Where is Taylor Swift from? Taylor Alison Swift was born on December 13th, 1989 in Reading, Pennsylvania and grew up in the nearby Wyomissing area until the age of 14, when her family moved to a suburb of Nashville, Tennessee so she could fulfil her dream of becoming a country music artist.
Taylor Swift is currently making headlines for her break-up with fiancé Joe Alwyn, but it’s not the first time that people are talking about her love life, as she has quite the reputation for talking about her exes; or more accurately, writing and singing about them! Taylor has quite a few famous exes including Jonas Brothers singer, Joe Jonas, Twilight actor Taylor Lautner, “Waiting on the World to Change” musician John Mayer, DJ Calvin Harris, and Brokeback Mountain star Jake Gyllenhaal, among others. But it’s not her love life that we want to talk about today – it’s her hometown and some highlights from her incredible career that is showing no signs of slowing down!
Having sold over 200 million records globally, Taylor Swift is one of the best-selling musicians in history, and currently holds the record for the most streamed woman on Spotify. She is the proud winner of 12 Grammy Awards, including three Album of the Year awards, an Emmy Award, 40 American Music Awards, 29 Billboard Music Awards, three IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year awards, and 92 Guinness World Records, including the World Record for having the highest annual earnings ever for a female musician, most weeks at No.1 on the Billboard Artist 100 Chart, and Youngest Album of the Year winner at the Grammy Awards. She has also been named in Rolling Stone‘s 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.
READ MORE: Did Joe Alwyn Cheat On Taylor Swift? Here’s Why Some Fans On TikTok Think So
Early Life
Taylor Swift was named after singer-songwriter James Taylor, and according to Taylor herself, was named with business in mind. “My mom thought it was cool that if you got a business card that said ‘Taylor’ you wouldn’t know if it was a guy or a girl,” she told Rolling Stone in 2009, adding that having an androgynous name might help reduce any potential gender discrimination. “She wanted me to be a business person in a business world,” she added. Taylor has Scottish and German heritage and her maternal grandmother, Marjorie Finlay, was an opera singer, so we know where she gets her singing talent from!
Taylor has regularly spoken about how her grandmother influenced her music, and even paid tribute to her in the song “Marjorie” taken from her December 2020 album, Evermore. The sentimental lyrics include wise words from her grandmother, who passed away in 2003, including the advice: “Never be so kind you forget to be clever and never be so clever you forget to be kind.” But perhaps the biggest tribute to her grandmother is the fact that her backing vocals even appear in her song, with Taylor saying: “My mom found a bunch of her old records of her singing opera, and I sent them to Aaron Dessner and he added them to the song.” Aww!
reminder that taylor won an national poetry contest in 4th grade… she HAS been the songwriter of the decade pic.twitter.com/COhcvBMYIE
— Britt ~ fan acc (@taysrep89) December 4, 2022
Taylor Swift started taking vocal and acting lessons when she was just nine years old, but then decided to shift her focus toward country music after feeling inspired by country music icons such as Shania Twain and Faith Hill. When Taylor was 12 years old, a computer repairman named Ronnie Cremer taught her to play guitar and helped her with the first steps of becoming a songwriter, leading Taylor to write her very first song, “Lucky You.” Taylor has always had the magic touch with writing, as she won a national poetry contest when she was in the fourth grade with a poem called A Monster in my Closet.
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In 2002, Taylor sang the National Anthem at a Philadelphia 76ers basketball game. Things started moving for Taylor’s career in 2003, as she modeled for Abercrombie & Fitch with the help of talent manager Dan Dymtrow and had an original song included on a promotional CD released by makeup brand Maybelline, which also gave her the opportunity to attend meetings with major record labels.
Taylor had a lot of support from her parents, who we bet could clearly see her true talent coming through, as her father was able to transfer his job to Nashville when she was 14, and the family relocated to a lakefront house in Hendersonville, Tennessee, where Taylor attended high school. Two years later, when her career started taking off and she needed more flexibility, she transferred to Aaron Academy, a private Christian school that offered home schooling, and she was able to graduate high school a year early! She told the Associated Press at the time: “I never expected that my senior year would go the way it has. There’s something really exciting about getting to live your dream and continue your education at the same time.”
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Although Taylor and the family moved so she could pursue her dreams, her mom reportedly never put any pressure on her, telling Entertainment Weekly: “I never wanted to make that move about her ‘making it.’ Because what a horrible thing if it hadn’t happened, for her to carry that kind of guilt or pressure around.”
Hometown
Taylor Swift’s hometown is Wyomissing in West Reading, a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It reportedly has a vibrant main street and was home to the VF Outlet Village, one of the largest outlet malls in the United States, until it closed permanently in December 2020. The Pagoda is a special landmark and symbol of Reading and a great place to visit, and visitors can also enjoy a great day at the Reading Public Museum or enjoy the natural beauty the town has to offer at the Arboretum. The West Reading Craft Pretzel and Beer Fest will be taking place at the end of the month.
