The singer turned actress, Teyana Taylor is popularly known for her deals with Kanye West as well as her own musical gigs. At the inception of her career, Taylor tilted towards the musical part of the entertainment industry, however, as time went on she spiced up her career and is also doing well on screens. From her teenage age, her taste for music drove her into making music.
Also, Taylor is a flexible dancer. Her dancing skills are quite notable in the movie, Stomp The Yard: Homecoming. She has additionally been recognised with accolades for her directing efforts in several of her music videos.
Teyana Taylor Has Established Herself In Diverse Career Fields
Growing up with her mother as her support system, Teyana Taylor learned to pursue her dreams without doubts as a child. She participated in a lot of talent competitions such as Apollo Theater National All-Stars talent hunt, and didn’t record a win in all but made several impacts. This enabled her to venture into diverse walks of life in the entertainment industry. Thus, becoming a notable singer, songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress, director, and model.
Her Works As a Dancer, Choreographer, And Model
As a little child, Taylor was close with the likes of Lauryn Hill, Stevie Wonder, Janet Jackson, and Michael Jackson who loved her like their very own. She launched out her career as a dancer and choreographer in September 2006 at the age of 15 by choreographing Beyonce‘s smash song, ‘Ring the Alarm’. With her performance in the video, she became familiar with a few celebrated artists who made her national appearance on MTV’s My Super Sweet Sixteen in February 2007 a glorious one.
The multi-talented artist subsequently served as a dancer in the 2007 Jay-Z hit song, ‘Blue Magic’. She also displayed her dancing skills in the music video of Kanye West’s hit single, ‘Fade’, that featured her dancing in a gym. As a model, Teyana Taylor has walked the runway for many fashionistas and top brands such as Philipp Plein, Harper’s Bazaar, Alexander Wang, The Blond, and GCDS in several fashion weeks including New York Fashion Week.
Taylor Has Made Exploits As a Singer And Songwriter In The Music Industry
Teyana Taylor landed a recording deal with Star Trak Entertainment, a division of Interscope Geffen A&M in 2005. In early 2008, she released her debut single, ‘Google Me’. The song was also the first track in her mixtape, ‘From a Planet Called Harlem’ released in 2009. With her first single, she made it on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart occupying the 90th position.
She released her second mixtape, ‘The Misunderstanding of Teyana Taylor’ and subsequently signed up with Kanye West’s Good Music Label and also with The Island Def Jam Music Group (DJMG). Her songs with the record were all regarded as top-notch as most of them occupied a spot on the Billboard charts. Following the success of her first album, ‘VII’ in 2014, she released her second studio album ‘K.T.S.E.’ in June 2018 which expectedly debuted at No. 17 on the US Billboard 200.
Her third album titled, ‘The Album’ which was released on June 19th, 2020 peaked at No. 1 on Billboard Top R&B and No. 8 on the Billboard 200, as it became her first top 10 album. It contained 23 tracks and featured several renowned artists including Missy Elliott, Rick Ross, Erykah Badu, Future, Lauryn Hill, and Kehlani.
She Made Her First Feature Film Appearance In 2010
Sometime in August 2010, Teyana Taylor surprised her music fans as she appeared as Rena in the movie, Stomp the Yard: Homecoming. The movie is a sequel to Stomp The Yard (2007). In between all her music gigs, Taylor never kept acting aside. She made a stunning appearance as Sabrina in the 2011 Tyler Perry‘s comedy-drama; Madea’s Big Happy Family.Â
The adept actress debuted on television by playing the character of Imani X in five episodes of the 2017 musical drama TV series, The Breaks. Other notable films and TV series Teyana Taylor has featured in include Brotherly Love (2015), Star (2017-2018), Hit the Floor (2018), The Trap (2019), and Coming 2 America (2020).
Teyana Taylor Has Made Attempts At Directing And Also Won Awards
Teyana Taylor has directed many of her music videos including ‘Gonna Love Me’ (2018), ‘How You Want It’ Feat. King Combs (2019), and ‘We Got Love’ Feat. Ms. Lauryn Hill (2020). Other music videos she has directed include Monica’s ‘Commitment’ (2019), ‘Lies’ by Schoolboy Q Feat. YG (2019), and ‘Pack Lite’ by Queen Naija (2020).
Her exceptional directorial skills in her third album, ‘The Album’ earned her the 2020 BET Video Director of the Year Award. Apart from winning a Soul Train Music Award for best dance performance in 2016 and MTV Video Music Award in 2017, the singer has also bagged numerous nominations for BET Awards, as well as Soul Train Awards.
She Has Raked In Huge Wealth From Her Endeavors
From the obvious, Teyana Taylor is multi-talented. From music to acting, she is like a light set on top of a hill. She has progressively made an impact with each of her songs and acting roles. She just has a way of keeping the memories lasting.
With all her diverse ventures including her endorsement deal with Adidas to design two pairs of sneakers and her Fade 2 Fit Workout Program, Taylor has gathered an estimated net worth of $3 million.
Is Teyana Taylor Married? Here’s What We Know
Teyana Taylor first met her now-husband, Iman Shumpert at a party after he was drafted by NBA franchise, New York Knicks in 2011. He displayed a lot of youthful exuberance during the party as he was intoxicated and shirtless which initially repulsed Taylor. After playing hard to get at the beginning, they eventually became buddies as the years went by.
The two began dating in July 2013 and their love blossomed during Shumpert’s knee injury which prompted the famed music artist to cancel her schedules to take care of him.
Shumpert Proposed To Taylor At Their First Daughter’s Baby Shower
The talented American NBA player proposed to Teyana Taylor on November 7th, 2015 during their lovely baby shower with a cute red ruby ring. Surprisingly, her first baby, Iman Tayla Shumpert Jr (Junie) whose due date was stated as January 16th, 2016 according to Shumpert’s September 2015 Instagram posts, was delivered a month earlier in December 16th, 2015 in their bathroom.
However, due to the urgency of the delivery and Taylor’s early contraction, Iman Shumpert assumed the position of the gynecologist and delivered Junie with his bare hands. He used a pair of red headphones to hold the umbilical cord until the paramedics arrived. Thankfully, he was at home nursing a groin injury at the time.
Following the birth of their daughter, Teyana Taylor and Iman Shumpert sealed their love with a nuptial bond on October 1st, 2016 at the same spot their daughter was born. They later shared the news of their wedding with their fans by uploading their wedding photos on their Instagram accounts.
She Is Currently Pregnant With Her Second Child
The multifaceted singer’s four-year-old daughter unintentionally disclosed her mother’s pregnancy when she asked her mother about kissing the baby during Taylor’s Instagram Live chat with her fans. The singer later confirmed her pregnancy in the music video of her new song ‘Wake Up love’ which was released on June 12th, 2020 by displaying her baby bump at the end of the video. This quelled the pregnancy rumors that were triggered by her daughter’s action on Instagram Live.
In an exclusive interview with People, Teyana Taylor revealed that her family is excited about her pregnancy and they can’t wait to welcome their new princess in a few months’ time.
