphy]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/may/10/roisin-murphy-shows-dramatic |title=Roisin Murphy on making shows dramatic|location=London|date=May 10, 2009|last=Murphy|first=Roisin|work=The Guardian|access-date=October 31, 2015}}</ref> Hanna explained in 2013:

<blockquote>She was a forerunner, musically. Just knowing a woman was in a band trading lead vocals, playing bass, and being a visual artist at the same time made me feel less alone. As a radical feminist singer, I wasn't particularly well liked. I was in a punk underground scene dominated by hardcore dudes who yelled mean shit at me every night, and journalists routinely called my voice shrill, unlistenable. Kim made me feel accepted in a way I hadn't before. Fucking Kim Gordon thought I was on the right track, haters be damned. It made the bullshit easier to take, knowing she was in my corner.<ref name="Lizzy" /></blockquote>

==Discography==
===Solo===
* ''[[SYR5]]'' (with DJ Olive and Ikue Mori) (2000)
* ''[[Yokokimthurston]]'' (with Yoko Ono and Thurston Moore) (2012)
* ''[[No Home Record]]'' (2019)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/kim-gordon-announces-solo-debut-no-home-record-shares-video-for-new-song-watch/|title=Kim Gordon Announces Solo Debut No Home Record, Shares Video for New Song: Watch|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|last=Yoo|first=Noah|date=August 20, 2019|access-date=August 22, 2019}}</ref>
* ''At Issue'' (2022) (with Loren Connors)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://issueprojectroom.org/event/sold-out-kim-gordon-loren-connors-dreamcrusher-alessandra-novaga-connors | title=Sold Out! Kim Gordon & Loren Connors / Dreamcrusher / Alessandra Novaga & Connors &#124; ISSUE Project Room }}</ref>
* ''[[The Collective (Kim Gordon album)|The Collective]]'' (2024)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/kim-gordon-announces-new-album-the-collective-and-tour-shares-song-listen/|title=Kim Gordon Announces New Album The Collective and Tour, Shares Song: Listen|last=Monroe|first=Jazz|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|date=January 16, 2024|access-date=January 16, 2024}}</ref>

===Sonic Youth===
{{Main|Sonic Youth discography}}

===Free Kitten===
* ''[[Unboxed (Free Kitten album)|Unboxed]]'' (1994)
* ''[[Nice Ass]]'' (1995)
* ''[[Sentimental Education (Free Kitten album)|Sentimental Education]]'' (1997)
* ''[[Inherit (album)|Inherit]]'' (2008)

===Body/Head===
* ''Body/Head 12"'' (2013)
* ''[[Coming Apart (album)|Coming Apart]]'' (2013)
* ''[[No Waves]]'' (2016)
* ''[[The Switch (Body/Head album)|The Switch]]'' (2018)

===Glitterbust===
* ''Glitterbust'' (2016)