Hendersonville, Nashville
Taylor Swift's second hometown, Hendersonville, is the 4th largest town in the Nashville metropolitan area. One of the top sights to see here is the Historic Rock Castle, considered to be one of the first permanent homes, as well as the oldest building, listed in Middle Tennessee, with an incredible view of the Old Hickory Lake. Taylor joined a long list of musicians who called Hendersonville home, including Johnny Cash and wife June Carter Cash, Roy Orbison, Conway Twitty, and Kelly Clarkson. Music fans can even visit the graves of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash at the Henderson Memory Gardens.
Taylor has referenced her hometown several times throughout her career, including in "London Boy" from Lover (2019) with "I love my hometown as much as Motown," and "You're On Your Own, Kid" from Midnights (2022), a song where she reminisces about what could have been if she didn't make her "great escape" from the town she "didn't choose."
Musical Career
Taylor signed a songwriting deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing in 2004, becoming the youngest signing in the company's history. She then signed with Big Machine Records in 2005, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Discography
In 2006, she released her first single, "Tim McGraw" off her self-titled debut album, which was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and made her the first female country artist to write a U.S. platinum-certified album. In 2007, she released Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection, which was exclusive to Target, and then was released to other retailers in December 2008. Her next album Fearless (2008) became the longest Billboard chart-topper by a female country artist, and held the Number 1 spot for 11 consecutive weeks in the U.S. "Love Story" stayed in the Billboard chart for 36 weeks, and won a number of awards including Song of The Year at BMI's Country Awards. Taylor Swift released Speak Now in 2010 which holds the record for Fastest Selling Digital Album by a Female Artist in the Guinness World Records. Her 2012 album Red explored rock and electronic styles, with the track "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" becoming her first Billboard Hot 100 Number 1 song.
The album 1989 (2014) had more of a synth-pop vibe, and featured hits such as "Shake It Off," "Blank Space," and "Bad Blood." It's clear that her image in the press inspired a lot of her songs – as did her famous exes – which was very evident on Reputation (2017) and its Number 1 single "Look What You Made Me Do." 1989 debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart with the largest sales week for an album since 2002. It also spent a full first year in the Top 10 in the US, making it just the fifth album to spend the first 52 weeks of its release in the Top 10.
Swift then left Big Machine and signed with Republic Records in 2018 and released her seventh studio album, Lover (2019), followed by the autobiographical documentary Miss Americana (2020). She then explored indie folk and alternative rock when she released her 2020 albums Folklore and Evermore, and then embarked on the journey of re-recording her first six albums after a dispute over their masters, re-releasing two in 2021 — Fearless (Taylor's Version) and Red (Taylor's Version). "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" from Red (Taylor's Version) became the longest song to top the Hot 100, while her 2022 album Midnights sold 1.578M copies in its first week and single "Anti-Hero" broke all-time streaming records.
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Awards
Some notable awards Taylor won at the beginning of her career were the CMA Horizon Award and the CMT Music Awards Breakthrough Video Of The Year for “Tim McGraw” in 2007, while in 2008 she won Favorite Country Female Artist at the American Music Awards and New Female Vocalist Of The Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards. In 2009 Taylor won the MTV VMA Best Female Video award for "You Belong To Me," leading to the now-infamous appearance of Kanye West on stage, interrupting proceedings to proclaim that he thought Beyoncé was more deserving of the award.
2010 was a big year as she won Favorite Country Female Artist at the American Music Awards and at the Grammy Awards won Album of the Year and Best Country Album for Fearless and Best Female Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Song for "White Horse." In 2011, at the American Music Awards, Taylor won Artist of the Year, Favorite Country Female Artist, and Favorite Country Album for Speak Now while at the Billboard Music Awards she won the accolades for Top Billboard 200 Artist, Top Country Artist and Top Country Album for Speak Now.
