2025 was a monumental year for Teyana Taylor, the New York-born singer, actress, and multihyphenate talent. After years of navigating the music and film industries, Taylor earned her first Grammy nomination for Best R&B Album with her visual album Escape Room and her first Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture for her role in One Battle After Another. In an exclusive interview with People, Taylor shared her reflections on her creative journey, the emotional significance of these accolades, and how she approached such a career-defining year.

A Musical Comeback on Her Terms

After signing her first record deal at age 15 and releasing several projects, including The Album, Taylor retired from music in 2020, citing feeling “under-appreciated as an artist.” She focused on acting, appearing in Coming 2 America (2021) and A Thousand and One (2023).

However, 2025 saw Taylor’s musical resurgence with the release of Escape Room, a 22-track visual album blending R&B ballads and slow grooves. “I think what lured me back was just me coming back on my terms,” Taylor told People. “All I ever wanted was to feel appreciated, and I wanted to feel utilized. I didn’t want to be stuck or put into one box.”

This personal and creative freedom allowed her to embrace vulnerability in her music. “I love to create and direct, so being able to come back to music in such a vulnerable way was very healing for me,” she explained. The album chronicles themes of rebirth, self-reflection, and resilience, drawing inspiration from her divorce from Iman Shumpert and experiences with postnatal depression — though she notes the songs are not literal retellings of her life events.

Collaborating With Inspirational Women

To elevate Escape Room, Taylor enlisted a star-studded cast of women to contribute monologues, including Sarah Paulson, Niecy Nash-Betts, Kerry Washington, Jodie Turner-Smith, Taraji P. Henson, and La La Anthony. “These are women that I love and adore, and women who have shown up for me in my time of grief,” Taylor said. Their contributions helped her channel her emotions and amplify her message of understanding and empowerment for listeners.

Grammy Recognition

Escape Room earned Taylor her first Grammy nomination for Best R&B Album, a milestone she described as “one answered prayer after another.” While the recognition was long-awaited, Taylor sees it as validation for all her work, including earlier albums like VII, K.T.S.E., and The Album. “This acknowledgment for me is for every album that I put out that I felt like was underrated or not seen,” she said.

Golden Globe Nomination for One Battle After Another

Taylor’s performance in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2025 political dramedy One Battle After Another also earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture. She portrayed Perfidia Beverly Hills, a complex Black woman navigating objectification, postpartum depression, and societal pressures.

Taylor emphasized the importance of portraying these stories authentically: “Yes, it was an uncomfortable thing maybe for women to watch, especially Black women. But these also were the stories that we wanted to be told… this is what’s happening to us in real life, and light needs to be shed on that.”

Her nuanced portrayal drew from personal experiences while keeping in mind the broader conversation about mental health, self-worth, and the impacts of postpartum depression. “The way that Perfidia handled [postpartum depression]… resulted in her feeling like, ‘Okay, I need to be selfish and show up for myself, even at the expense of leaving my own child,’” Taylor explained.

Staying Grounded Amid Success

Despite her historic nominations, Taylor remains grounded and focused on the work at hand. “I get really shy when it comes to these kinds of topics because I’m kind of superstitious,” she said. “I try and focus on things that’s coming directly in front of me, and then everything else will come and fall into place.”

For Taylor, 2025 was a year of personal and professional fulfillment, balancing artistic expression, acting challenges, and reconnecting with her musical identity. Her Grammy and Golden Globe nominations reflect both her resilience and her dedication to telling stories that resonate.