TAYLOR’S CHILDHOOD

Taylor Alison Swift was born on December 13, 1989, at the Reading Hospital in West Reading, Pennsylvania. Swift’s father, Scott Kingsley Swift, is a former stockbroker for Merrill Lynch and her mother, Andrea Gardner Swift, is a former homemaker who previously worked as a mutual fund marketing executive. Her younger brother, Austin, is an actor. Swift’s childhood home in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania.

She was named after singer-songwriter James Taylor, and has Scottish and German heritage. Her maternal grandmother, Marjorie Finlay, was an opera singer. She attended preschool and kindergarten at the Alvernia Montessori School, before transferring to The Wyndcroft School. The family moved to a rented house in the suburban town of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, where Swift attended Wyomissing Area Junior/Senior High School. She spent her summers at the beach in Stone Harbor, New Jersey.

Swift at nine years old, became interested in musical theater and performed in four Berks Youth Theatre Academy productions. She also traveled regularly to New York City for vocal and acting lessons. Swift later shifted her focus toward country music, which made her “want to just run around the block four times and daydream about everything.” She spent weekends performing at local festivals and events. Swift felt sure she needed to move to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue a career in music. She traveled with her mother at age eleven to visit Nashville record labels and submitted demo tapes of Dolly Parton and The Chicks karaoke covers. She was rejected, however, because “everyone in that town wanted to do what I wanted to do. So, I kept thinking to myself, I need to figure out a way to be different.”

When Swift was around 12 years old, computer repairman and local musician Ronnie Cremer taught her to play guitar. “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer was the first song Swift learned to play on the guitar. Cremer helped with her first efforts as a songwriter, leading her to write “Lucky You”. In 2003, Swift and her parents started working with New York-based talent manager Dan Dymtrow. With his help, Swift modeled for Abercrombie & Fitch. After performing original songs at an RCA Records showcase, Swift, then 13 years old, was given an artist development deal and began making frequent trips to Nashville with her mother. Her father transferred to Merrill Lynch’s Nashville office when she was 14 years old, and the family relocated to Hendersonville, Tennessee. Swift initially attended Hendersonville High School before transferring to the Aaron Academy after two years, which better suited her touring schedule through homeschooling. She graduated one year early.

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