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).

Taylour Paige
Paige at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival
Born	(1990-10-05) October 5, 1990 (age 34) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Loyola Marymount University
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2008–present
Spouse	Gary "Rivington Starchild" Angulo ​ ​ (m. 2022)​

Though not a musician,^[1] 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.^[2][3] She grew up in Inglewood, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, with her older brother Travis.^[4] 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.^[5][6]

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^[5] 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.^[7] She is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University.^[8]

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).^[9][10] She left the show in 2016 after three seasons.^[11] Also in 2016, Paige starred as the eponymous character in Canadian filmmaker Stella Meghie's directorial debut Jean of the Joneses,^[8] which was met with positive reviews.^[12] She had a supporting role as Cathy Volsan-Curry in the crime drama film White Boy Rick (2018), which was met with mixed reviews.^[13] During this time, Paige made guest appearances in the thirteenth season of Grey's Anatomy and Ballers.^[14]

Paige had her breakthrough role as the titular character in the black comedy crime film Zola (2020).^[15] The film and her performance earned rave reviews, and earned Paige the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead.^[16][17] 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.^[18][19]

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.^[20][21][22] She then co-starred alongside Lamar on its short film adaptation in September.^[23][24] In November, Paige was featured in Barbadian singer Rihanna's fourth installment of her Savage X Fenty Show.^[25][26]

Paige landed the female lead opposite Peter Dinklage and Jacob Tremblay in the superhero film The Toxic Avenger for Legendary Entertainment,^[27] 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.^[28][29] Also in 2024, she starred in the comedy film Brothers and the dark comedy film The Trainer.^[30]

Paige will next star in the Max horror 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).^[31] She will also star in the science fiction comedy film I Love Boosters.^[32]

Personal life

From May 2019 to August 2021, Paige was in a relationship with actor Jesse Williams.^[33][34] 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.^[35][36]

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
	Alex in Wonderland: Interview with Debbie Allen		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
	Ma Rainey's Black Bottom	Dussie Mae
2021	Boogie	Eleanor
2022	Sharp Stick	Treina	Also executive producer
	Another Country	Mother	Short film
	Mack & Rita	Carla
	We Cry Together	Girlfriend	Short film
2023	The Toxic Avenger	J.J. Doherty
2024	Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F	Jane Saunders
	Brothers	Abby Munger-Jacobson
	The Trainer	TBA
2025	Magazine Dreams	Pink Coat
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
2025	It: Welcome to Derry	TBA	[37]

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					Album
		US [38]	AUS [39]	CAN [40]	SWE [41]	WW [42]
"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	[43]
	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture		Nominated	[44] [45]
		Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture		Won
	Gotham Awards	Outstanding Lead Performance	Zola	Nominated	[46]
2022	Black Reel Awards	Outstanding Actress		Nominated	[47]
		Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Female		Nominated
	Independent Spirit Awards	Best Female Lead		Won	[48]
2023	Grammy Awards	Album of the Year (as featured artist)	Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers	Nominated	[22]

References

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2. Paige, Taylour [@taylour] (June 16, 2019). "HAPPY FATHER'S DAY REGINALD PAIGE ❤️". Retrieved August 7, 2020 – via Instagram.
3. Paige, Taylour [@taylour] (July 9, 2020). "This young ting turned 66 July 7th. Cheryl Boutte. Thankful for her love, her resilience. Thankful for healing. Thankful for understanding..." Retrieved August 7, 2020 – via Instagram.
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External links

• Taylour Paige at IMDb