She also walked away with the Woman of the Year award at the Billboard Women in Music awards and Entertainer of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards. 2012 saw her win Favorite Country Female Artist at the American Music Awards, Woman of the Year at the Billboard Music Awards and Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song for "Mean" at the Grammy Awards. At the MTV Europe Music Awards, she won Best Female, Best Live Act for Speak Now World Tour and Best Look. And here are some of the other big awards she has won in the past decade:
2013American Music Awards:
Artist of the Year
Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist
Favorite Country Female Artist
Favorite Country Album for Red
Billboard Music Awards:
Top Artist
Top Female Artist
Top Billboard 200 Artist
Top Country Artist
Top Digital Songs Artist
Top Billboard 200 Album and Top Country Album for Red
Top Country Song for "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"
Country Music Association Awards:
Pinnacle Award
International Artist Achievement Award
Musical Event of the Year and Music Video of the Year with Tim McGraw and Keith Urban for "Highway Don't Care"
Grammy Awards:
Best Song Written for Visual Media for "Safe & Sound" (featuring The Civil Wars)
MTV Video Music Awards:
Best Female Video for "I Knew You Were Trouble"
2014
American Music Awards:
Dick Clark Award for Excellence
Billboard Women in Music:
Woman of the Year
2015
American Music Awards:
Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist
Favorite Pop/Rock Album for 1989
Song of the Year for "Blank Space"
Billboard Music Awards:
Top Artist
Top Female Artist
Top Billboard 200 Artist
Top Hot 100 Artist
Top Digital Songs Artist
Billboard Chart Achievement Award
Top Billboard 200 Album for 1989
Top Streaming Song (Video) for "Shake It Off"
BRIT Awards:
International Female Solo Artist
MTV Europe Music Awards:
Best Song for "Bad Blood" (featuring Kendrick Lamar)
Best US Act
MTV Video Music Awards:
Best Female Video and Best Pop Video for "Blank Space"
Video of the Year and Best Collaboration for "Bad Blood" (featuring Kendrick Lamar)
2016
Billboard Music Awards:
Top Touring Artist
Grammy Awards:
Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for 1989
Best Music Video for "Bad Blood" (featuring Kendrick Lamar)
2017
Country Music Association Awards:
Song of the Year for "Better Man"
MTV Video Music Awards:
Best Collaboration for "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" (with Zayn)
2018American Music Awards:
Artist of the Year
Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist
Favorite Pop/Rock Album for Reputation
Tour of the Year for the Reputation Stadium Tour
Billboard Music Awards:
Top Female Artist Top Selling Album for Reputation
2019American Music Awards:
Artist of the Decade
Artist of the Year
Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist
Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist
Favorite Music Video for "You Need to Calm Down"
Favorite Pop/Rock Album for Lover
Billboard Women in Music:
Woman of the Decade
MTV Europe Music Awards:
Best US Act
Best Video for "Me!" (featuring Brendon Urie)
MTV Video Music Awards:
Video of the Year and Video for Good for "You Need to Calm Down"
Best Visual Effects for "Me!" (featuring Brendon Urie)
2020
American Music Awards:
Artist of the Year
Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist
Favorite Music Video for "Cardigan"
MTV Video Music Awards:
Best Direction for "The Man"
2021American Music Awards:
Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist
Favorite Pop/Rock Album for Evermore
Billboard Music Awards:
Top Billboard 200 Artist Top Female Artist
BRIT Awards:
Global Icon Award
Grammy Awards:
Album of the Year for Folklore
MTV Europe Music Awards:
Best US Act
2022
American Music Awards:
Artist of the Year
Favorite Country Female Artist
Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist
Favorite Music Video for "All Too Well: The Short Film"
Favorite Country Album and Favorite Pop Album for Red (Taylor's Version)
Billboard Music Awards:
Top Billboard 200 Artist
Top Country Artist
Top Country Female Artist
Top Country Album for Red (Taylor's Version)
MTV Europe Music Awards:
Best Video and Best Longform Video for "All Too Well: The Short Film"
Best Artist
Best Pop
MTV Video Music Awards:
Best Direction, Best Long Form Video and Video of the Year for "All Too Well: The Short Film"
2023Grammy Awards:
Best Music Video for "All Too Well: The Short Film"
iHeartRadio Awards:
Innovator Award
Notable Career Highlights
In 2014, Taylor Swift pulled all of her music from Spotify in protest against the tiny royalties paid to artists per song play. She even went as far as saying: "It is my opinion that music should not be free." The following year she also took on Apple Music, criticizing them for not offering any royalties at all to artists for songs played during the streaming service's three-month free trial period. The following day, Apple Music announced that it would change its policy to pay artists during the trial period.
It took until 2017 for Taylor to return to Spotify, when she announced that her entire back catalogue as well as her latest album at the time ,1989, would be available, as well as on rival streaming services Google Play and Amazon Music. The official line is that this was to "thank her fans" for 1989 passing 10M sales, although it just so happened to coincide with an album launch from her rival Katy Perry with whom she had a very public feud going back several years.
In 2017, Taylor Swift won a civil case against an ex-DJ who she said put his hand under her skirt during a pre-concert photo opportunity in 2013. The case made even more headlines when she requested only $1 in damages. In the Time interview about the court case, Taylor said: "I was angry. In that moment, I decided to forego any courtroom formalities and just answer the questions the way it happened. This man hadn't considered any formalities when he assaulted me, and his lawyer didn't hold back on my mom - why should I be polite? I'm told it was the most amount of times the word 'ass' has ever been said in Colorado Federal Court."
Miss Americana Netflix Documentary
In 2020, Taylor's Netflix documentary Miss Americana premiered at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival, which explained her life from her own point of view, including insights into her work schedule and her home life. It also gave her the chance to address that infamous 2009 VMA's Kanye West feud, and she addressed how she rose above it and bounced back from it.
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Taylor Swift is currently enjoying a small break from her Eras tour, which is scheduled to end in August, 2023, and has recently been snapped having some time off with A-list friends Gigi Hadid and Blake Lively. There aren’t enough hours in the day to write about all of Taylor Swift's accomplishments, but we hope you've enjoyed reading a little bit about her early life and a few career highlights.
