Teyana

Born and raised in Harlem, New York, Teyana Taylor is a globally acclaimed multi-hyphenate entertainer whose career spans music, acting, dance, choreography, and directing. She first captured public attention as a teenager on MTV's My Super Sweet 16, but quickly proved her artistic depth by working behind the scenes as a choreographer, famously crafting routines for Beyoncé's "Ring the Alarm" video at just 15 years old. Over the years, she blossomed into a powerful R&B singer, signing with Pharrell Williams' Star Trak Entertainment and later Kanye West’s GOOD Music label. Her discography boasts highly praised studio albums, including VII, K.T.S.E., and her top-ten Billboard hit, The Album. Following a five-year hiatus, she made a triumphant return to music with her 2025 visual album, Escape Room, which earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Album. Beyond her vocals, she has directed music videos for herself and major artists under her alter-ego "Spike Tee", twice winning BET’s Video Director of the Year.While her music legacy is firmly established, Taylor has reached monumental heights in Hollywood as a dramatic actress. Her breakout moment came with her raw, critically acclaimed performance as Inez de la Paz in A.V. Rockwell's 2023 film A Thousand and One, which secured her a Critics' Choice Award and the Breakthrough Performance Award from the National Board of Review. She followed this success by starring as Perfidia in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, a performance that won her a Golden Globe Award and earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. On television, she joined the star-studded ensemble of Ryan Murphy's legal drama All's Fair and won an NAACP Image Award for her role in the Netflix television film Straw.Taylor's cultural influence has solidified her status as a generational icon who seamlessly bridges the worlds of music, film, and fashion. In recognition of her ongoing impact, she was named one of Time's Women of the Year and was honored with a career award at the Costume Designers Guild Awards for her contribution to style and storytelling. Her trajectory shows no signs of slowing down; she is slated to star alongside Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in the Netflix crime thriller The Rip, and will make her feature directorial debut with the Paramount Pictures film Get Lite, starring Storm Reid. To celebrate her extraordinary versatility and lasting impact on the entertainment landscape, BET named Taylor the Icon of the Year at the 2026 BET Awards