Everything You Need to Know About Taylor Swift

Whether you're an O.G. Swiftie or you've recently hopped on the bandwagon, we can all agree that Taylor Swift is one of the most iconic pop stars of all time. The singer and songwriter first made her mark in the country music scene, then went on to earn 14 Grammys and make history as the first artist to win Album of the Year four times. But folks, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

You may have also noticed the influence of the Taylor Effect, from her sold-out shows boosting the economy to viewership surges for the NFL—thanks to her current relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Plus, streets were named after her, colleges have offered Taylor Swift courses (including Harvard) and even political leaders have noted her positive impact on communities. Oh, and did I mention the pop star was named TIME Magazine's Person of the Year in 2023—the same year that she reached billionaire status?

Now, Swift continues to take the music industry (and the world) by storm. Not only does she have several re-recordings of previous albums in the works, but she's also making waves with her Eras tour and is set to make her directorial debut with a film produced by Searchlight Pictures. (NBD.) Keep reading for all the details about the megastar.

• Hometown: West Reading, Pennsylvania
• Birthday: December 13, 1989 
• Star Sign: Sagittarius

Early Life & Rise to Fame

Taylor Swift and her baby brother, Austin, were born to Scott Kingsley Swift and Andrea Gardner Swift in West Reading, Pennsylvania. At just nine years old, Taylor and her family moved to Wyomissing, where she performed in Berks Youth Theatre Academy productions. She also took vocal and acting lessons in New York, and after watching a Faith Hill documentary, she decided to pursue a career as a country music artist.

At 11, she started submitting demo tapes of karaoke covers to record labels in Nashville, and at 12, she started learning to play the guitar. She landed an artist development deal at 13, after performing original songs at an RCA Records showcase, and in the following year, she and her family relocated to Hendersonville, Tennessee.

After graduating from Hendersonville High, Swift signed with Sony/ATV Tree Music Publishing, then switched over to Big Machine Records. In October 2006, Swift released her self-titled debut album, which spawned multiple singles (like "Tim McGraw" and "Teardrops on My Guitar") and earned her a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.

Taylor Swift's Albums (and Eras) 

Taylor's big break came in November 2008, with the release of her second studio album, Fearless. The album peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 for 11 weeks, making it the longest-running top female country album. In the following year, she headlined her first tour and collaborated with several artists (including John Mayer and Kellie Pickler). Since then, her popularity has skyrocketed, and she released nine more albums, transitioning from the country genre to pop with her 1989 album, then exploring alternative rock.

I realized every record label was actively working to try to replace me. I thought instead, I’d replace myself first with a new me. It’s harder to hit a moving target.

Taylor Swift

Among her most notable collaborators are Bon Iver, Ed Sheeran, Haim, Brendon Urie, Tim McGraw and Keith Urban. And now, the songstress is re-recording her previous albums—known as "Taylor's Versions"—to regain ownership of her work after the original recordings were sold to Scooter Braun in 2019.

• Taylor Swift (2006): "Our Song," "Should've Said No," "Teardrops on My Guitar"
• Fearless (2008): "Love Story," "You Belong with Me," "Fearless"
• Speak Now (2010): "Ours," "Mine," "Back to December," "Sparks Fly," "Mean"
• Red (2012): "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," "I Knew You Were Trouble," "All Too Well"
• 1989 (2014): "Shake It Off," "Blank Space, "Bad Blood," "Style," "Wildest Dreams"
• Reputation (2017): "Look What You Made Me Do," "Delicate," "Getaway Car"
• Lover (2019): "Cruel Summer," "You Need to Calm Down," "Lover," "The Man"
• Folklore (2020): "Cardigan," "The 1," "Exile"
• Evermore (2020): "Willow," "No Body, No Crime," "Coney Island"
• Midnights (2022): "Anti-Hero," "Lavender Haze," "Karma"
• The Tortured Poets Department (2024): "Fortnight," “Down Bad,” “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” 

FYI, when it comes to new music releases, Taylor is known for dropping clever references and Easter eggs for her fans to decipher—whether it's capitalizing letters to spell out secret messages in her CD lyric books (remember Fearless?) or repeating certain phrases to help fans predict her next release. She told Entertainment Weekly in 2019, “I’ve trained them to be that way. I love that they like the cryptic hint-dropping. Because as long as they like it, I’ll keep doing it. It’s fun. It feels mischievous and playful.” 

The Eras Tour

In March 2023, Taylor began the Eras Tour, which doubles as a tribute to all of her previous albums throughout her nearly two-decade career. The tour includes 149 shows across five continents and features different styles of music, ranging from country and folk to pop and alternative rock. This marks her sixth concert tour, and it's her most successful one yet. In fact, it's officially the highest-grossing tour of all time, having surpassed $1 billion in revenue. 

