Teyana Taylor, the 35-year-old multi-hyphenate star, has discovered her stride. Regardless of her abilities being well known at present, a brand new interview with Time for the journal’s Girls of the 12 months profiles reveals a time when she felt unsupported within the music trade.
The One Battle After One other star, who appeared in Kanye West’s “Fade” video (premiered on the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards) and had a 2014 hit with “Perhaps,” admitted that by 2020, she was able to give up music.
“Everyone advised me it was dumb,” Taylor advised Time. “And I used to be like, ‘No, I’m going to be an important actress. Someday, I’m going to be an important director.’”
Taylor efficiently transitioned from music to movie, overcoming preliminary doubts from critics. She secured roles in motion pictures like Coming 2 America, A Thousand and One, and White Males Can’t Leap.
READ ALSO: Teyana Taylor takes house her first-ever Golden Globe: ‘So completely happy that I stayed affected person’
Her efficiency as Perfidia Beverly Hills within the 2025 movie One Battle After One other earned vital acclaim, leading to her first Academy Award nomination for Greatest Supporting Actress.
The movie, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, encompasses a forged together with Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Chase Infiniti, and Regina Corridor. It obtained a complete of 12 further nominations, notably Greatest Image, Greatest Director for Anderson, and Greatest Actor for DiCaprio.
“Even when I am going house empty-handed, I’ve gained,” Taylor stated, including that she’s excited to be honored amongst her “awards-season bestie,” fellow nominee, Frankenstein star Jacob Elordi.
The competitors for the Greatest Supporting Actress award consists of a number of notable nominees. Weapons star Amy Madigan and Sinners star Wunmi Mosaku are up for the award, as are Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas from Sentimental Worth.
“We’re younger, we’re blessed, we’re being celebrated — that is the time to be completely happy and to have enjoyable with it, particularly in an area that some folks take so severe, and a few persons are chilly, some persons are robotic,” she continued.
Taylor maintained a constructive outlook as she mentioned her future aspirations.
“I’d love the EGOT,” she expressed. “And if I don’t get that Tony, guess what that T is gonna stand for? Teyana.”
Taylor, who additionally earned a Grammy nomination this yr for Greatest R&B Album for Escape Room, added, “When you’ve gotten a artistic that does all of it, allow them to unfold their wings. By no means cage a artistic.”
Earlier than awards season, Taylor had additionally given an unique interview to Folks, the place she mentioned her causes for returning to the music trade and releasing Escape Room.
In a December 2025 interview with Folks, Taylor shared, “I believe what lured me again was simply me coming again on my phrases.”
“All I ever wished was to really feel appreciated, and I wished to really feel utilized,” she defined. “I didn’t need to be caught or put into one field.”
READ ALSO: ‘So candy’ – Teyana Taylor opens up about Beyoncé sending her flowers after Golden Globes win
During the last decade, the “Naked with Me” singer has undergone vital private growth, together with her separation from Iman Shumpert. The couple had been married for seven years and now have two daughters, Junie and Rue Rose.
Taylor’s creativity, nonetheless, has persistently been a supply of energy.
“I like to create and direct, so with the ability to come again to music in such a weak approach was very therapeutic for me,” she stated. “It was a whole lot of various things blocking my journey or what was written for me.”
Taylor knowledgeable Time journal that she intends to go on tour within the late summer time of 2026.
Along with her main wins, Billboard‘s Girls in Music Awards not too long ago honored Taylor with the 2026 Visionary Award, amongst different trade names who made a number of the largest strides of the previous 12 months.
Jason Lipshutz, Billboard‘s co-chief content material officer, revealed the importance of the awards in an announcement: “The 2026 Billboard Girls in Music honors artists who should not solely shaping the sound of at present, however defining the tradition of tomorrow. This yr’s honorees characterize daring creativity, international affect and creative excellence throughout genres. From breakthrough voices to enduring icons, every of those ladies is pushing the trade ahead in highly effective methods.”
READ ALSO: Teyana Taylor shares replace on her relationship with Kanye West after their label points
