Taylor Lautner biography, net worth, wife, age, height, family 2025

Taylor Lautner's Biography

Taylor Lautner is an American actor and model who shot to fame playing Jacob Black, a werewolf, in the "Twilight" film series based on the novels by Stephenie Meyer.

Childhood and Youth

Taylor Daniel Lautner was born on February 11, 1992, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His mother, Deborah, worked at a software development company, while his father, Daniel, was a pilot for Midwest Airlines. Taylor has a younger sister named Makena. Taylor's striking looks come from his mixed heritage, which includes French, German, Irish, and Native American roots.

At the age of six, Taylor started practicing karate. His dedication paid off when he competed in a national tournament in Kentucky, where he met Michael Chaturantabut, a Thai-American actor and stuntman. Taylor trained with Chaturantabut for several years, earning a black belt by the age of eight and winning several junior world championships.

Parallel to his karate training, Lautner also played baseball, took jazz and hip-hop dance lessons, and played for his school's American football team. However, it was karate that eventually led him to the world of cinema. His mentor, recognizing Taylor's acting potential, persuaded him to audition for a commercial. Even though Taylor didn't land the part, he loved the atmosphere on set and decided right then on his future profession.

Taylor Lautner has been practicing karate since childhood

For several years, Lautner and his parents would fly from Michigan to Los Angeles for auditions, sometimes returning to their hometown in time for school. This hectic lifestyle wore Taylor out, and his relationships with classmates started falling apart. So, in 2002, the family decided to move to California.

Acting Career

In his early years in Los Angeles, Lautner landed small roles in TV shows and commercials, plus voice-over work for cartoons ("What's New, Scooby-Doo?", "Duck Dodgers"). In 2005, Taylor scored his first leading role in a movie: together with Taylor Dooley, he starred in Robert Rodriguez's "The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3D".

Taylor Lautner in 'The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl'

His karate skills came in handy: upon learning of the teenager's athletic abilities, Rodriguez allowed him to choreograph all of the film's fight scenes. The film flopped at the box office, but Lautner was nominated for the "Young Actor" award (the award ultimately went to 14-year-old Josh Hutcherson, future star of "The Hunger Games").

Lautner then appeared in the adventure comedy "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" with Steve Martin, which was heavily criticized and dubbed "one of the worst films of the 2000s". A more successful project was the drama series "My Own Worst Enemy" (2008), in which Lautner played the son of Christian Slater's character.

Taylor Lautner and Steve Martin in 'Cheaper by the Dozen 2'

Most of Lautner's early roles were stereotypical. Rolling Stone summed up Lautner's early roles as invariably "the popular guy, athlete, or hooligan". Everything changed in 2008 when he auditioned for the role of Bella Swan's friend in "Twilight", based on Stephenie Meyer's novel. Lautner had never heard of this book, but his agent convinced him to audition.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon - Jacob's Transformation Scene

The producers loved Lautner's audition and cast him as Jacob Black, a Quileute Indian who can transform into a werewolf. Other characters in the romantic saga about the conflict between vampires and werewolves were played by Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart.

Taylor Lautner Struggled with Body Image Issues After Twilight

The film was a massive hit, earning $392 million worldwide in its first week. In 2009, at the MTV Movie Awards, Lautner was nominated for the "Breakthrough Performance: Male" award, but the award went to his colleague Robert Pattinson.

Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner

When filming began on the sequel "Twilight: New Moon" (2009), directors initially planned to recast Jacob - they wanted someone who could better portray the character's metamorphosis into the "new, bigger Black". Michael Copon was considered for the role, but ultimately Lautner kept it after training intensively and gaining almost 15 kg of muscle. His dramatic physical transformation impressed everyone, including Pattinson.

When I saw his body, I immediately thought, 'Oh my God, I'm definitely getting fired!' the actor shared.

When the film hit theaters, it attracted so many viewers that it shattered box office records in its opening weekend. Lautner, Stewart, and Pattinson became "teen idols", and the athletic Taylor also earned the title of sex symbol.

Taylor Lautner on getting married, childhood fame & dealing with paparazzi

Between the second and third "Twilight" films, Lautner starred in the romantic comedy "Valentine's Day" (2010) alongside singer Taylor Swift. The pair was nominated for the MTV Movie Awards 2010 in the "Best Kiss" category, but the award ironically went to Lautner's colleagues - Pattinson and Stewart.

