The pop star has made cameos in feature films, TV shows and a self-directed short film.
Taylor Swift will always be a singer-songwriter first and foremost, but when she isn’t penning No. 1 hits or selling out stadiums on tour, the pop star sometimes trade in her guitar for a script. Since rising to fame as a country darling in the 2000s, she’s made cameos in both big screen and small screen projects, be it as a one-time guest on a random episode of CSI or a lead performer in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats film adaptation.
But while it may seem as though Swift’s acting career stemmed from her success in music, here’s a little known fact: The Grammy winner actually started out with a love for musical theater. As she told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe in October 2019, “I started out doing musical theater as a kid. It’s what made me fall in love with performing as a medium.”
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That said, the musician probably won’t be taking on a second full-time profession any time soon. Three years before appearing in David O. Russell’s Amsterdam — which debuted in theaters Oct. 7, 2022 — she was asked by Webber in an interview for British Vogue whether she’d ever considered fully committing to being an actress.
“I have no idea,” she told the composer, with whom she also composed a song for the movie adaptation of Cats.
“When I was younger, I used to get questions like, ‘Where do you see yourself in 10 years?’ I’d try to answer. As I get older, I’m learning that wisdom is learning how dumb you are compared to how much you are going to know. I really had an amazing time withCats. I think I loved the weirdness of it. I loved how I felt I’d never get another opportunity to be like this in my life.”
Keep reading to learn about all of Taylor Swift’s acting roles to date.
'CSI' (2009)
Swift kicked off her acting career in an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, on which she basically played the Anti Taylor. Complete with a dark dye job and lip piercing, the pop star portrayed rebellious teenager Haley Jones in season nine of the drama series, and lent one of her Fearless tracks — “You’re Not Sorry” — to the show.
'Hannah Montana: The Movie' (2009)
Swift appeared for just a moment in Hannah Montana: The Movie, for which she contributed two original songs: “Crazier,” which she performed at a grassroots fundraiser for Miley Cyrus’ fictional hometown of Crowley Corners, and “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home,” performed by Miley at the end of the movie shortly after revealing her secret Hannah Montana identity to her community.
'Valentine's Day' (2010)
Valentine’s Day marked two major events in Swiftie history: Taylor’s very first acting role in a feature film, and the birth of a phenomenon known as “Taylor Squared.” The musician starred as Felicia, the ditzy but lovable girlfriend of Twilight actor Taylor Lautner — whom she famously started dating in real life after they together on the film.
Swift contributed a track to this screen project as well — “Today Was a Fairytale,” a standalone single that reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2010.
'The Lorax' (2012)
Swift starred opposite Zac Efron in the 2012 animated version of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax. She lent her voice to the character of Audrey, a redheaded teenager whose greatest wish is to see a real tree, prompting Efron’s character Ted Wiggins to search for one in order to impress her.
'New Girl' (2013)
Tay made a hilarious cameo in a season two episode of New Girl in 2013, playing a character named Elaine who interrupts CeCe’s (Hannah Simone) wedding to profess her love for the groom, Shivrang — just like the situation she describes in the title track of her third album Speak Now.
'The Giver' (2014)
Swift played a small but important role in the 2014 film adaptation of Lois Lowry’s dystopian novel The Giver. Styled with a bare face and brown ‘do, the singer-songwriter portrayed Rosemary, the late daughter of Jeff Bridges’ titular character, the Giver.
'Cats' (2019)
Tay has never been shy about her love for cats (she has three!), so who better to star in the campy film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Cats? Swift went as far as attending “Cat School” classes to master her feline fatale role of Bombalurina, which she played opposite Judi Dench, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen, James Corden, Idris Elba and more A-list actors.
The star also teamed up with Sir Webber himself to write a brand new song for the musical, “Beautiful Ghosts.” “I think she’s written lyrics that are first, dramatic, and secondly, it’s almost as if she’s read T.S. Eliot herself,” the composer told The Hollywood Reporter of Swift at the time. “Maybe she had, because she’s so thorough and professional.”
'All Too Well: The Short Film' (2021)
In addition to making her directorial debut with her All Too Well short film — set to the music of her 10-minute song of the same name — Swift also played a supporting role in the project. She appears toward the end of the video, portraying the older and wiser version of its star, Sadie Sink, whose life changes forever after a brooding, scarf-wearing Dylan O’Brien breaks her heart.
'Amsterdam' (2022)
Taylor acts alongside Christian Bale and John David Washington in David O. Russell’s film. As seen in one of the movie’s teaser trailers, the two actors watch as a mysterious man appears out of nowhere and swiftly pushes her into oncoming traffic.
Before that, though, the pop star plays the grieving daughter of a man Bale, Washington and Margot Robbie are wrongfully accused of murdering. She also gets to use her world-famous singing voice at one point in the film, which Oscar-winner Bale said was so beautiful, it gave him goosebumps on set.
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