# Taylour Paige

Taylour Paige-Angulo (née Paige; born October 5, 1990) is an American actress. She received recognition for starring in the VH1 sports drama series Hit the Floor (2013–2016) and the comedy drama film Jean of the Joneses (2016). Her breakthrough role was the titular lead in the black comedy crime film Zola (2020), winning the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. She then starred in the drama film Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020) and the comedy drama film Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024).
Though not a musician, in 2022, Paige featured on Kendrick Lamar's spoken word song "We Cry Together", which debuted at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and netted Paige a Grammy Award nomination.

## Early life and education

Taylour Paige was born on October 5, 1990, in Santa Monica, California to Reginald Paige and Cheryl Williams. She grew up in Inglewood, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, with her older brother Travis. Paige began dancing at the age of 2 and trained at Katnap in Venice, Westside Ballet Academy, and later spent two consecutive summers at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, DC. In 2001, she became a student of choreographer Debbie Allen, and auditioned for her musical Pearl.
Paige attended St. Bernard Catholic High School in Playa del Rey where she graduated in 2008. She became a Los Angeles Laker Girl in 2010 and spent three months with the professional cheerleading squad before leaving to finish college and pursue her acting career. As a Laker Girl, she was featured in a special by Fox Sports on the making of the 2011 Laker Girls Calendar. She is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University.

## Career

Paige has been featured in commercials and advertising campaigns for Transamerica, Best Buy, McDonald's, Adidas and Just Dance 3 following her stint as a Laker Girl. Her first film role was in High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008), where she was a featured dancer.
After appearing in small roles in several short films, Paige starred as Ahsha Hayes in the sports drama television series Hit the Floor (2013–2018). She left the show in 2016 after three seasons. Also in 2016, Paige starred as the eponymous character in Canadian filmmaker Stella Meghie's directorial debut Jean of the Joneses, which was met with positive reviews. She had a supporting role as Cathy Volsan-Curry in the crime drama film White Boy Rick (2018), which was met with mixed reviews. During this time, Paige made guest appearances in the thirteenth season of Grey's Anatomy and Ballers.
Paige had her breakthrough role as the titular character in the black comedy crime film Zola (2020). The film and her performance earned rave reviews, and earned Paige the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. That same year, Paige had a supporting role as Dussie Mae in the drama film Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, which was met with critical acclaim and earned her an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture.
In May 2022, Paige made her music debut by contributing to rapper Kendrick Lamar's fifth studio album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers on the critically-acclaimed track "We Cry Together", earning a Grammy Award nomination. She then co-starred alongside Lamar on its short film adaptation in September. In November, Paige was featured in Barbadian singer Rihanna's fourth installment of her Savage X Fenty Show.
Paige landed the female lead opposite Peter Dinklage and Jacob Tremblay in the superhero film The Toxic Avenger for Legendary Entertainment, released in 2023. She joined the cast of the action comedy film Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, starring alongside Eddie Murphy and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, which was released in 2024. Also in 2024, she starred in the comedy film Brothers and the dark comedy film The Trainer.
Paige will next star in the HBO supernatural horror television series It – Welcome to Derry which is based on Stephen King's novel It (1986) and serves as a prequel to the films It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019). She will also star in the science fiction comedy film I Love Boosters.

## Personal life

From May 2019 to August 2021, Paige was in a relationship with actor Jesse Williams. In 2021, she briefly dated actress Zoë Kravitz. On October 5, 2022, she married fashion designer Gary "Rivington Starchild" Angulo after sharing their engagement two weeks prior.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2008 | High School Musical 3: Senior Year | Dancer | Cameo role |
| 2010 | Alex in Wonderland: Rehearsing Wonderland | School Girl | Short film |
| 2010 | Alex in Wonderland: Interview with Debbie Allen | School Girl | Short film |
| 2011 | Mousetrap | Mousetrap Keeper #4 | Short film |
| 2015 | Touched | Gina | |
| 2016 | Jean of the Joneses | Jean Jones | |
| 2018 | White Boy Rick | Cathy Volsan | |
| 2020 | Zola | A'Ziah "Zola" King | |
| 2020 | Ma Rainey's Black Bottom | Dussie Mae | |
| 2021 | Boogie | Eleanor | |
| 2022 | Sharp Stick | Treina | Also executive producer |
| 2022 | Another Country | Mother | Short film |
| 2022 | Mack & Rita | Carla | |
| 2022 | We Cry Together | Girlfriend | Short film |
| 2023 | Magazine Dreams | Pink Coat | |
| 2023 | The Toxic Avenger | J.J. Doherty | |
| 2024 | Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F | Jane Saunders | |
| 2024 | Brothers | Abby Munger-Jacobson | |
| 2024 | The Trainer | TBA | |
| TBA | I Love Boosters † | TBA | Filming |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2004 | That’s So Raven | Dancer | Cameo; episode: "The Road to Audition" |
| 2010 | Making of the Laker Girls Calendar 2011 | Herself | Documentary |
| 2013 | 2013 Do Something Awards | Herself | Television special |
| 2013–2016 | Hit the Floor | Ahsha Hayes | Main role |
| 2013 | Hit the Floor AfterBuzz TV | Panelist | Unknown episodes |
| 2015 | Ballers | Theresa | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | Grey's Anatomy | Emma | Episode: "Falling Slowly" |
| 2024 | The Baxters | Angela Manning | 4 episodes |
| 2026 | It: Welcome to Derry | TBA | |

### Music videos

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2014 | "She Came to Give It to You" | Dancer | Usher ft. Nicki Minaj |
| 2022 | "We Cry Together" | Girlfriend | Kendrick Lamar ft. Paige |

## Discography
### Singles

List of singles, with year released, selected chart positions, and album name shown :
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Album |
| Title | Year | US | AUS | CAN | SWE | WW | Album |
| "We Cry Together" (with Kendrick Lamar) | 2022 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 96 | 20 | Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result | Ref. |
| 2021 | Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Best Acting Ensemble | Ma Rainey's Black Bottom | Nominated | |
| 2021 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture | Ma Rainey's Black Bottom | Nominated | [44] [45] |
| 2021 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture | Ma Rainey's Black Bottom | Won | [44] [45] |
| 2021 | Gotham Awards | Outstanding Lead Performance | Zola | Nominated | |
| 2022 | Black Reel Awards | Outstanding Actress | Zola | Nominated | |
| 2022 | Black Reel Awards | Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Female | Zola | Nominated | |
| 2022 | Independent Spirit Awards | Best Female Lead | Zola | Won | |
| 2023 | Grammy Awards | Album of the Year (as featured artist) | Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers | Nominated | |