27 February 2026
One Battle After Another star Teyana Taylor was told “it was dumb” to swap music for movies.
Teyana Taylor on swapping music for movies
The 35-year-old Oscar-nominated actress started out in music and released three albums before pursing a new line of work in Hollywood and Teyana has revealed she was determined to prove her critics wrong by making a success of her film career.
She told Time magazine: “Everybody told me it was dumb. And I was like: ‘No, I am going to be a great actress. One day, I am going to be a great director’.”
Teyana landed roles in movies such as Coming 2 America and the White Men Can’t Jump remake before scoring a part in Paul Thomas Anderson’s critically-acclaimed movie One Battle After Another, which has given her the chance to compete for the Best Supporting Actress at the upcoming Academy Awards on March 15.
In her interview with Time, Teyana admitted she’s happy just to be nominated for the glitzy prize, saying: “Even if I go home empty-handed, I have won.”
She will compete for the prize alongside Sentimental Value stars Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, as well as Amy Madigan for Weapons and Sinners star Wunmi Mosaku.
Teyana added of her fellow nominees: “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.”
The singer/actress admitted she still has lofty career ambitions and has made it her goal to achieve the EGOT – an exclusive club of award winners who all have an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award.
She added: “I would love the EGOT. And if I don’t get that Tony, guess what that T is gonna stand for? Teyana.”
After making One Battle After Another, Teyana returned to music by releasing her fourth album Escape Room last year and she previously admitted she made the decision to release new tracks because she didn’t want to feel pidgeonholed.
She told PEOPLE: “I think what lured me back [to music] was just me coming back on my terms. 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.
“I love to create and direct, so being able to come back to music in such a vulnerable way was very healing for me. It was a lot of different things blocking my journey or what was written for me …
“Your art is your art, and once you’re willing to be vulnerable and raw, of course you’re going to be nervous with anything that you do because this is still what’s coming from your heart through good, bad and different.”
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.femalefirst.co.uk ’
