logo
Global superstar with 14 Grammys under her belt looks unrecognizable in childhood snap... can you guess who?

Global superstar with 14 Grammys under her belt looks unrecognizable in childhood snap... can you guess who?

Daily Mail​18-07-2025
A record-breaking popstar who has become a global sensation looked nearly unrecognizable in a childhood throwback snap shared on Thursday.
The beloved performer has released 11 studio albums and kicked off her professional music career at age 16 with a self-titled album nearly two decades ago.
She has achieved many milestones and garnered numerous accolades thus far, such as winning 14 Grammy Awards out of a whopping 58 nominations.
The songstress is not only known for her stage presence, but her skills when it comes to songwriting.
The music artist has since bought back the masters to all of her music and is currently in a relationship with another A-list celebrity.
But can you guess who it is?
It's Taylor Swift!
The 35-year-old singer could be seen flashing a small smile towards the camera in a photo that was taken when she was a little girl.
The image was uploaded to an Instagram fan account called Taylor Nation with the caption: 'Taylor Swift has graced this earth for 13,000 days, and the world has never been the same.'
The snap even grabbed the attention of Swift's record label Republic Records, which she signed with in 2018.
The company simply added a red heart emoji in the comment section of the post shared on Thursday, which prompted another fan page to reply with, 'omg! What do you know?'
Earlier this week, fans were sent into a frenzy as rumors sparked up that Taylor could possibly be dropping new music.
The Bad Blood songstress moved to Nashville when she was a teenager, and eventually signed with Big Machine Records.
Her debut single was titled Tim McGraw and she went on to release albums Taylor Swift (2006) and Fearless (2008) - which contained hits such as Love Story and You Belong With Me.
She later dropped award-winning LPs including Speak Now (2010), Red (2012), 1989 (2014) and Midnights (2022).
The Bad Blood songstress moved to Nashville when she was a teenager, and eventually signed with Big Machine Records; seen in 2007 in Florida
Last year, Swift released The Tortured Poets Department - which contained more hits such as the track Fortnight.
Over the course of her career thus far, Taylor has also won 40 American Music Awards and 49 Billboard Music Awards.
Her latest Eras Tour - which began in 2023 and ended last year - has become the highest-grossing tour of all time.
She has additionally re-recorded four of her albums: Fearless, Red, Speak Now and 1989.
The recent post comes after it was revealed this week that Taylor's father Scott underwent heart surgery following a terrifying health scare.
He had gone for a routine checkup when a doctor discovered something and proceeded to undergo a quintuple bypass surgery on his heart.
A source revealed to DailyMail.com that Scott has since had a 'fantastic' recovery after the procedure.
Swift appears to have a close relationship with her dad and mom Andrea. He has often been seen at her concerts and also accompanied the star to NFL games as she cheered on her NFL boyfriend Travis Kelce.
Swift's fans were recently sent into a frenzy as rumors sparked up this week that the singer could possibly be dropping new music - until a surprising twist popped up.
HITS Daily Double initially alleged in a report on Tuesday that the Bad Blood singer could possibly be working on her 12th studio album under Republic Records.
'What's more, seismic rumblings of a new Taylor set keep the Republic team as aggressive as ever,' the outlet had published.
However, an edit has since been made and altered to the simple line: 'And there's always Taylor,' while on the topic of other artists in the industry.
Before the change was made, Swifties flocked over to X to express their excitement over the speculation, with one penning, 'ts12 we are ready.'
Another added, 'I need this in my life,' while a fan wrote, 'and i speak for us all when I say that whenever Taylor decides to drop new music we WILL be STREAMING.'
And when the report changed later on Tuesday, fans of the Grammy winner still grasped onto hope.
'So that must mean it's REALLY coming then and Tree told them to get rid of that! Omg Swifties GET UP!' a fan said, referencing to Taylor's publicist Tree Paine.
Last year in October, Swifties went wild as they speculated the popstar would drop a surprise album at the time.
The rumors began due to Joe Jonas and Shawn Mendes both postponing the release of their own music.
A few months earlier in May, Taylor announced that she had bought back the rights to all of her music - and penned a heartfelt letter to her fans in celebration of the big milestone.
Fans were quick to point out what they alleged to be Easter eggs in the lengthy message.
Towards the top, the songstress had written: 'I'm trying to gather my thoughts into something coherent, but right now my mind is a slideshow.
'A flashback sequence of all the times I daydreamed about, wished for, and pined away for the chance to get to tell you this news. All the times I was thiiiiiiiiiiiis close, reaching out for it, only for it to fall through.'
Some Swifties said that when she wrote 'this,' she included a total of 12 i's - which they believed could possibly be a tease of her 12th studio album.
And while making an appearance at the 2025 Grammys in February, she accessorized her eye-catching look with earrings that also had 12 jewels.
Taylor gave a surprise performance at Brooklyn Bowl in Nashville last month in June and some fans were convinced that she could maybe jump back to her country roots with new music.
She belted out lyrics to her hit track Shake It Off - and listeners pointed out that she had gone back to her signature country twang.
While it is not officially known when Swift will drop new music, the Love Story hitmaker has been keeping busy.
Swift and her boyfriend Kelce have been spotted on a recent dates this summer and also enjoyed a getaway over Fourth of July at the exclusive Yellowstone Club in Montana.
Kelce is preparing for his 13th season with the NFL and has been attending training sessions in the state of Florida. Taylor has often been spotted supporting her boyfriend from the stands, and has attended over 20 games.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Pop star Olivia Rodrigo looks racy in red before enjoying bike ride in London with her beau
Pop star Olivia Rodrigo looks racy in red before enjoying bike ride in London with her beau