Taylor Lautner and Taylor Swift in 'Valentine's Day'

The third film "Twilight: Eclipse" (2010) received mixed reviews, but became the highest-grossing film of the franchise, as well as the highest-grossing romantic fantasy and werewolf and vampire film of all time in the US and Canada. Lautner's fan base grew every day, the number of awards and nominations increased, and it became increasingly difficult to lure the actor into other projects.

Nevertheless, Taylor took the leading role in the action film "Abduction" (2011), working alongside legendary actors Sigourney Weaver and Alfred Molina, but received harsh criticism for his performance.

Lily Collins and Taylor Lautner chat Abduction

In 2011-2012, the actor starred in "Twilight: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" and "Twilight: Breaking Dawn - Part 2", after which his career took a nosedive. A small role in the comedy "Grown Ups 2" (2013) with Adam Sandler, a few episodes in the British sitcom "Cuckoo" (2012-2018), and low-rated films "Tracers" (2015) and "The Ridiculous 6" (2016), which didn't even make it to theaters.

Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart in 'Twilight: Breaking Dawn - Part 2'

The indie film "Run the Tide" (2016) could have marked a new chapter in the actor's career, but critics unanimously slammed his unconvincing performance. "He's a flat actor, incapable of bringing any spark to his roles," film critics wrote. His more successful project was the TV series "Scream Queens" (2015-2016) in the comedy horror genre - Taylor appeared in the second season as Dr. Cassidy Cascade.

'Getting out of the shadow of such a hit as 'Twilight' is not easy,' Lautner complained in one interview.

Then the actor disappeared from the public eye for several years. He admitted that he'd become very picky about roles and was willing to wait for a truly worthwhile offer. He spent his free time with friends and loved ones, did a lot of sports, traveled, and learned DJing.

Taylor Lautner's Personal Life

In high school, Taylor Lautner started dating his school friend Sarah Hicks. After three years of romance and a break, the young couple resumed their relationship until the actor fell for actress Maika Monroe in 2013.

Next came Canadian actress Marie Avgeropoulos, and then Lautner moved on to model Raina Lawson.

At the end of 2016, the actor started dating his "Scream Queens" co-star Billie Lourd, but by October 2018 confirmed a relationship with a girl named Tay Dome. Also on Taylor's list of past romances are actress Lily Collins, singers Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez.

In 2018, Taylor Lautner introduced his beloved, Tay Dome, to his fans. They met through the actor's sister - both women were studying at medical school and became friends. Lautner often posted pictures with his girlfriend, strolling with her around Los Angeles.

Taylor's fans were eager to see his relationship take the next step, and finally on November 11, 2022, Lautner and Dome got married. She's six years younger than the actor, works as a nurse, and runs her own blog where she talks about mental health.

The wedding of Taylor Lautner and Tay Dome

Taylor Lautner Now

In 2022, Taylor Lautner returned to the screen, playing a high school football coach in the sports comedy "Home Game". The shooting took place in spring 2021.

In 2023, he starred in a music video for Taylor Swift's song "I Can See You" alongside Joey King.

Taylor Lautner in Taylor Swift's music video

Taylor Lautner: latest news and articles

Twilight star Taylor Lautner returns to the big screen: he will play a werewolf hunter

13 Feb 2025

Choose the most charismatic actor in Hollywood

17 May 2022

Kathryn Moreno

Lautner doesn`t seem like a serious guy. So many short-term novels, and all that with beauties-models, singers and actresses.

2021-05-02 08:50:30
Todd Sandoval

It is somehow offensive even for the actor that his awards, moreover well-deserved ones, were taken away from under the nose of his colleagues!

2021-04-13 15:42:20
Thelma Martin

Taylor Lautner sympathizes with me very much. Charming young boy :) May he continue to please us with his roles

2021-03-16 21:19:05
Patricia Robbins

My favorite werewolf from Twilight. The girls and I organized wars, who is cooler than Pattinson vampire or Lautner werewolf :)

2021-03-03 12:02:04
Matthew Ward

Even as a child, I watched and adored the film «The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl» with little Lautner. Cool children`s movie!

2021-02-24 08:36:29

Photos: Taylor Lautner