Teyana Taylor Embodies Janet Jackson for PEOPLE's World's Most Beautiful Issue: 'She's the Blueprint' (Exclusive)

Janine RubensteinTue, April 21, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC

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Teyana Taylor Embodies Janet Jackson for PEOPLE's World's Most Beautiful Issue: 'She's the Blueprint' (Exclusive)

"Everybody who knows me, knows I don't play about Janet," Teyana Taylor says while in the midst of getting all dolled up to, well, play Janet Jackson for PEOPLE's World's Most Beautiful issue. The Golden Globe-winning actress, singer and dancer, 35 ― who's currently enjoying some well-earned rest after an incredible style streak during award season ― couldn't have been more excited to take a break from that break to step into the shoes and signature moves of her idol. And she couldn't have taken it any more seriously; after all, "I'm still, like, her number one fan."

Taylor says that fandom dates back to the late '90s, years before Taylor was first introduced to the world on MTV's My Super Sweet 16. Back when she was only about 9 years old, she found the DVD of Jackson's ultra-sexy 1998-1999 "Velvet Rope" tour, which she fully admits "I had no business watching." In hindsight, it's good a good thing she did. "When I saw it, oh my God. I knew what I wanted to do when I got older. I knew that I wanted to be an artist."

Teyana Taylor wearing a Tanya Gill-inspired jacket and pants, recreated by Laurel Dewitt and Baba Jagne.Credit: AB + DM

Thus, when she was tasked with figuring out which look from Jackson's iconic career she wanted to recreate for World's Most Beautiful, Taylor opted for a tour moment, but one that wasn't too on the nose.

"Everyone knows I'm obsessed with Janet. I've already recreated so many of her iconic looks," says Taylor of past tributes at the VMAs and BMI Awards. "So I wanted to do something that's a little different and unexpected."

She landed on a military-inspired cream ensemble Jackson wore while performing her song "If" and other hits during her Janet World Tour that ran from 1993 to 1995. Styled completely by herself, Taylor worked with designers Baba Jagne + Laurel DeWitt to bring her vision to life, along with makeup artist Yeika Glow and hair stylist Lateafa Alvaranga. But the abs? Those were homemade and custom built.

Taylor famously had an epic fail trying to meet Jackson for the first time and see her perform live, back in 2017. "I was in Cleveland trying to make it to her show in Chicago and my flight was canceled," she says. Taylor took to social media with her disappointment about missing the show and then suddenly "she FaceTimed me! I had my Janet shirt on that I'd slept in and everything. Of course I cried."

Janet Jackson on tour in 1994 performing "If"; Teyana Taylor recreating her look in a Tanya Gill-inspired outfit by Laurel Dewitt and Baba Jagne.Credit: John Barrett/Shutterstock; AB + DM

The pair met face-to-face at one of Jackson's shows shortly after that, and then in 2022 Taylor got the surprise of a lifetime. "When I was on my farewell tour she actually came to my London show. I remember actually being upset that [my team] surprised me with her because if I would have known that Janet was like sitting in a crowd, oh my God. You think I'm extra now?"

Taylor says these days she has to find a balance between the roles of fan and friend. "When I first retired from music (in December of 2020) she poured into me and gave me some really good advice," she says of Jackson. "She played a big part in why I came back. It's kind of crazy because now she's like my homegirl in real life. I call her Jan. She's one of those beautiful spirits. But even though we've grown a close bond, I'm still a fan. I don't take it for granted."

And Taylor has stepped into the icon conversation herself after this past awards season, picking up a Golden Globe and numerous other awards and nominations for her role in One Battle After Another. For her, it was one red carpet slay after another.

Teyana Taylor wearing a Tanya Gill-inspired jacket and pants, recreated by Laurel Dewitt and Baba Jagne.Credit: AB + DM

"Awards season was amazing for me," she says. "I am happy to be in these rooms because I worked hard to be there and I'm getting my just due and I'm appreciative of that. It's everything I've ever wanted to do. So I'm always happy and I'm a light and I enjoy being that."

She brought her light along to the afterparties as well. "After the Oscars I went straight to the hotel, to go love on my babies and put them to bed," she says of daughters Junie and Rue Rose, whom she shares with ex Iman Shumpert. "And then we went to the Warner Brothers party, to Vanity Fair which was really fun, too, and then topped the night off at the Gold Party." At Beyoncé and Jay-Z's annual fête, "you get to just dance," she says. "I'm always the one every year at the Gold Party that gets the electric slide going. It was to [Beyoncé's] 'Before I Let Go,' but you already know it merged into [Cameo's] 'Candy'."

Now, with all of that sparkling dust settled, she's still on the move. "My team is like, 'Teyana, you need a break,' but I actually can't stay still. When I do get time to just chill, I be like, 'Okay, well what's next to do?' I'm up in my room sweeping or mopping. I've got to do something."

Teyana Taylor wearing a Tanya Gill-inspired jacket and pants, recreated by Laurel Dewitt and Baba Jagne.Credit: AB + DM

That said, "Rest for me has been 24/7 mommy mode," she says of spending more time with her daughters at home in Atlanta where PEOPLE's shoot took place. "I come to recess, I bring bubbles and read them books. I love being in the carpool line." (You might catch her behind the wheel of her Kia Carnival minivan, one of her many cars but the favorite for mom duty.) She adds, "It brings me peace to see them happy."

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Winning at motherhood also makes her feel the most beautiful. "That's the purest form of love," she says. "We make it our job to make our children see bubbles and hearts. They don't see the sacrifice and the struggles that you deal with internally or behind closed doors. But sometimes they do see mommy crying and they wipe away my tears and they console me. They're just like two little old ladies, little mini mes and I'm just like, 'What is happening?' It's the most beautiful thing. I'm really, really, really, really blessed."

For more World’s Most Beautiful content, including cover star Anne Hathaway, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE on newsstands Friday.

Credits

Photographer: AB + DM

Video Directors: Eric Michael Roy + Benjamin South

Cinematographer: Kanishk Grover

Hair: Lateafa Alvaranga

Makeup: Yeika Oliva / A-Frame Agency

Nails: Kim Cao

Stylist: Teyana Taylor

Custom Look: Baba Jagne + Laurel DeWitt

Prop Stylist: Nick Tortorici

Prop Stylist: Sinclaire Reddings

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”