The Sun

time19 minutes ago

  • The Sun

Pop star Olivia Rodrigo looks racy in red before enjoying bike ride in London with her beau

POP star Olivia Rodrigo looks racy in red — but took a slower pace on a bike ride with her beau. The 22-year-old Californian was out with English actor Louis Partridge, also 22, on hired electric Lime bikes in West London. 2 She headlined Glastonbury music festival last month and he starred in erotic psychological thriller Disclaimer with Cate Blanchett last year. But the couple went unnoticed by fans as they cycled around the capital. The pair were recently in the Royal Box at Wimbledon together. "I love how nobody judges you for having a pint at noon. "It's the best.' "And I love English sweets. "All the sweets from Marks and Spencer. "Colin the Caterpillar, specifically."

Gwyneth Paltrow marks her territory with X-rating parking sign at Goop headquarters
Gwyneth Paltrow marks her territory with X-rating parking sign at Goop headquarters

Daily Mail​

time19 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Gwyneth Paltrow marks her territory with X-rating parking sign at Goop headquarters

Gwyneth Paltrow allegedly has a sign over her parking spot at Goop headquarters that reads: 'Reserved for G-Spot,' her biographer claims. Amy Odell, who previously wrote a book about the life of Anna Wintour, is the author of the hotly anticipated new volume Gwyneth: The Biography. Tidbits from the book have already gone viral, from the moment she decided to leave her 'dorky' first husband Chris Martin, to the collapse of her relationships with her fellow movie stars Brad Pitt and Ben Affleck. Now, in an interview promoting the project, Amy has observed that Gwyneth is 'someone who has monetized her sexuality and her sex life.' She pointed out that the Oscar winner 'sold a candle called "This Smells Like My Vagina," and she's talked really frankly about getting [oral sex] lessons,' to Page Six. 'She can be really bawdy, very funny and cutting,' said Amy. 'Particularly early in her public life, people said she could just be really different when the cameras were off.' Since its launch in 2008, Goop has become known for advice ranging from the idiosyncratic to the bizarre, exhorting women to steam clean their vaginas and theorizing about a 'Link Between Underwire Bras And Breast Cancer.' However the brand has been constantly expanding ever since, and five years ago it even sprouted its own Netflix series The Goop Lab. Gwyneth hit headlines around the world at the dawn of 2020 for releasing a $75 candle on Goop called This Smells Like My Vagina. The product, which rapidly sold out, was marketed as smelling of 'geranium, citrusy bergamot, and cedar absolutes juxtaposed with Damask rose and ambrette seed.' Her vagina candle was such a runaway success that Gwyneth followed it up with another $75 candle, this one supposedly with the aroma of her orgasm. Goop lists 'tart grapefruit, neroli, and ripe cassis berries blended with gunpowder tea and Turkish rose absolute' as the components of the scent. To mark the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade in January 2022, Gwyneth released yet another Goop candle called Hands Off My Vagina. The limited edition candle cost $75, with $25 of each sale going to the Reproductive Freedom Project of the ACLU Foundation, according to Goop. Months later, the Supreme Court handed the authority to set abortion law back to the states by overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that had guaranteed abortion rights nationwide for nearly half a century. Gwyneth also teamed up with Kourtney Kardashian on a candle called This Smells Like My Pooshy, a play on Kourtney's own lifestyle brand Poosh. A couple of years ago, Gwyneth revealed on Rob Lowe's podcast that when she was 18 years old, his wife Sheryl Berkoff taught her 'how to give a b***job.' Rob has since remarked that Sheryl, a makeup artist, had became 'like a big sister' to Gwyneth after working for the latter's mother Blythe Danner. When the subject of the oral sex lessons came up on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Rob joked: 'Chris Martin and Brad Falchuk, you're welcome!'

‘It's queer, Black joy': the TikTok creator quizzing pop stars and politicians on LGBTQ+ culture
‘It's queer, Black joy': the TikTok creator quizzing pop stars and politicians on LGBTQ+ culture

The Guardian

timean hour ago

  • The Guardian

‘It's queer, Black joy': the TikTok creator quizzing pop stars and politicians on LGBTQ+ culture

