She was discovered by Pharrell Williams, signed by Kanye West and worked with Beyoncé – all by her early 20s. Now the star of Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film is creating a buzz in Hollywood
Teyana Taylor is – as she often says to interviewers – the entertainment equivalent of “a Glade plug-in” air freshener: put her in “any socket” and she will make “every room smell good”. And, at 34, she has the CV to prove it. After kicking off her career at 15 as a choreographer for Beyoncé (she later showcased her own moves to millions in the headline-grabbing video for Kanye West’s 2016 single Fade), the New York native began making her own critically acclaimed, cutting-edge R&B. She has also acted in a slew of movies and TV shows – including an award-winning turn as a mother who kidnaps her son from the care system in 2023’s A Thousand and One – and worked as a creative director for brands and a host of other musicians.
But Taylor also likens herself to another household item. “I am a sponge,” she says. “I’m never above being a student.” This was especially true on the set of her latest project, Paul Thomas Anderson’s vigilante group caper One Battle After Another. Observing castmates including Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro – plus the director himself (to many, the greatest of his generation) – turned her into “SpongeBob SquarePants. I get to have my notebook and take all these notes and soak everything in.”