It’s awards season - and one name that keeps cropping up is Teyana Taylor.

She’s nominated for her first Oscar, for her role in One Battle After Another, and has already won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and her latest album was just nominated for the Best R&B Grammy.

For many, it would appear Taylor has burst on to the scene from nowhere - but for those who know her, these nominations are the culmination of more than two decades of work in the industry.

Signed at just 15 to Pharrell’s record label, appearing in a Jay-Z music video and choreographing a dance for Beyonce, her early years in New York’s Harlem weren’t exactly the usual teenage experience.

Her 16th birthday was immortalised on the small screen as part of MTV’s My Super Sweet Sixteen series, before she released her first record and began acting. Now a mother-of-two, Taylor has released four albums to date, starred in her own reality TV series and will make her directorial debut next year.

So, as Hollywood prepares for the award’s night of the year, Stephen Smith examines how she got here.

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