Her tour is set to conclude in December, but her sold-out shows have already had an immense impact. The tour made several headlines for boosting tourism and helping local businesses. Additionally, the U.S. Travel Association estimates the tour's total economic impact could exceed $10 billion.

While discussing the tour's theme with TIME Magazine in 2023, she said, “Every part of you that you’ve ever been, every phase you’ve ever gone through, was you working it out in that moment with the information you had available to you at the time. There’s a lot that I look back at like, ‘Wow, a couple years ago I might have cringed at this.’ You should celebrate who you are now, where you’re going, and where you’ve been.”

Personal Life

When Taylor isn't busy entertaining millions of Swifies on stage or recording new music, she's likely spending quality time with her three cats, Meredith Grey, Olivia Benson and Benjamin Button. All of them are named after fictional movie and TV characters, and believe it or not, Olivia is worth a whopping $97 million, according to the 2022 Pet Rich List.

As for her romantic history, Taylor has previously dated Joe Jonas, Taylor Lautner, John Mayer, Jake Gyllenhaal, Conor Kennedy, Harry Styles, Calvin Harris, Tom Hiddleston, Matty Healy and Joe Alwyn. In a 2012 interview with Katie Couric, the singer got candid about the challenges of dating in the public eye. She said, “I try to act normal, love from a normal place and live a normal life, but there is sort of an abnormal magnifying glass, like a telescope lens, on everything that happens between me and anybody else. I don’t really know that much about love, it turns out.”

Fast-forward to 2024 and it appears the "Shake It Off" singer has learned quite a bit about love. As of now, she is happily dating Travis Kelce.

Relationship with Travis Kelce 

In case you need a refresher on how the It-Couple got together, it all started in July 2023, when Travis Kelce attended one of Taylor's live shows and publicly expressed interest in her on an episode of his New Heights podcast. The athlete revealed that he made a friendship bracelet for her with his number on it. He said, “I was disappointed that she doesn’t talk before or after her shows because she has to save her voice for the 44 songs that she sings. So I was a little butt-hurt I didn’t get to hand her one of the bracelets I made for her.”

Fortunately for him, his comments got Taylor's attention, and she turned up at one of his games at Arrowhead Stadium in September 2023. Then, in October, after they both made surprise cameos on Saturday Night Live, they were seen walking hand-in-hand. Taylor continued to attend Kelce's games and cheer him on, and Kelce even traveled to Argentina to see Swift again in concert. It wasn't until November 2023 when Kelce finally confirmed they were dating. He told WSJ Magazine, "There were definitely people she knew that knew who I was in her corner [who said] 'Yo! Did you know he was coming?' I had somebody playing Cupid." 

The famous couple have since made countless headlines, from their subtle romantic tributes to their body language—and they're still going strong.

Personal Style

It's safe to say that Taylor has gone through a major style evolution. If you take a look at her earliest red carpet appearances, you'll notice that her country era was marked by princess-style dresses and cowboy boots. Then, she shifted to sleek bodycon gowns and cutout ensembles—like her her stunning white jumpsuit by Balmain at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards. Then, her outfit choices got much bolder, from her sequin jumpsuit (courtesy of Alexandre Vauthier) at the 2023 iHeart Radio Music Awards to her black Versace gown at the 2023 VMAs.

When she's off the red carpet, though, Taylor opts for thigh-high boots, bustiers and chic mini dresses. As PureWow's Senior Editor Dana Dickey so eloquently put it, she's "integrating girl-next-door niceness and hot-for-the-tight-end-footballer."

Net Worth

In 2023, Taylor reached billionaire status and joined the ranks of people like Rihanna and Oprah Winfrey, according to a report from Bloomberg. And in 2024, the “Anti-Hero” singer actually surpassed Rihanna (who's worth $1.4 million). According to Forbes, she now has an estimated net worth of $1.6 billion.

Based on the Bloomberg analysis, Taylor’s catalog of music accounts for around $400 million, while sales from her concerts (and merchandise) account for $370 million. Her Spotify and YouTube earnings brought in around $120 million and her music royalties provide about $80 million. Also, per Forbes, she boasts an impressive real estate portfolio that's worth $125 million.

Career Achievements & Awards

Get this: Taylor has won 14 Grammy Awards out of 52 nominations, including Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Music Video. Not only that, but the singer also has an Emmy Award, 40 American Music Awards, 39 Billboard Music Awards, 30 MTV Video Music Awards, 12 Country Music Association Awards, eight Academy of Country Music Awards and two Brit Awards to her name. Oh, and did we mention she has 118 (yes, 118) Guinness World Records? Among her achievements are the highest-grossing music tour, most US singles chart entries and most number-one hits on Billboard's US Digital Song Sales chart.