BIO OF TEYANA TAYLOR
| (SINGER, ACTRESS, MODEL, CHOREOGRAPHER, MUSIC DIRECTOR) | Net Worth $ 5 Million | |
| Place of Birth Harlem | Date of Birth December 12, 1990 | Zodiac Sign Sagittarius |
| ERA 2006 to date | Nationality American | Religion Christianity |
An American singer, songwriter, actress, model, dancer, choreographer, and music video director. After choreographing the video for Beyonce’s 2006 single “Ring the Alarm,” she signed a recording contract with Neptunes’ Star Trak Entertainment, an imprint of Interscope Records to embark on a career as a recording artist the following year. Taylor appeared on MTV’s, My Super Sweet 16 before the release of her 2008 debut single, Google Me.
As an actress, Taylor has acted in the VH1 television series The Breaks, Lee Daniels’ Star, and the Amazon Prime film Coming to America. Furthermore, she starred in the VH1 reality series Teyana and Iman with her now-separated husband, basketball player Iman Shumpert. As a music video director, she has directed videos for artists, including herself, and won the BET Award for Video Director of the Year in 2020 and 2023.
EARLY LIFE
Teyana Taylor was born on December 10, 1990, to Nikki Taylor and Tito Smith in Harlem, New York City. She is of African American and Trinidadian descent. Taylor is her mother’s only child, while her father has two sons and another daughter from a different relationship. Her mother raised her and is currently her manager.
2006–2011: Early career
In September 2006, 15-year-old Teyana Taylor was credited as the choreographer of the music video for American entertainer Beyonce’s hit single, Ring the Alarm. In January 2007, Taylor was offered a contract to join American recording artist and record producer Pharrell Williams’s Star Trak Entertainment label.
In February 2007, Taylor first entered into the public sphere through an episode on MTV’s My Super Sweet Sixteen, a show depicting over-the-top birthday parties for rich—and typically “spoiled” and confrontational—teenagers. In 2007, Taylor appeared in the music video for Jay-Z’s single, “Blue Magic,” where she can be seen dancing and popping.
In February 2008, Taylor released her commercial debut single, Google Me.
In 2010, Taylor contributed to one of GOOD Music’s Good Friday tracks, Christmas in Harlem. The track was released as a shortened version of the single to the iTunes Store on December 17, 2010, and features guest appearances from American rapper Cyhi the Prynce as well as Kanye West.
In 2010, Taylor, alongside fellow rapper Bow Wow, was offered roles in Tyler Perry’s play-turned-film Madea’s Big Happy Family, the fifth installment in Perry’s series. The film was released on April 22, 2011. Taylor soon delved back into music and was featured on the hook of “Party Tonight” alongside fellow rappers Randy Julius, Jim Jones, and Cam’ron.
2012–2018: GOOD Music, debut, and K.T.S.E.
In January 2012, it was announced Taylor would be granted her release from the contract with Interscope and Star Trak. Taylor has stated that she and Star Trak founder Pharrell Williams have remained amicable since the end of their business relationship. She has credited him as a “big brother” and sees her early signing to Star Trak as a “blessing.”
As an independent artist, upon her release, she began preparing her second record, a mixtape titled The Misunderstanding of Teyana Taylor. The mixtape was released in early 2012 and was preceded by the release of “Make Your Move,” featuring rapper Wale, and “D.U.I.”, featuring Jadakiss and Fabolous, which was released on February 25, 2012.
In addition to being featured on the Cruel Summer compilation, Taylor soon began the process of recording her major label debut album, to be released eventually through GOOD Music and Island Def Jam. On July 27, 2014, via Twitter, Taylor announced the title of her debut studio, Aubumto, to be VII and revealed it would be released on November 4, through Def Jam and GOOD Music. The album debuted at number 19 on the Billboard 200, selling 16,000 copies in the United States in its first week while topping the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Taylor was set to be a judge on the eighth season of the American competitive dance reality show America’s Best Dance Crew, with its series debut on July 29, 2015, on MTV. On August 25, Taylor released The Cassette Tape 1994, paying tribute to the iconic 90s sound in music by including many samples from 90s hits.
On June 17, 2016, Taylor released her single “Freak On,” featuring guest vocals from Chris Brown and production by DJ Mustard. It samples “Freak Like Me” by Adina Howard. On August 28, 2016, at the MTV Video Music Awards, Kanye West debuted the music video for his new single “Fade,” which featured a sweat-dripping, athletic.
One year later, in 2017, Taylor’s dancing in the music video would go on to earn her the “Best Choreography” award at the same ceremony. The video, directed by Eli Russell Linnetz, also featured an appearance by Taylor’s husband, Iman Shumpert. Taylor’s album K.T.S.E., an acronym for “Keep That Same Energy,” was the last of G.O.O.D. Music’s seven-song album to roll out and was released on June 22, 2018.
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2019-present: The Album and other collaborations
Taylor released a collaboration single with fellow R&B singer Kehlani called “Morning” in November 2019. On December 6, 2019, Taylor released the single “We Got Love.”. On May 7, 2020, Taylor announced that her third studio album was titled The Album and would be released sometime in June 2020. It was released on June 19, with the 23-track album featuring guest appearances by Erykah Badu, Kehlani, Lauryn Hill, Future, Rick Ross, Quavo, and Missy Elliott. It debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200, earning Taylor her first top 10 album.
On December 4, 2020, Taylor seemingly announced her retirement from making music via her Instagram page. A few days later, she explained the post was directed at her record label as she continued clarifying her frustration with their lack of support, “Baby, I gotta do it for my mental health.
AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS
In 2017, Taylor shared an MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography for Kanye West’s “Fade” with Guapo, Matthew Pasterisa, Jae Blaze, and Fonzworth Bentley. In 2020, she was named Video Director of the Year at the BET Awards and the BET Hip Hop Awards. Teyana was also nominated for Best Female R&B/Pop Artist, the BET Her Award at the 2019 BET Awards, and Best Dance Performance at the Soul Train Music Awards in 2019 and 2020.
OTHER VENTURES
In 2013, Taylor signed a deal to design and release two pairs of sneakers with Adidas. The first pair released was the Harlem GLC, which hit stores on February 16 of the same year. According to Adidas Global Director of Entertainment and Influence Marketing, Jonathan Wexler, Taylor currently holds the record for the fastest-selling sneakers in Adidas Originals history. In 2022, Taylor competed in Season Seven of The Masked Singer as “Firefly” of Team Good. During the finals, Taylor was declared the winner. At 31 years old, she became the youngest “winner” in the show’s history.
PERSONAL LIFE
On October 1, 2016, Teyana married professional basketball player Iman Shumpert. They welcomed daughters Junie and Rue on December 16, 2015, and September 6, 2020, respectively; both children were born at home, and Iman delivered them. In 2018, the couple starred on their own VH1 reality show, “Teyana and Iman.”
In January 2023, Teyana quietly filed for divorce from Iman. They managed to keep the filing secret for nearly a year. It was revealed publicly in late November 2023.
NET WORTH
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Teyana Taylor’s total net worth is $5 million. Her source of income is her lengthy career as an actress, singer, dancer, model, and choreographer.