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
! class="unsortable"| {{abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
| 1989 || ''The Whole World is Watching: Weatherman '69'' || [[Bernadine Dohrn]] || || align=center|<ref>{{cite journal|title=Raymond Pettibon|journal=[[Filmmaker (magazine)|Filmmaker]]|volume=6|page=20|publisher= Independent Feature Project & Independent Feature Project/West|year=1997|issn=1063-8954}}</ref>
|-
| 1992 || ''[[1991: The Year Punk Broke]]'' || Herself || Documentary film || align=center| <ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|url=https://ew.com/article/2016/09/22/kim-gordon-nirvana-nevermind/|title=Kim Gordon looks back on Nirvana's 'Nevermind'|last=O'Donnell|first=Kevin|date=September 22, 2016|access-date=August 15, 2018}}</ref>
|-
| 2005 || ''[[Last Days (2005 film)|Last Days]]'' || Record Executive ||   || align=center| <ref name=lastdays/>
|-
| 2006 || ''[[Gilmore Girls]]'' || Cool Mom Troubadour || Episode: "Partings" || align=center| <ref name=gg>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/58831/sonic-youth-gigs-with-gilmore-girls|magazine=Billboard|title=Sonic Youth Gigs with Gilmore Girls|date=April 6, 2006|access-date=August 14, 2018}}</ref>
|-
| 2007 || ''[[Boarding Gate]]'' || Kay ||  || align=center| <ref name=boarding/>
|-
| 2007 || ''[[I'm Not There]]'' || Carla Hendricks ||  || align=center| <ref name=notthere/>
|-
| 2009 || ''[[Gossip Girl]]'' || Herself || Episode: "Rufus Getting Married" || align=center|<ref name=gossip>{{cite web|work=Pitchfork|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/36792-watch-sonic-youth-on-gossip-girl/|title=Watch Sonic Youth on 'Gossip Girl'|date=October 13, 2009|last=Breihan|first=Tom|access-date=August 14, 2018}}</ref>
|-
| 2013 || ''Une Danse Des Bouffons'' || Maria Martins || Short film || align=center| <ref>{{cite web|work=The Huffington Post|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/27/une-danse-des-bouffons_n_5538612.html|title=Kim Gordon And Arcade Fire Are In A Short Film Together, Commence Collective Squee|last=Brooks|first=Katherine|date=June 27, 2014|access-date=August 15, 2018}}</ref>
|-
| 2014 || ''[[Girls (TV series)|Girls]]'' || Mindy || Episode: "Females Only" || align=center| <ref name=girls/>
|-
| 2014 || ''[[Portlandia (TV series)|Portlandia]]'' || Herself || Episode: "Pull-Out King" || align=center| <ref name=portlandia>{{cite web|work=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2014/03/portlandia-review-pull-out-king.html|title=Portlandia Review: "Pull Out King"
|date=March 20, 2014|last=Ziemba|first=Christine M.|access-date=August 15, 2018}}</ref>
|-
| 2015 || ''[[The Nightmare (2015 German film)|The Nightmare]]'' || English poetry teacher || German title: "Der Nachtmar" || align=center| <ref name=nightmare>{{cite web|work=[[The A.V. Club]]|title=Kim Gordon to play a schoolteacher in German horror film|last=Rife|first=Katie|date=August 4, 2015|url=https://www.avclub.com/kim-gordon-to-play-a-schoolteacher-in-german-horror-fil-1798282648|access-date=August 15, 2018}}</ref>
|-
| 2016 || ''Imponderable'' || Madame Vesta ||  || align=center| <ref name=imponderable/>
|-
| 2016
|''[[The Realest Real]]''
|Herself
|Short film
|<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lozano|first=Kevin|title=Watch Carrie Brownstein's New Short Film The Realest Real, Starring Kim Gordon|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/68175-watch-carrie-brownsteins-new-short-film-the-realest-real-starring-kim-gordon/|access-date=2020-06-05|website=Pitchfork|date=September 13, 2016|language=en}}</ref>
|-
| 2017 || ''[[Animals (U.S. TV series)|Animals]]'' || Tulip || Episode: "Rats"  || align=center|<ref name=animals/>
|-
| 2018 || ''[[Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot]]'' || Corky ||  || align=center|<ref name=faronfoot/>
|-
| 2025 || ''[[The Chronology of Water]]'' || || || align=center|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2024/09/kristen-stewart-first-image-first-feature-the-chronology-of-water-1236082336/|title=Kristen Stewart First Image Released From Shoot of Directorial Feature Debut 'The Chronology of Water'|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Melanie|last=Goodfellow|date=September 9, 2024|access-date=September 9, 2024}}</ref>
|}

==Publications==
*{{cite book|last=Gordon|first=Kim|year=2014|title=Is It My Body? – Selected Texts|publisher=Sternberg Press|isbn=978-3-95679-038-6|location=Berlin, Germany|ref=none}}
*{{cite book|last=Gordon|first=Kim|title=[[Girl in a Band|Girl in a Band: A Memoir]]|publisher=Dey Street Books|location=New York|year=2015|isbn=978-0-062-29590-3|ref=none}}
*{{cite book|last=Gordon|first=Kim|title=No Icon|publisher=[[Rizzoli Libri|Rizzoli]]|location=New York|year=2020|isbn=978-0-8478-6581-9|ref=none}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kim Gordon: No Icon |url=https://www.rizzoliusa.com/book/9780847865819/ |access-date=October 7, 2020 |website=[[Rizzoli New York]]}}</ref>
*{{cite book|editor-last1=Gordon|editor-first1=Kim|editor-last2=Gleeson|editor-first2=Sinéad|editor-link2=Sinéad Gleeson|year=2022|title=This Woman's Work: Essays on Music|publisher=[[Hachette Books]]|isbn=9780306829000}}

==See also==
*[[Sonic Youth discography]]
*[[Experimental music]]
*[[Alternative rock]]