Anania Williams is genreless. Some may know them from their comedic TikTok videos, which regularly amass hundreds of thousands of views. Others may recognize them as host of Gaydar, a viral entertainment-education show about queer culture, history and current events; an interview Williams did with the New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani did go viral, after all. There's also Williams's drag performances, including those where they opened for icons such as Chappell Roan and Bob the Drag Queen. Or their bevy of musical theater roles – Lola in Kinky Boots, Dominique in Lucky Stiffs, to name a few. For years, Williams has been launching their own creative universe. As a 25-year-old genderqueer, Black artist, Williams, who uses they/she pronouns, has used their ever-growing social media presence (more than 2.8 million followers across their social media platforms) to fashion the career of their dreams outside anyone's binaries. For their next project, Williams is set to perform in Saturday Church, a new musical at New York Theatre Workshop which opens 27 August. The play dives into the world of a sanctuary for LGBTQ+ youth. 'It's a feelgood musical,' said Williams of the production. 'It's just queer, Black joy, and there's a beautiful message about it.' Williams will play a trans woman, another bonus in their ever-growing theatrical career. 'The further I get in my transition, it's been nice to feel affirmed,' they said. 'It's just been awesome to be in those spaces and to make a way for myself.' With talent and charisma, Williams's rise is practically ordained; as they look forward to balancing their various projects, now comes the task of navigating their expansive future and chronic frustrations of being online. For Williams, growing up in Davenport, Iowa – an industrial, midwestern town of about 100,000 people, was an exercise in strength. At school, Williams was bullied for 'having a girl name', they said. Their home life was equally tumultuous, Williams recalled, rife with abuse and neglect. But life in the midwest sowed the seeds for their future artistic passions. As a child, they sang in the church choir, later joining show choir, following in the footsteps of an older sister. For college, Williams attended Emerson College's in the musical theatre program in Boston. University was one of the first times that Williams got to reflect on who they were, what they wanted. But musical theater came with its own binaries and limitations, especially as Williams is both genderqueer, meaning outside the typical binaries of gender, and Black. 'It felt like: 'Lord forbid you be somewhere else on the gender binary,' and then, 'Lord forbid you're also Black at the same time',' Williams said. Even when Williams attempted to create their own lane, they said they faced resistance from their professors. 'There was a teacher that was like: 'You keep bringing in girl songs. Why is that?' And I tried to explain it to them, and it didn't go well,' Williams said. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Williams returned to their home town to wait out the return to normalcy like most people. The isolation allowed for reflection and served as a moment that allowed them to fully realize their gender identity. 'I had to admit a couple things to myself, like, 'Yeah, I'm queer. Yeah, I'm probably genderqueer.' And from there, it kind of spiraled,' they said of that time period, jokingly adding: 'I call it the pronoun pipeline.' Around the same time, Williams started to create content on TikTok, quickly becoming known for short, comedic rants captured during their late-night walks. Most of their content was spur-of-the-moment musings on anything from Christianity and relationships to a new iPhone. In 2022, they started to speak more openly about being genderqueer, posting videos of their drag and makeup routine. Reflecting back on that time period brings a mix of feelings, Williams said. On one hand, it has been extremely gratifying to grow alongside longtime viewers. 