Teyana Taylor teases EGOT dreams amid first Oscar nod

At 35, Teyana Taylor isn’t chasing validation anymore. She’s collecting nominations.

In a candid Women of the Year interview with Time, the multi-hyphenate opened up about walking away from music in 2020 – despite viral highs like Kanye West’s Fade video and her 2014 hit maybe. The industry, she felt, wasn’t meeting her halfway.

“Everybody told me it was dumb,” Taylor told the outlet. “And I was like, ‘No, I am going to be a great actress. One day, I am going to be a great director.’ ”

Fast forward to 2026: Taylor just scored her first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in One Battle After Another, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

“Even if I go home empty-handed, I have won,” she said, shouting out her “awards-season bestie,” fellow nominee Jacob Elordi.

She’s dreaming bigger, too. “I would love the EGOT,” she said. “And if I don’t get that Tony, guess what that T is gonna stand for? Teyana.”

The comeback extends to music. After stepping away, she returned on her own terms with Escape Room, telling People magazine, “All I ever wanted was to feel appreciated… I didn't want to be stuck or put into one box.”

Between and Oscar nod, a Grammy nomination, and a late-summer 2026 tour on the horizon, taylor’s message is clear: “When you have a creative that does it all, let them spread their wings. Never cage a creative.”