==Notes and references==
===Notes===
{{notelist}}

===References===
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin|30em}}
*{{cite book|last=Blush|first=Steve|year=2016|title=New York Rock: From the Rise of The Velvet Underground to the Fall of CBGB|publisher=Macmillan|location=New York|isbn=978-1-250-08361-6}}
*{{cite book|last1=Bogdanov|first1=Vladimir|last2=Woodstra|first2=Chris|last3=Erlewine|first3=Stephen Thomas|title=All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul|year=2002|isbn= 978-0-879-30653-3|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation}}
*{{cite book|title=Goodbye 20th Century: A Biography of Sonic Youth|last=Browne|first=David|year=2009|publisher=Da Capo Press|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|isbn=978-0-306-81515-7}}
*{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|year=2000|title=Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s|publisher=Macmillan|location=New York|isbn=978-0-312-24560-3|url=https://archive.org/details/christgausconsum00chri_0}}
*{{cite book|last=Foege|first=Alex|year=1994|title=Confusion Is Next: The Sonic Youth Story|publisher=Macmillan|location=New York|isbn=978-0-312-11369-8|url=https://archive.org/details/confusionisnexts00foeg}}
*{{cite book|title=She's a Rebel:The History of Women in Rock & Roll|first=Gillian G. | last=Gaar |publisher=Seal Press|year=2002 | isbn=978-1-58005-078-4|location=New York}}
*{{cite encyclopedia |editor1-last=George-Warren|editor1-first=Holly|editor2-last=Romanowski|editor2-first=Patricia |encyclopedia=The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll|title=Sonic Youth |year=2005|publisher=Fireside|location=[[New York City]]|isbn=978-0-7432-9201-6}}
*{{cite book|last=Gordon|first=Kim|title=[[Girl in a Band|Girl in a Band: A Memoir]]|publisher=Dey Street Books|year=2015|isbn=978-0-062-29590-3}}
*{{cite book|last1=Jones|first1=Amelia|last2=Heathfield|first2=Adrian|year=2012|title=Perform, Repeat, Record: Live Art in History|publisher=University of Chicago Press: Intellect Books|location=Chicago|isbn=978-1-841-50489-6}}
*{{cite book|last=Mayshark|first=Jesse Fox|year=2007|title=Post-Pop Cinema: The Search for Meaning in New American Film|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|location=Westport, Connecticut|isbn=978-0-275-99080-0|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/postpopcinemasea0000mays}}
*{{cite book|last1=Molon|first1=Dominic|year=2007|title=Sympathy for the Devil: Art and Rock and Roll Since 1967|publisher=Yale University Press|location=New Haven, Connecticut|isbn=978-0-300-13426-1}}
*{{cite book|last1=Robins|first1=Wayne|title=A Brief History of Rock, Off the Record|date=2008|publisher=Routeledge|location=New York|isbn=978-0-415-97472-1}}
*{{cite book|last=Strong|first=Catherine|year=2016|title=Grunge: Music and Memory|publisher=Routledge|location=Abingdon, Oxfordshire|isbn=978-1-317-12436-8}}
*{{cite book|last1=Weglarz|first1=Kristine|last2=Pedelty|first2=Mark|title=Political Rock|year=2016|publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group|location=Abington, Oxfordshire|isbn=978-1-138-24563-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Yarm|first=Mark|title=Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge|isbn=978-0-307-46444-6|location=New York|publisher=Three Rivers Press|year=2011}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Kim Gordon}}
* {{discogs artist}}
* {{AllMusic|id=0000083751}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0330371}}

{{Sonic Youth|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Kim}}
[[Category:1953 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Alternative rock bass guitarists]]
[[Category:American alternative rock musicians]]
[[Category:American experimental musicians]]
[[Category:American contraltos]]
[[Category:American memoirists]]
[[Category:American rock bass guitarists]]
[[Category:American rock guitarists]]
[[Category:American rock singers]]
[[Category:Artists from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:American women bass guitarists]]
[[Category:American feminist artists]]
[[Category:American feminist musicians]]
[[Category:Guitarists from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:No wave musicians]]
[[Category:Noise rock musicians]]
[[Category:Painters from California]]
[[Category:Singers from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Sonic Youth members]]
[[Category:Songwriters from California]] <!-- raised in L.A. -->
[[Category:Otis College of Art and Design alumni]]
[[Category:Santa Monica College alumni]]
[[Category:University High School (Los Angeles) alumni]]
[[Category:York University alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century American artists]]
[[Category:20th-century American women artists]]
[[Category:20th-century American bass guitarists]]
[[Category:20th-century American women singers]]
[[Category:21st-century American artists]]
[[Category:21st-century American women artists]]
[[Category:21st-century American bass guitarists]]
[[Category:21st-century American women singers]]
[[Category:Free Kitten members]]
[[Category:20th-century American singers]]
[[Category:21st-century American singers]]
[[Category:20th-century American women guitarists]]
[[Category:American women punk rock singers]]