Teyana Taylor has found her calling!
In a new interview, the multi-hyphenate artist reflected on the pivotal moment she walked away from her music career to be an actress—a "risky" pivot that critics dismissed as “dumb”.
Despite global fame brought by her iconic appearance in Kanye West’s “Fade” video and early hits like “Maybe,” Taylor admitted she felt fundamentally unsupported by the music industry.
By 2020, the “One Battle After Another” star chose to leave music behind to pursue acting.
“Everybody told me it was dumb,” the 35-year-old said. “And I was like, ‘No, I am going to be a great actress. One day, I am going to be a great director’.”
Taylor proved critics wrong, bagging roles in projects like “Coming 2 America”, “A Thousand and One” and “White Men Can't Jump’.
In 2025, she earned praise for her performance as Perfidia Beverly Hills in “One Battle After Another”, earning an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
The film, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, also features Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Chase Infiniti and Regina Hall. It earned 12 other nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director for Anderson and Best Actor for DiCaprio.
“Even if I go home empty-handed, I have won,” Taylor said, adding that she’s excited to be honoured amongst her “awards-season bestie,” fellow nominee, Frankenstein star Jacob Elordi.
Also read: Teyana Taylor put school on hold for Golden Globes
The other nominees in the Best Supporting Actress category are Sentimental Value stars Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Weapons star Amy Madigan and Sinners star Wunmi Mosaku.
“We're young, we're blessed, we're being celebrated—this is the time to be happy and to have fun with it, especially in a space that some people take so serious, and some people are cold, some people are robotic,” she continued.
Taylor, who also earned a Grammy nomination this year for Best R&B Album for “Escape Room”, spoke about what made her come back to the music industry.
“I think what lured me back was just me coming back on my terms. All I ever wanted was to feel appreciated, and I wanted to feel utilised. I didn't want to be stuck or put into one box.”
The “Bare With Me” singer has grown a lot in the past decade, including going through a divorce with Iman Shumpert. The couple was married for seven years and shares two daughters, Junie and Rue Rose.
“I love to create and direct, so being able to come back to music in such a vulnerable way was very healing for me,” she said.
Taylor also revealed that she plans on touring in late summer 2026.
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