'The audience that's been with me the longest has signed on to watch me evolve,' they said. '[They] watched me do makeup for the first time or try to glue down a wig. Those people are why I feel like I can keep going.' On the other hand, Williams sometimes wishes 'the first version people knew me of was who I am today'. The nature of their content has continued to grow. In 2024, Williams became the host of Gaydar, created by Amelia Montooth at the company Mutuals Media. The show quizzes an array of guests on queer culture in an attempt to find out if they are 'straight, gay or homophobic'. Questions include anything from what a 'lipstick lesbian' is to assessing a guest's knowledge of a gay icon. Willliams herself is also learning alongside contestants, often in real time. 'I didn't know who Sue Bird was and the lesbians whacked me up and down the streets, oh my God,' they quipped. The show's a comedic premise with the goal of inviting viewers to become educated, said Williams. 'We are inundating queer history and queer culture into digestible questions and clips that lets people relax into the learning,' said Williams of the show. 'They can take something in a funny way that's more engaging than saying: 'Here are the facts. Here's a screenshot of this article I read, and you should care about it.' Early versions of the show featured mostly strangers Williams found on the street. The segment has since hosted a number of celebrities and public figures: singers Lucy Dacus, Reneé Rapp and Vivian Jenna Wilson, the daughter of billionaire Elon Musk. The New York City mayoral candidate Mamdani, an avid progressive, attracted social media buzz as one of the first politicians to grace the show. Mamdani shocked Williams when he was successfully able to name a lesbian bar in the city: the Manhattan-staple Cubbyhole. 'He was just such a team player about it,' said Williams of the interview experience. 'We let our audience, which is younger, know who he is and he got to speak for himself.' Williams added: 'It's cool to be a professional zeitgeist in that way, to know that throughout it all, we're making a difference.' Williams's ascent hasn't come without difficulties. They have faced cruel harassment as they have been more public about their transition. 'What they really like to do, especially with dolls, is pick apart fashion and makeup and hair,' said Williams, referring to online trolls. Williams added: 'I want to believe that people are becoming more comfortable with transness, but I think they're coming around to a very specific, stereotypical, western, white, skinny type of trans person. When someone doesn't fit that standard, they get berated.' But Williams has found ways to consistently ground in the real world, alongside the growing pains. There's their found family, a best friend from sixth grade. High school friends and their boyfriend as well as online friends they met through TikTok. And, of course, baking and video games are hobbies, living outside the pressure to monetize or make content of their life. A cake for a friend's birthday was already in the works for later that evening. 'It's either red velvet or strawberry,' Williams said, with a large laugh. 'I remember the color, not the flavor.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store