Birthdate: Dec 13, 1989
Birthplace: Reading, Pennsylvania, USA
Taylor Swift (birthname: Taylor Alison Swift) is her generation’s biggest pop music artist, having recorded several albums since 2006 which have reached platinum as well as concert tours (particularly her “The Eras Tour” in 2023 and 2024) which have broken every record for ticket sales and revenues.
At the same time, Swift has carved out an acting career in feature films, beginning with her first of several supporting roles under Garry Marshall’s direction in the hit ($216.5 million gross) ensemble rom-com, Valentine’s Day (2010), with Jessica Alba, Kathy Bates, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Eric Dane, Patrick Dempsey, Hector Elizondo, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Anne Hathaway, Ashton Kutcher, Queen Latifah, Taylor Lautner, George Lopez, Shirley MacLaine, Emma Roberts, and Julia Roberts.
Swift had her first significant part in a voice role in the Universal Pictures/Illumination Entertainment animated version of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax (2012), with Danny DeVito, Ed Helms, Zac Efron, Rob Riggle, and Betty White, and going on to gross $349 million worldwide. Taylor Swift’s first dramatic role was opposite Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Brenton Thwaites, Alexander Skarsgård, and Katie Holmes in the Phillip Noyce-directed dystopian drama, The Giver (2014).
Swift was the subject of her first theatrically-released music portrait and arguably her best film, Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince (2020), directed by documentary filmmaker Lana Wilson, and premiering at the Sundance Film Festival before opening in theaters and streaming on Netflix.
While five of Swift’s concert-related movies were released on streaming services, the big-scaled concert film documenting a three-night stand at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (2023), was released in AMC and Cinemark Theatres chains and directed by Sam Wrench.
Swift delivered her first musical-comedy performance on film as Bombalurina in the generally lambasted Tom Hooper-directed movie version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1981 musical, Cats (2019), with James Corden, Judi Dench, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellan, and Rebel Wilson.
Taylor Swift played support, in a darker and more satiric vein, to stars Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington in director/writer/producer David O. Russell’s sneaky comic mystery, Amsterdam (2022), which was a financial bomb for lead producer New Regency and distributors 20th Century Studios and Buena Vista International.
Swift showed signs of her filmmaking ambitions with her first short film as writer-director-producer-actor in All Too Well: The Short Film (2021)—based on Swift’s song—co-starring Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien and released theatrically by Universal Pictures after premiering at the Tribeca film festival, and which won several awards from the American Music Awards, Grammy Awards, the Art Directors Guild, and MTV’s VMA awards.
Taylor Swift was born and raised in West Reading, Pennsylvania, by parents Scott Swift (former stockbroker, and Christmas tree farm owner) and mother Andrea Swift (former mutual fund marketing executive). Swift has a younger brother, actor Austin Swift. Swift’s maternal grandmother is opera singer Marjorie Finlay. Swift’s preschool and kindergarten were at Alvernia Montessori School and grade school at Wyndcroft School.
Swift’s family moved to Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, where she attended Wyomissing Area Junior/Senior High School. During this time, Swift performed in theater productions with Berks Youth Theatre Academy, and studied voice and acting in private lessons in New York City. Swift pursued a country music career in Nashville, prompting her family to move to the Nashville suburb of Hendersonville, where Swift briefly attended Hendersonville High School before being home-schooled when she launched a touring career; Swift graduated from high school after her junior year. Swift is single.
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What’s in a Name?: Taylor Swift was named after singer-songwriter James Taylor. Her name has been used by entomologists to name in her honor a millipede species as Nannaria swiftae.
AKA: Swift’s nicknames are “T-Swizzle” and “Tay-Tay.”
Record Records: According to record sales data analyst firm Luminate Data, Taylor Swift is the only recording artist in history to have five albums sold over a million units in a single week. Swift was the most-Googled woman in 2019 and the most-Googled musician in 2022.
Philanthropist Queen: Swift has ranked at the very top of the “Gone Good” list of the most generous philanthropists by the non-profit DoSomething. Her donations and charities have become the stuff of legend, ranging from many disaster relief efforts to cultural patronages to financial support to her fans for medical and academic needs.
Fat Cat: While Taylor Swift owns three cats—Olivia Benson, Meredith Grey, and Benjamin Button—it is Olivia who is rated as the third richest pet animal in the world, with an estimated net worth of $97 million.
The Price of Mega-Celebrity: Swift has been the target of several stalkers and some armed home break-ins.