People PEOPLE Taylor Swift: A-Z

On his way to film his appearance in Taylor Swift’s “Fortnight” video, actor Ethan Hawke had an eye-opening realization. “As I was flying out there, I thought, ‘You know, I’ve worked so hard in my life, and I have a feeling this will be in my obituary,’ ” he joked recently to podcast host Jess Cagle, adding an imagined remembrance: “ ‘You might know him as the doctor in the background of the “Fortnight” video, however, he did do some other things with his life …’ ” Hawke isn’t the only one to feel this way: It’s Taylor’s world—we’re just living in it. She started dating football star Travis Kelce last year, and NFL viewership spiked; more people watched 2024’s Super Bowl than had tuned into the 1969 moon…

A is for … “All Too Well” Fast Friends B is for … Beyoncé  Taylor to the Rescue C is for … CPR Calling the Shots D is for … Directing  On the Road E is for … the Eras Tour ‘TAYLOR SWIFT REALLY DID THAT. 3.5 HOURS OF PURE JOY. SUPERHUMAN’—JESSE TYLER FERGUSON, ON INSTAGRAM Stans in the Stands F is for … Fans  String Theory G is for … Guitars …

SWIFT BEGAN THE ERAS TOUR IN MARCH 2023 as her very own tortured poet, straining under the “H” word that underpins so many of her most memorable songs: heartbreak. In the midst of the breakup of her six-year relationship with actor Joe Alwyn, she hit the stage singing her lovelorn tales while living their truth in real time. (See TTPD’s “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” for proof.) Fast-forward to September, and since then she’s been singing a different tune offstage, in the key of “H” for: happy. At 6'5" and 250 lbs., a big part of that is the new love in her life: bearded, burly and clearly besotted Travis Kelce, three-time Super Bowl-winning tight end for the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs. Of course she’s still got…

FAMILY TREE She’s spent her teen years in Tennessee, but as a child she lived on a Christmas-tree farm in Wyomissing, Pa., with her stockbroker dad and homemaker mom. Hauling the harvest around took muscle, but one icky task required a strong stomach. “I had to look for praying mantis eggs [in the trees],” she says, “because if people brought them into their house, the eggs would hatch, and there’d be thousands of them.” QUADRUPLE THREAT? Sure, she sings, plays guitar and wrote much of her self-titled gold debut. But at age 10, Swift was her own agent too, booking karaoke contests and festival gigs. The next year she took her demo of Dolly Parton and Chicks covers to Nashville. “I walked into the major labels and was like, ‘I…

With an estimated net worth of more than $1 billion, Taylor Swift is now one of the richest women in the world—and a notable philanthropist. She’s long donated to numerous charities and to individuals in need. It’s no wonder the volunteerism nonprofit DoSomething.org has named her their Most Charitable Celebrity many times over. Here are just a few examples of how Swift has put her money where her mouth is. Fighting Hunger In March 2023 employees at the Arizona Food Bank Network reportedly thought they were being pranked when they got the call that Taylor Swift wanted to donate. But the singer’s very real gift meant the organization was able to deliver 40,000 lbs. of fresh produce to food banks around the state, and Swift continued her giving to many…

BEAUTIFUL. TALENTED. SMART. A casual, effortless glamour and a ready, red-lipped smile. Sure, the description fits Taylor Swift, but we’re talking about Marjorie Finlay, the singer’s maternal grandmother, an early and ongoing inspiration that Swift immortalized in the song “Marjorie” on her 2020 album Evermore. Born in 1928 and raised in Missouri, Finlay was a music major in college and went on to sing with the St. Louis Symphony. In 1950 she won a talent contest to go on tour as a vocalist with an ABC radio show, Music With the Girls. In 1952 she married Robert Finlay in Palm Beach, Fla. Robert’s civil engineering business took them to Havana and then Puerto Rico, where she performed in supper clubs, sang with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra and cohosted a…