Taylor Swift has flexed her acting chops in many of her music videos. But she's also appeared in full-fledged films and television series several times throughout her career. In fact, acting is something that Swift has trained in from a young age. Before she became a successful singer-songwriter, she cut her teeth in musical theater. A childhood friend even shared photos from an early performance in "Grease."
"I started out doing musical theater as a kid," Swift told Apple Music's Zane Lowe. "It's what made me fall in love with performing as a medium."
Swift has been inspired by the stage since she was a little girl, loving the way the changing sets make you feel like you've entered a different world. It was even her dream at one point to appear in a Broadway musical. Her Broadway aspirations never quite panned out (she did have a prominent role in the musical film "Cats," but most people would rather forget that ever happened). And it seems this dream won't become a reality any time soon. She's still busy on the Eras tour and announced during her Grammy acceptance speech that she has a new album dropping on April 19 titled The Tortured Poets Department.
For the foreseeable future, we'll have to settle for the nine total acting roles she's had since 2009. Let's break down every Taylor Swift acting role to date.
'CSI' (2009)
CBS
The episode "Turn, Turn, Turn" opens with Swift lying dead in a motel parking lot. And she looks like the opposite of the Taylor we've come to know and love, rocking dark hair, a lip piercing and combat boots. Later in the episode, a series of flashbacks reveal how her character wound up dead. "You end up figuring out that there's this whole back story, and that my parents had a child that ended up dying and I was the second replacement child," Swift told Rolling Stone journalist Vanessa Grigoriadis on the Infamous podcast. "And my mom never really loved me... and there are so many different intricate storylines that come into play."
Stream it on Paramount+
'Hannah Montana: The Movie' (2009)
Disney
In the silver screen adaptation of Miley Cyrus's hit Disney Channel show about a girl who moonlights as a secret popstar, Swift makes a cameo to perform her song "Crazier." The track was released on Radio Disney and Disney Channel, peaking at number 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Stream it on Disney+
'Valentine's Day' (2010)
Warner Bros.
'The Lorax' (2012)
Universal Pictures
In this animated adaptation of the classic Dr. Suess children's book, 12-year-old Ted (Zac Efron) vies to win the affection of his crush, Audrey (Taylor Swift). To do it, he sets out to show Audrey something she's never seen before: a Truffula tree. The plot is jam-packed with both celebrities and musical numbers — and the movie seriously dropped the ball by not giving Swift a chance to sing even one solo performance.
'New Girl' (2013)
FOX
The hit sitcom about a quirky teacher (Zooey Deschanel) living in an apartment full of men became known for its celebrity cameos, which included Megan Fox, Jamie Lee Curtis and even Prince. Swift has a super brief appearance as Elaine, who professes her love to her ex Shivrang just as he's about to marry Cece. The moment ended up being a relief for everyone: Cece was now free to profess her love for Schmitt and everyone could live happily ever after.
Stream it on Peacock
'The Giver' (2014)
The Weinstein Company
'Cats' (2019)
Universal
"Cats" was universally reviled by both fans and critics. But luckily, Taylor didn't have to endure it alone: the cast was full of well-known names, including James Corden, Judi Dench, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson and Jason Derulo. People had lots of fun on social media roasting their favorite celebs, who had been transformed into uncanny, '90s-quality CGI felines. Swifties, of course, defended her as the only redeeming part of the film — and they have a solid argument. Swift herself looks back on the experience fondly: "I loved working on that weird-a** movie," she told The Rolling Stone.
'All Too Well: The Short Film' (2021)
YouTube
After the failure of "Cats," Swift decided to take matters into her own hands. She wrote and directed "All Too Well," a romantic drama short film adapted from her critically acclaimed song of the same name. The 15-minute film/music video tells the story of Her and Him through seven chapters. Critics applauded Swift's filmmaking debut, praising her vision as a writer-director.
'Amsterdam' (2022)
20th Century Studios
