Teyana Taylor Opens Up About Industry Doubts
Teyana Taylor is not just having a moment. She is having a glow up that feels earned. In a new interview with Time for the magazine’s Women of the Year…
Teyana Taylor is not just having a moment. She is having a glow up that feels earned.
In a new interview with Time for the magazine’s Women of the Year profiles, the multi-hyphenate star looked back on a time when people did not see her full vision, even though she did.
From Music Star to Almost Walking Away
Even after appearing in "Fade" by Kanye West, which premiered at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2016, and scoring a 2014 hit with “Maybe,” Taylor admitted that by 2020, she was ready to leave the music industry. She said she did not feel supported.
“Everybody told me it was dumb,” Taylor told Time. “And I was like, ‘No, I am going to be a great actress. One day, I am going to be a great director.’ ”
She trusted her gut, even when others doubted her.
Proving Them Wrong
Taylor went on to land roles in Coming 2 America, A Thousand and One, and White Men Can't Jump.
Then came her biggest moment yet. In 2025, she earned praise for playing Perfidia Beverly Hills in One Battle After Another. The role earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. It was her first Oscar nod.
The film, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, also stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Chase Infiniti and Regina Hall. The movie picked up 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 honored amongst her “awards-season bestie,” fellow nominee, Jacob Elordi, who stars in Frankenstein.
The other nominees in the Best Supporting Actress category are Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas for Sentimental Value, Amy Madigan for Weapons and Wunmi Mosaku for Sinners.
“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.
Dreaming Even Bigger
Taylor is not stopping at one nomination. She has her eyes on something rare.
“I would love the EGOT,” she said. “And if I don’t get that Tony, guess what that T is gonna stand for? Teyana.”
She also earned a Grammy nomination this year for Best R&B Album for Escape Room.
“When you have a creative that does it all, let them spread their wings. Never cage a creative,” she added.
Before awards season, Taylor spoke to PEOPLE about what brought her back to music after once wanting to step away.
“I think what lured me back was just me coming back on my terms,” Taylor told PEOPLE in a December 2025 interview. “All I ever wanted was to feel appreciated, and I wanted to feel utilized. I didn't want to be stuck or put into one box.”
Growth Through It All
Over the past decade, Taylor has grown in more ways than one. She went through a divorce with Iman Shumpert after seven years of marriage. The two share daughters, Junie and Rue Rose.
Through it all, creativity stayed constant.
“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. “It was a lot of different things blocking my journey or what was written for me.”
During her interview with Time, Taylor shared that she plans to tour in late summer 2026.
If her journey proves anything, it is this: betting on yourself might feel risky, but sometimes it is the smartest move you can make.
