After twenty years of navigating the highs and lows of the industry, Teyana Taylor is finally having her "breakthrough season." The multi-hyphenate star graces the cover of Vanity Fair Winter 2026, fueled by massive Oscar buzz for her role in Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film, One Battle After Another. In a revealing interview, Taylor reflects on her journey from Def Jam Records to becoming Hollywood’s most talked-about actress.
Credit: VANITYFAIR.COM
Teyana Taylor spoke candidly about the struggle to escape the "video girl" stereotype following her iconic appearance in Kanye West’s 2016 "Fade" video. “It got to a point where... I’m just like, the hot Black girl... It’s just like, thank you—but I wanna do this, this, this, that, and the third... I don’t want to be stuck in that,” she admitted.
Discussing her complex character, Perfidia Beverly Hills, who balances political attacks with motherhood, Taylor believes audiences will find common ground despite the character's flaws: “I think one thing that everybody will be able to agree on is that she’s a badass. And she’s unapologetically herself.”
Credit: Ethan James Greene / Vanity Fair
Beyond the screen, Teyana is juggling life as a student at the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts while co-parenting after her divorce from Iman Shumpert. “Divorce, to me, is you’re grieving the death of a living being,” she shared. She also addressed her unwavering loyalty to Kanye West despite his public controversies, comparing him to family: “I don’t have to agree with everything that he do or say, but I’m not going to, like, abandon him... My brothers do shit that I don’t agree with.”
