Jill Sobule, the singer-songwriter best known for “I Kissed a Girl” and “Supermodel,” has died at the age of 66. According to her team, she passed away in a house fire early Thursday morning in Woodbury, Minnesota.
Her manager, John Porter, confirmed the news in a press release, saying, “Jill Sobule was a force of nature and human rights advocate whose music is woven into our culture. I was having so much fun working with her. I lost a client & a friend today. I hope her music, memory, & legacy continue to live on and inspire others.”
Remembering The Incredible Jill Soluble
Sobule made music history with her 1995 hit “I Kissed a Girl,” the first openly gay-themed song to reach the Top 20 on Billboard’s Modern Rock chart. The song also landed at Number 67 on the Hot 100. In a 2021 interview with the Philadelphia Gay News, she recalled the industry’s assumptions when she first signed her record deal. They said, ‘We’ve already had Tracy Chapman and Melissa Etheridge. Thank God we finally have a straight, female singer-songwriter.’ It freaked me out,” she said. She further dded, “When ‘Kissed a Girl’ came out, I didn’t even think it was going to make it onto the record, but it came out and was treated like a novelty. For me, I wanted it out because it was the kind of song I wish I’d heard when I was young.”
Another of her standout tracks, “Supermodel,” gained attention through its inclusion in the 1995 film Clueless. Though not originally written by Sobule, she made it her own. “I added that bridge to the song… I had to add some weird Dadaist gravitas to it,” she told The Toledo Blade in a March 2024 interview.
Over the course of her career, Sobule released 12 albums and consistently tackled topics like reproductive rights, eating disorders, and social intolerance in her lyrics. More recently, in 2022, she co-created and starred in the autobiographical stage show Fuck 7th Grade, which ran four times over three years. A cast recording of the show is set to release on June 6, alongside a 30th anniversary vinyl edition of her 1995 self-titled album.
Reflecting on the musical in a 2023 Playbill interview, Sobule spoke about her early experiences. “In 6th grade, I was this tomboy, I was a badass, I was the electric guitar player,” she said. “Suddenly, 7th grade happened… I didn’t feel like I fit in. I knew early on that there was something different about me; that I had crushes on my friends, and that wasn’t the ‘right thing.’” Despite being surprised by the show’s success, she added, “In the back of my mind, I always thought this could take off. After all, we all hated 7th grade! Who doesn’t want to curse it out?”
Tributes from friends and colleagues have poured in. Her agent, Craig Grossman, said, “No one made me laugh more. Her spirit and energy shall be greatly missed within the music community and beyond.” Musician Gail Ann Dorsey wrote in a heartfelt post, “Jill’s words, her music, her boundless creativity, her unique, bold, artistic integrity… her admirable bravery and commitment to freedom of speech and expression live on as a beacon of joy and hope always.”
An informal gathering in Sobule’s honor will be hosted by a local radio station where she had been scheduled to perform. A formal memorial is being planned for the summer.
