With an immensely successful career at only 34 years old, you might start wondering about the woman who raised one of the biggest pop sensations ever. Meet Andrea Swift, the woman behind the scenes who played a pivotal role in shaping the superstar Taylor Swift. Despite her daughter’s global fame, Andrea Swift maintains a low profile, but her influence on Taylor’s life and career is undeniable. Born on January 10, 1958, Andrea’s dedication to her family, coupled with her nurturing spirit, has undoubtedly contributed to Taylor’s success. In honor of Taylor’s growing legacy, get to know Andrea Swift with these eight facts.
She was born in Pennsylvania.
Just like her daughter, Andrea Swift was born in Pennsylvania. However, she spent a few years of her childhood in Singapore as her father, Robert Finlay, relocated the family for his engineering job. Though the family eventually moved back to the United States, Andrea spent a few years studying at the Singapore American School before ultimately graduating from Memorial High School in Houston and attending the University of Houston. Given Andrea’s roots in Singapore and Houston, it’s no wonder Taylor has kept such close ties with the two cities over the years.
She and her now ex-husband, Scott, named Taylor Swift after James Taylor.
There’s a sweet story behind Taylor’s name, and to cut the long story short, it’s that her parents were big fans of American singer and songwriter James Taylor. They didn’t know it yet at the time, but their daughter’s name was quite fitting, really, given her undeniable music talent. It was as though they unknowingly proclaimed Taylor’s destiny as one of the world’s best-selling artists!
She’s a homemaker.
Andrea was highly involved throughout Taylor and her brother Austin’s childhood. Before becoming a homemaker, she enjoyed a successful career as a mutual fund marketing executive. However, she eventually chose to dedicate herself full-time to managing their home, considering her husband’s demanding career as a stockbroker for Merrill Lynch.
Andrea’s mother, Taylor’s grandmother, was an opera singer.
In case you didn’t already know, Taylor Swift’s grandmother, Marjorie Finlay, was an opera singer who performed concert and opera singing as a coloratura soprano. In fact, one of Taylor’s earliest memories was her grandmother singing at church. Andrea didn’t exactly get into the music world, but she sure passed the talent onto her daughter nonetheless.
She was initially against Taylor’s signature red lip.
Can you believe Taylor’s signature red lip almost didn’t happen? It’s been the defining feature of her style for years; they don’t even quite suit anyone the way they do Taylor. Well, believe it or not, Andrea was not the biggest fan of the look at first.
Just last month, celebrity makeup artist and Westman Atelier founder Gucci Westman revealed in a TODAY with Hoda & Jenna interview that she had to beg Andrea to let Taylor try out a red lip for her 2009 Allure cover. “I remember I really wanted to do a red lip on her because I hadn’t seen her in a red lip before,” Westman recalled. “And her mom, if I’m allowed to say this, was like, ‘Well, Taylor doesn’t wear red.’ And I was like, ‘Please, can I just try?’,” she added. Eventually, she got mama Swift to budge, and as we all know today, the it’s been a staple in her beauty routine. Now, everyone thank Gucci Westman for Taylor’s red lip!
She has accompanied Taylor to a couple of award shows over the years.
Andrea Swift is surely one proud mama! Despite maintaining a relatively low profile, she’s accompanied her daughter to a couple of award shows over the years, especially during the early years of Taylor’s career. She attended the 2007 CMT Awards, the 2007 Academy of Country Music Awards, and the 2010 American Music Awards, to name a few. Mama Swift, as Swifties like to call her, even presented her daughter with an Academy of Country Music Milestone Award in 2015.
She battled cancer twice.
Andrea Swift is one resilient woman. In 2015, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and, while she was reportedly in remission undergoing chemotherapy, her doctors discovered that she had a brain tumor in 2019. Since then, neither Taylor nor Andrea have spoken on whether or not she is cancer-free. Still, she is a strong survivor.
Taylor Swift wrote two songs about her.
If you’ve followed Taylor’s career over the years, you’ve probably seen Andrea featured in a couple of music videos. But did you know Taylor actually wrote two songs about her mother? Well, if you haven’t already guessed it, “The Best Day” and “Soon You’ll Get Better” are about Andrea. The music video for “The Best Day” is even included home videos of Andrea and Taylor from her childhood, and “Soon You’ll Get Better” was written about Andrea and Scott’s battle with cancer.
