Taylor Alison Swift was born on December 13, 1989 in Reading, Pennsylvania. While growing up she developed a love for country music, especially folk singers like Patsy Cline and Dolly Parton. Her greatest musical influence is Shania Twain. By the age of 10, she began performing around her hometown, at festivals, fairs and sang at karaoke contests. Her inspiration and encouragement came from her opera-singing grandmother who was a well-known figure in Puerto Rico and Singapore, until the family moved to the US. “My grandmother used to sing in church every Sunday, and I think that seeing her every week made me realise, subliminally, that performance is nothing, because she does it every week and that's normal. It really helped me with all that,” recalls Taylor.

Taylor's family realised her talent and determination and moreover her continued dedication. They made regular trips to Nashville, Tennessee, where Taylor would perform casually and meet with songwriters in the area. “When I was about 11, we rented a car and drove up and down Music Row and I would walk up to the record labels with a little CD of me singing karaoke. I’d walk in and say ‘Hey, I’m Taylor, I’m 11, I want a record deal, call me’,” recalls Taylor.

They obviously didn’t call her soon enough. But that trip opened Taylor’s eyes to the business of music, the value of writing your own songs and, crucially, the importance of publishing.

Her rendition of the national anthem The Star-Spangled Banner at a basketball game received a lot of attention. The following year she got her first guitar and began practicing for several hours each day, only stopping when her fingers began to bleed! She also started writing songs at the age of 12, with her performance being well received.

At 14, she became the youngest songwriter signed to a publishing deal with Sony/ATV. This is when the family saw something happening in her life and decided to pack up and move to Hendersonville, Tennessee which only accelerated Taylor's career.

While performing at Bluebird Cafe in Nashville about a year and half later, Swift caught the eye of music industry veteran Scott Borchetta, who immediately signed her to his newly formed label Big Machine Records who in a matter of time released her debut single Tim McGraw in August 2006. The song was based on her experience as a lovelorn high-school student.

Her self-titled debut Taylor Swift was released in late 2006. It debuted at No. 3, but 39 weeks later, hit the top of the charts (No. 1) and sold over 2.5 million copies, earning the young star a platinum album certification. 16-year-old Taylor was now one of country-pop's brightest (and youngest) faces of 2006.

But it was in 2007 that she really made a mark for herself. The album did so well that her label decided to re-package it with some video content, a few more songs and release it as a deluxe limited edition. Fans could listen to several new songs, watch all the videos released up until that time, plus watch a movie edited by Taylor herself. Stand-out tracks on the album include Teardrops On My Guitar and Our Song.

Taylor is known to interact with her fans on a personal level, gaining a huge following through her Myspace page early on in her career. She is currently ranked in the Top 10 for the most MySpace visits for all genres of music, and is MySpace's current top-ranking country artist and the most searched for musical artist in 2008.

In April 2007, Taylor won her first award at the CMT Music Awards for Breakthrough Video for Tim McGraw. At the ACM Awards that year, Taylor finally got to meet her idol and namesake of her first hit song — country artist Tim McGraw. Not only did she meet him in person, but she actually sang the song as he and wife Faith Hill sat in the front row at the awards show. Fans will not forget when the song ended; she reached out her hand, and said, “Hi, I’m Taylor”. At the ACM Awards, Taylor collected the Best New Female Artist Award. In November at the CMA Awards, she took home the Horizon Award.

Before the end of the year, and her 18th birthday, she reached another milestone, as her new single Our Song became her first No. 1 song, remaining in the position for six weeks into 2008.

In 2008, Taylor hit super stardom, spawning a handful of hits (five consecutive Top 10 singles, a new record for a female solo artist) while earning multi-platinum sales. She also received a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist at the 2008 Grammy Awards, which she ultimately lost to Amy Winehouse. Interestingly, Taylor is the first female solo country artist to have written or co-written all the songs on her platinum-selling debut. The album has since sold over 3 million copies.

The pretty lass now all of 19, with blonde hair, a well chiseled face, and looks to die for, now has a doll designed in her likeness, with fans getting a chance to dress the doll in outfits that Taylor has worn. There’s even a replica of her trademark crystal-studded guitar.

Her sophomore release Fearless which arrived in November 2008 (released in India in March 2009) was much awaited by her growing fans. Like the first album, it contains songs she’s written and co-written all dwelling on love, with a melody that is slow to a fairly up-tempo beat. With rave reviews from all over, is pretty long with 16 songs, but every song is backed by her amazing voice. Its lead single Love Story became a hit on both the country and pop charts.

Nominated for four awards at the Teen Choice Awards in August, Taylor walked away with the Best Female Artist Award beating Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry and Britney Spears. She’s also making swift inroads onto the big screen, having made cameo appearances in the Hannah Montana movie scheduled for 2009, and in a 3D film project by the Jonas Brothers. Currently on a North American tour, Taylor Swift is sure to make it big in the years to come and is definitely an artist to watch out for. Whatever she does next, you can be sure it will be a success.

Zodiac sign: Virgo
Her pets: A cat and two Dobermans
Favorite Colour: White
Favourite Food: Cheesecake
Favourite Holiday: Christmas
Favourite Place: Anyplace around a creek
Favourite Season: Summer
Favourite thing to do: Write songs
Favourite thing to write about: Love
Favourite artists: Tim McGraw, Miranda Lambert
Favourite Song: Can’t Tell Me Nothing by Tim McGraw
Favourite Movie: Love Actually

In the 2009 issue of Forbes, Taylor is ranked as the 69th Most Powerful Celebrity with over $18 million in earnings this year.

She plays a custom-made Taylor acoustic guitar made of koa wood.

Change, from the album Fearless, was selected as part of a soundtrack supporting Team USA's efforts in the 2008 Summer Olympics.

In November Taylor will star in a new Band Hero video game in which gamers can play her as she performs some of her top songs. Taylor says she wanted to do the game because she's fully behind "anything that encourages people to pick up an instrument and play".