Oscar-nominated Teyana Taylor explains how she ended up on My Super Sweet 16

Over the last year, Teyana Taylor has starred in a Oscar-nominated film, appeared on stage with Jay Z as a surprise and been named one of Time’s 2026 Women of the Year.

But nearly two decades ago, she was appearing on our small screens on reality TV, featuring in My Super Sweet 16.

Taylor’s career started young, choreographing the music video for Beyoncé’s ‘Ring the Alarm’ at the age of 15 and signing for Pharrell Williams’ Star Trak Entertainment record label under Interscope.

The 35-year-old went on to have a career spanning showbiz, working as a singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, choreographer and music video director.

And reflecting on her early start, the mum-of-two was asked about her MTV experience by All’s Fair co-star Kim Kardashian. While many people might not have even realised Taylor was on the noughties series, she clarified just how she ended up being featured.

She arrived in a giant doll box and performed a dance routine. (MTV)

Taking part in Vanity Fair’s Lie Detector Test last year, Kardashian asked her if being on the show made her a ‘nepo baby’.

“I feel like the Nepo baby is like when the parents are celebrities, right?” the actor asked, before clarifying she was ‘not born’ into the industry.

She also previously told The Hollywood Reporter: “I’ve seen all types of stuff, like I had this rich Chinese dad or a producer dad.

“I was living on 144th and Seventh Avenue, and my single mom was working her ass off in corporate America to provide for me. She wanted me to have a nice party!”

And she continued on the Lie Detector Test that she ended up on My Super Sweet 16 in 2007 because she had ‘just got signed to Pharrell’, appearing in season four, episode eight.

“Now at a younger age, one thing as girls, we always want to have a great sweet 16,” she said. “So my mom was saving up for a dope sweet 16 for me.”

She did get gifted a bike before receiving a Range Rover. (MTV)

Then, when she ended up getting signed to the label, it was ‘perfect timing’ for the Coming 2 America actor to say: “Yo, I want a birthday party.”

So, Taylor says it was a bit of an ‘introduction’ for her, with her mum, Nikki Taylor, and the label paying for her party.

Nikki became her manager after she signed with Pharrell and has been since.

“They really put it together for me,” the star continued. “So I don't think that's like nepo baby, I think that's like I just got signed - hopefully they didn't use my advance for that party, I don't think they did.”

Taylor also cleared up that when she was given a Range Rover as her birthday gift during the show, she had actually ‘asked for a bike’ and ‘wanted a bike’.

“I mean, I'm from New York, so I don't think a car is responsible for a 16-year-old in Harlem, so I can really care less for that,” she added.

In the early years of her career, Taylor featured as a dancer in a Jay-Z music video, released her own music and worked with Kanye West.

With four studio albums in her music career, she has also starred in the likes of Stomp the Yard: Homecoming, A Thousand and One and The Rip.