Teyana Taylor

Teyana Me Shay Jacqueline Taylor is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, choreographer, and music video director. Born on December 10, 1990, in Harlem, New York City, to Nikki Taylor and Tito Smith, she is of African American and Trinidadian descent. Her mother also serves as her manager. She gained early public exposure at age 15 when she choreographed the music video for Beyoncé's single "Ring the Alarm" in 2006, leading to a recording contract with Pharrell Williams' Star Trak Entertainment in 2007.

During her time with Star Trak, Taylor appeared as a background dancer in Jay-Z's "Blue Magic" video and released her commercial debut single, "Google Me," in 2008. The track served as the lead single for her 2009 mixtape, From a Planet Called Harlem. She achieved wider recognition in 2010 through her vocal contributions to Kanye West's tracks "Dark Fantasy" and "Hell of a Life" on his album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, as well as her participation in the GOOD Music holiday release "Christmas In Harlem."

After leaving Star Trak, Taylor signed a joint-venture contract with Kanye West's GOOD Music label in 2012. She contributed vocals to the label's compilation album Cruel Summer (2012) before releasing her debut studio album, VII, in 2014, which topped the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. In 2016, she starred in and co-choreographed the music video for West's single "Fade," winning the MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography. She followed this success with her second studio album, K.T.S.E. (2018), and her third album, The Album (2020), which entered the top ten of the Billboard 200 and featured guest appearances by Missy Elliott and Lauryn Hill. Her fourth studio album, Escape Room (2025), earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Album.

Taylor expanded into acting with early roles in films such as Stomp the Yard: Homecoming (2010) and Madea's Big Happy Family (2011). She later took on starring roles in Coming 2 America (2021) and The Rip (2026). In 2023, Taylor earned critical acclaim for her portrayal of Inez in the drama A Thousand and One, winning the National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Performance. She achieved further acclaim for her role as Perfidia in Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another (2025), winning a Golden Globe Award and receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

On television, Taylor joined the cast of the legal drama series All's Fair in 2025 and won an NAACP Image Award for her performance in the Netflix television film Straw (2025). Alongside acting and music, she has directed music videos for herself and other performers, and was set to make her feature directorial debut with the film Get Lite for Paramount Pictures. Beyond entertainment, Taylor launched her Fade 2 Fit workout program in 2017 and collaborated on limited-edition sneaker releases with Adidas and Air Jordan.

Over the course of her career, Taylor has accumulated numerous accolades, including two Critics Choice Awards, nominations for British Academy Film Awards and Actor Awards, and being named one of Time's 2026 Women of the Year as well as Icon of the Year at the 2026 BET Awards.