NEED TO KNOW
Teyana Taylor was in the midst of her skincare routine when she received life-changing news.
At Elle’s Women in Hollywood event in Los Angeles on Monday, Nov. 17, the singer and actress, 34, opened up to PEOPLE about the moment she found out she was nominated for a Grammy.
In a video shared on Instagram on Tuesday, Nov. 11, Taylor is seen reacting to the news as a clear face mask dries on her skin.
“I got a mask on so I can’t move my face,” she says after learning that her 2025 album Escape Room was nominated for Best R&B Album. In the category, she’s up against GIVĒON, Coco Jones, Ledisi and Leon Thomas.
Elsewhere in the clip, Taylor celebrates by jumping up and down on a couch and praying with her family over FaceTime.
“I was so excited but also so excited for the wonders that that face mask was doing, you know what I’m saying?” the All’s Fair star jokes to PEOPLE.
She continues, “But then my Nana started praying, and literally I cried my whole mask off. It was so amazing, so beautiful, the best way to find out.”
Kayla Oaddams/WireImage
In her Instagram caption, Taylor reflected on her career journey and the significance of her Grammy nomination.
“Nearly twenty years ago on November 7th I signed my very first record deal,” she wrote. “And on November 7th, 2025 … God said ‘remember when I told you the weight/wait wasn’t punishment? I told you it was preparation for what I already had written for you?? Baby girl, it’s your time.’ 🥹”
The singer went on to describe the last two decades as full of “highs, heartbreaks, reinvention, revelation, rooms I prayed to enter, rooms I had to walk away from, and rooms I had to build myself.”
“To finally receive my first GRAMMY nomination after 20 yearsssssss whew, my heart can barely hold the gratitude,” she wrote later in the caption. “To be seen this way.”
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At the Elle Women in Hollywood event, Taylor hit the carpet in a hooded gold gown by Balmain. The ensemble featured a daring plunging neckline and gold belt below her waist.
She teamed the look with gold pumps, but as seen in a video captured by Elle, she changed into slippers at one point in the evening. In the clip, Taylor poses for photos with Adam Sandler and his wife, Jackie Sandler, while wearing a green jacket over her gown as well as Jack Skellington slippers.
In her Elle cover interview, Taylor spoke about the challenges she’s faced in her career. “Well, the hardest part is being a woman in Hollywood,” she said. “The even harder part is being a Black woman in Hollywood, because I do feel like this is a man’s world. And we have to show who we are as women to be respected in that space.”
She continued, “I do see change happening. I do see more light being shed on women, and I think it’s because we’re busting through the doors, unapologetically us. We’re not giving anybody a choice: you will see us and you will hear us. And if you don’t, we’re going to make you. Seeing women step into our glory and standing 10 toes down in some red bottoms has been amazing. We’re really stomping through, and that’s what I love about being a woman in Hollywood. We’re going to make you hear us.”
