Teyana Taylor is a multi-talented American artist known for her work as a singer, songwriter, actress, model, dancer, choreographer, and music video director. In 2006, she gained recognition for choreographing Beyoncé’s “Ring the Alarm” music video and later signed with Star Trak Entertainment, a subsidiary of Interscope Records, in 2007.
Teyana Taylor Bio Summary
Full name: Teyana Me Shay Jacqueli Taylor
Date of birth: December 10, 1990
Age: 34 years old (2025)
Place of birth: New York City, U.S.
Occupations: Actress, singer
Marital status: Divorced
Ex-husband: Iman Shumpert
Children: 2
Early Life
Teyana Taylor, whose full name is Teyana Me Shay Jacqueli Taylor, was born on December 10, 1990, in New York City.
She grew up in Harlem with her mother, Nikki, who took on the role of her manager during her teenage years. Taylor’s father has three other kids, but Nikki’s daughter Teyana is her only child.
At the young age of 9, Teyana started showcasing her talents by taking part in various competitions like the Apollo Theater National All-Stars talent search.
She credits her mother for introducing her to different types of music and cites Lauryn Hill, Michael Jackson, Brandy, Toni Braxton, and Stevie Wonder as some of her biggest influences.
Career
At 15, Teyana choreographed Beyoncé’s 2006 Ring the Alarm video In 2007, she was signed to Pharrell Williams’ Star Trak Entertainment and appeared on My Super Sweet Sixteen and Jay-Z’s Blue Magic video
Taylor’s first song Google Me came out in February 2008 and reached #90 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. She released the mixtape From a Planet Called Harlem on August 16 2009 and appeared in Stomp the Yard Homecoming and the first episode of Oxygen’s House of Glam in 2010.
In that same year, Kanye West invited Teyana Taylor to lend her vocals on his album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” and also provide fashion guidance for an upcoming music video during her visit to the studio.
In the studio, Taylor hummed along and recorded vocals for West’s tracks Hell of a Life and Dark Fantasy In 2010 she also sang Christmas in Harlem for GOOD Music and acted in Madea’s Big Happy Family.
Taylor left Star Trak in January 2012 and released the mixtape The Misunderstanding of Teyana Taylor in March. She then signed with GOOD Music and The Island Def Jam Music Group in June. During this time, she also dropped Make Your Move featuring Wale and D U I featuring Jadakiss and Fabolous.
Later in September, Teyana Taylor took the stage to sing the songs “To the World,” “Sin City,” and “Bliss” for the album “Cruel Summer,” which was a compilation by GOOD Music. The album achieved the #2 spot on the “Billboard” 200 chart and reached #1 on both the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Rap Albums charts.
She released her first album VII on November 4. The song Maybe reached number 10 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 and number 11 on Hot R&B Songs. In 2015, she judged MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew and released the EP The Cassette Tape 1994.
At the MTV Video Music Awards in August 2016, Kanye West debuted his “Fade” music video, which received widespread acclaim for Teyana’s captivating performance.
Taylor’s album K T S E hit #2 on the Billboard R&B chart in June 2018 In 2019 she released singles Morning with Kehlani and We Got Love In June 2020 The Album featuring Lauryn Hill Erykah Badu Missy Elliot and Rick Ross topped the R&B chart and reached #8 on the Billboard 200.
Personal Life
In 2016, Teyana Taylor and NBA player Iman Shumpert tied the knot. They became parents to daughters Junie and Rue on December 16, 2015, and September 6, 2020, respectively, with Iman delivering both babies at their home.
The couple’s own VH1 reality show, “Teyana and Iman,” aired in 2018. Surprisingly, Teyana filed for divorce from Iman in January 2023, but the news was not made public until November 2023. Their divorce was officially completed in 2024.
Teyana Taylor sparked speculation about her relationship with actor Aaron Pierre after sharing black-and-white pictures of the two of them together.
Net Worth
Teyana Taylor, an American singer, songwriter, dancer, rapper, and actress, has a net worth of $5 million. She made her debut on MTV’s “My Sweet Sixteen” in 2007 and later joined Star Trak/Interscope Records, although she did not release any albums during her time with the label.
