Taylor Swift Kimberly Llerenas 1 Early Life Taylor

Taylor Swift Kimberly Llerenas 1

Early Life ◦ Taylor Alison Swift was born on December 13, 1989, in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. ◦ Swift spent her early years on her family's Christmas tree farm. ◦ Her grandmother had been a professional opera singer, and Swift soon followed in her footsteps. 2

Big Machine Records ◦ A stellar performance at The Bluebird Café in Nashville helped Swift get a contract with Scott Borchetta's Big Machine Records. ◦ She released her first single, "Tim Mc. Graw, " in 2006, and the song became a Top 10 hit on the country charts. 3

2009 Video Music Awards ◦ On September 13, 2009, Swift won the MTV Video Music Award for "Best Female Video, " making her the first country music star to win an MTV Video Music Award. ◦ The win stirred controversy when rapper Kanye West leaped to the stage during Swift's speech, took the microphone, and declared that R&B singer Beyoncé should have won Swift's award. 4

Albums ◦ In 2008, Taylor Swift released album Fearless ◦ In 2010, she released the album Speak Now ◦ She followed that album with Red (2012) ◦ In 2014 Swift released her album 1989 5

Success ◦ She was ranked No. 1 as Forbes magazine's highest paid celebrity under 30 in 2012 ◦ She had four CMA nominations in 2009—"Female Vocalist, " "Music Video of the Year, " "Best Album" and "Entertainer of the Year"—as well as six American Music Award nominations. 6

Giving Back ◦ The following year, Swift shared some of her fortune to help others. ◦ She funded the $4 million Taylor Swift Education Center at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. 7

2013 Music Awards ◦ Also in 2013, Swift was honored with the CMA Pinnacle Award for her achievements as a country music performer and for her "positive impact" on country music, according to CMA website. 8

Pop Music ◦ With her next effort, Swift seemed to step further away from her country music roots. ◦ She released 1989, her most pop-sounding record to date, in October 2014. ◦ "Shake It Off" proved to be one of the catchiest tracks of the year, reaching the top of the pop charts. 9

Romantic Relationships ◦ During much of 2008, reports circulated that Swift was dating Joe Jonas. ◦ Swift was then romantically linked to actor Taylor Lautner. ◦ Swift then dated singer John Mayer for a brief period ◦ Swift was romantically linked to Glee star Cory Monteith and Jake Gyllenhaal in 2010, and Conor Kennedy—son of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. ◦ In 2012. She found herself bringing in the new year with One Direction's Harry Styles. 10

Taylor Swift’s Favorites Food: Cheesecake Sport: Hockey Holiday: Christmas T. V. Shows: CSI and Grey's Anatomy Book: To Kill A Mockingbird Number: 13 Song: Can't Tell Me Nothin' by Tim Mc. Graw Season: Summer Movie: Love Actually Driving scares her; she has been in three accidents. She won a Nation Poetry contest in 4 th grade for a poem she wrote. Taylor wrote a 350 -page novel but never had it published All of her songs are written about true experiences and feelings. Taylor's mom wanted to name her Taylor because if you saw her name on a business card you wouldn't know if it was a boy or girl. Taylor's dream was to die on CSI 11