Taylor Swift has been making headlines this year for reclaiming ownership over her music, her recent announcement of her thirteenth studio album, The Life Of A Showgirl, and, most recently, her record-breaking Instagram post announcing her engagement with Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce. The two have been publicly together since July 2023, and Swifties are overzealous for the couple ready to finally tie the knot.
Swift may be most well-known for her revolutionary music career, but did you know she's also dabbled in acting? She has made appearances in six prominent feature films, a number of documentaries about her music career, and even guest-starred on a few popular television series. From songwriting to acting, Swift is truly a woman of many talents. Without further ado, let's take a peek at where her career has led her.
Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009)
Not only did Swift appear in the film performing her original song, "Crazier," but she is also credited with composing "You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home," a song that Hannah Montana sings at the end of the film, signifying the importance of keeping in touch with her country origins. One can imagine that the movie hit close to home for Swift due to her early country music start, similar to Miley Cyrus's own journey through music.
Being in the film gave her a chance to demonstrate her songwriting skills and stage presence at only 18 years old. She is seen in the middle of the movie performing during the town fundraiser. This small role was a huge milestone in Swift's career, as it exposed her talent to millions of people who may not have heard of her at the time.
Valentines Day (2010)
Taylor Swift is part of a large, talented cast in this film, which follows a collage of intertwined characters on Valentine's Day, the most romantic day of the year for some and one of the loneliest for others. Luckily for Swift, her character, Felicia, doesn't have to spend Valentine's Day alone. She is a high school student who is dating Willy (Taylor Lautner), and they seem to be totally in love.
Watching this movie sends us back in time to a much younger version of Swift, seemingly before she acquired her "long list of ex-lovers." For many devoted Swifties, rewatching this gem brings them to tears, especially after hearing about her engagement.
The Lorax (2012)
You might be shocked to hear that during Swift's adventure in voice acting as Audrey in The Lorax, she does not use her vocal talents for singing. Instead, she voices Audrey, the love interest of the main character, Ted, and is the reason why he sets out to find a real tree.
The Lorax was her first time doing any voice acting for an animated feature. In an interview with Coup De Main magazine in February 2012, Swift expressed her personal connection to the character, stating, "I've always really been drawn to people with impossible dreams, and Audrey is a daydreamer." For everyone else out there with impossible dreams, Swift is living proof that they can come true if you believe in them, just like her character, Audrey.
The Giver (2014)
In this adaptation of The Giver by Lois Lowry, Swift plays Rosemary, the giver's daughter and previous Receiver of Memories. Rosemary is shown in a flashback playing the piano and singing briefly, a characteristic that Swift was perfect for, given her experience playing piano.
If you didn't know who Taylor Swift was back then (or even if you did), you might not have recognized that it was her. In this role, she has swapped her signature blonde hair for a brown wig to "make her distinctive and un-Taylor-like." Given the seriousness of her character's responsibility and the tragic decision to be "released," Swift explores a more serious side to her pop persona.
Cats (2019)
We all know Swift to be the cat lover of all time, so are we really surprised that she is in Cats? She sings in "Macavity" and "Beautiful Ghosts," the latter of which she co-wrote with Andrew Lloyd Webber. While the musical is based on a 1939 poetry collection, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot, the seemingly scattered plot follows a group of cats deciding which cat will be sent to the cat afterlife and reborn anew.
Despite Swift's role as Bombalurina, Cats might just be the lowest-scoring movie she has been in, with a 19% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes. Her performance was met with mixed reviews, some saying that it wasn't that bad, while others were much harsher. Even with such backlash, Swift remains proud of the work she did on it and maintains a positive attitude toward the experience.
Amsterdam (2022)
Swift's most recent role was in the 2022 film Amsterdam, where she plays Elizabeth Meekins, the daughter of Bill Meekins. Though her character is only on-screen for a short amount of time at the beginning of the movie, Swift's performance gives her character the much-needed whimsy to remain composed in the face of an unsolved murder.
The film is loosely based on historical events during the Business Plot of 1933 by wealthy elites to overthrow President Roosevelt, though it is considered a work of fiction and is only about 10% accurate. Regardless, if you want to watch Swift's performance and nothing else, her character appears in the first ten minutes and is never seen again; however, fans were quick to turn her scene into an internet meme, which will live forever.
Though Swift herself has only been in a handful of films, her influence doesn't stop there. Her music has found its way into countless other cinematic works and television shows and has made an expansive cultural impact on the industry as a whole. Showing no signs of stopping, we are excited to see what is next in store for her creative endeavors and eager to hear more details about the wedding. Congratulations, Taylor!
Check out Taylor Swift's IMDb for her acting credits and the full music discography's influence on cinema.