Taylor Swift: Snapshot
- Name
- Taylor Swift
- Birth Date
- December 13, 1989
- Birth Place
- Wyomissing, Pa.
Although Swift has been eager to stake her claim in country music since age 11, she's taken Goldilocks' "just right" philosophy when it comes to record deals: she backed out on a contract that didn't let her write and sing her own songs – and she was barely 14. After her 2006 debut, the high school senior – who landed on PEOPLE's Most Beautiful list – nabbed a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist and won a CMA Horizon Award, all before her 18th birthday.
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Taylor Swift: Five Fun Facts
- At 11, Taylor Swift took her demo of karaoke songs door-to-door in Nashville. "My mom waited in the car while I knocked on doors up and down Music Row," she recalled to EW. "I would say, 'Hi, I'm Taylor. I'm 11. I want a record deal. Call me.'"
- Taylor Swift's breakout hit, "Tim McGraw," was inspired by her ex-boyfriend. "He bought the album and said he really loved it, which is sweet," she told USA Today. "His current girlfriend isn't too pleased with it, though."
- Taylor Swift is the youngest person ever to solely write and sing a No. 1 country song, "Our Song."
- Taylor Swift considers 13 her lucky number. "It shows up in really great places," she told the Houston Chronicle. "At the Country Music Awards, I was seated in the 13th row. My album went gold in 13 weeks. I was born on the 13th. It's a good number for me."
- The first thing Taylor Swift did when she turned 18: "I registered to vote online in my pajamas."
Taylor Swift: Biography 
- circa 2003
Country's Determined Darling
At 13, Taylor Swift, who began writing songs at age 5, signs with RCA Records. A year later, she gets out of the contract because she doesn't want to sing other writer's songs. Around that time, she becomes the youngest songwriter to sign a publishing deal with Sony – but doesn't want her songs sung by other artists. "She has a real inner vision, a real inner directedness," says Scott Borchetta, who eventually urges Swift to write and sing under a recording contract with his indie label, Big Machine Records.
- 2006
Swift's "Tim McGraw"
Swift's breakout single, "Tim McGraw," which she began writing in her freshman math class, hits country radio airwaves. The song is about hoping her love thinks of her when he hears Tim McGraw's music. It peaks at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. While performing her hit at the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2007, Swift finally meets McGraw when she walks into the audience to serenade McGraw and his wife, Faith Hill (right).
Taylor's Self-Titled Debut
Big Machine Records releases the 16-year-old's self-titled debut album. "I didn't come in to this to be baby-sat," Swift tells the AP about having creative control. She also says she isn't afraid of the tough country music industry: "Not by any measure. I'm intimidated by the fear of being average." Her debut eventually sells more than 2.5 million copies.
Photo Credits
Top Left: Andrew Orth
BIOGRAPHY (top to bottom): Courtesy Taylor Swift; Frank Micelotta/Getty; amazon.com
