Teyana Taylor is undeniably the moment, and now she has been rightfully recognized for all of her glory. This year, the “Gonna Love Me” singer hails as number one on Maxim’s inaugural “Sexiest Women Alive” roster. Not only did the 30-year-old mother of two stun us all with her ultra-toned physique and to-die-for cheekbones in her cover shoot, she is the first Black woman to ever top the list.
In a lengthy gratitude post to Instagram, the singer exclaimed, “Somebody pinch me!!!! Maxim Hot 100 to be named the ‘Sexiest Woman alive’ by literally living in the skin I’m in.” Taylor is the quintessential multi-hyphenate: an entrepreneur, a visual storyteller, a director (shoutout to her moniker, Spike Tey), a wife to former Brooklyn Nets player Iman Shumpert, and the mother of the internet’s favorite celebrity kids Junie and Rue. She admits that with all the roles she juggles she doesn’t “have that much time to be and feel sexy.” Reflecting on what the historic honor means to her, she continued, “Stepping back in front of the lens has been a journey of self-reflection and self-confidence. Living up to name and title of this shoot wholeheartedly made me nervous.” Taylor revealed that ahead of the shoot she had just dropped her daughter Junie off to school and didn’t have time for the usual glam team prep of hair and makeup. However, legendary photography Gilles Bensimon insisted that she remained in her “pure” state — a testament to her effervescent beauty in her signature “skully and sweats.”
S/O to @KINGMagazine & @SMOOTHMAGAZINE who didn’t need 20 something years to realize Black Women like Teyana Taylor were/are/forever will be, fine as fuck. https://t.co/ivFBin51pQ
— Reagan Gomez (@ReaganGomez) June 7, 2021
Although the internet raved over Taylor’s befitting title (need we remind of her stellar vixen performance in Kanye West’s “Fade” video), it didn’t take long for users to point out the historically Black magazines that have long championed the glamour of Black women. To much applause, Reagan Gomez wrote on Twitter, “S/O to @KingMagazine & @SmoothMagazine who didn’t need 20 something years to realize Black women like Teyana Taylor were/are/forever will be, fine as f*ck.”
