NAACP Image Awards: Teyana Taylor’s 5 Best Film Performances That Prove She’s Hollywood’s Next Powerhouse
There’s something quietly magnetic about Teyana Taylor on screen. Long before critics began calling her performance in "A Thousand and One" a revelation, she had already been building toward this moment, sharpening her instincts, studying timing, and learning how to let silence speak louder than spectacle. What we’re witnessing now isn’t a reinvention, but an evolution.
That evolution reached a historic milestone when she took home a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for the performance in the film.
The moment wasn’t just personal triumph, but it was industry-shifting. It confirmed what audiences had already felt that the singer isn’t dabbling in film, but she's commanding it.
Now, with her five NAACP Image Award nominations spanning from categories like Entertainer of the Year, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a TV Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special, and Outstanding Soul/R&B Song, she’s operating in rare air.
Few artists are balancing critical acclaim in acting while remaining musically relevant and doing both at an elite level.
What makes her performances land isn’t just emotional intensity, but it’s control. Taylor understands when to erupt and when to withhold. She plays women who are complicated, protective, wounded, ambitious, sensual, and fiercely human. There’s a lived-in authenticity to her characters that makes even the quietest scenes feel seismic.
Hollywood loves a multi-hyphenate, but this doesn’t feel like a side chapter in her career. It feels like legacy work.
Here are five of Teyana Taylor’s best film performances, the roles that prove she’s not just crossing over, but she's taking over.
"One Battle After Another"
In "One Battle After Another," Taylor leans fully into emotional warfare, portraying a woman navigating survival in a world that refuses to make it easy.
There’s a simmering intensity in her performance, which is the kind that doesn’t scream but instead lingers.
She allows the audience to sit inside her character’s exhaustion, resilience, and guarded hope. Her physicality here is striking and her stillness feels intentional.
"Straw"
With "Straw," Taylor sharpens her edge in a role that demands grit and emotional complexity.
She plays tension beautifully and never overextending, always controlled.
There’s a rawness to her delivery that feels unfiltered and immediate. You can see her instincts at work, especially in scenes where vulnerability and defiance collide. It’s the type of performance that proves she’s not afraid of darker, layered material.
"The Rip"
In "The Rip," Taylor commands attention in every frame she occupies.
The role allows her to balance strength with subtle emotional undercurrents. She brings dimension to what could easily be played one-note, grounding the character in authenticity. There’s confidence in her pacing , as she knows when to let a scene breathe.
Performances like this showcase her ability to elevate ensemble storytelling without overpowering it.
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"A Thousand And One"
This is the performance that shifted the conversation. In "A Thousand and One," Taylor delivers a career-defining portrayal of Inez, a fiercely protective mother fighting to rewrite her son’s destiny.
Her work earned her a Golden Globe Award cemented her as a dramatic force. She moves through the film with urgency, tenderness, and barely contained rage. It’s not just a performance, but it’s a transformation that reintroduced her to Hollywood on her own terms.
"Honey: Rise Up and Dance"
In Honey: Rise Up and Dance, she director taps into her roots as a performer, blending dance with on-screen storytelling.
The role allowed her to fuse her musicality and acting in a way that felt organic.
Even in a lighter, performance-driven film, she brought commitment and charisma. Audiences can see the early blueprint of the actress she would become expressive, confident, and camera-aware.
It stands as a reminder that every evolution has a starting point, and Taylor has been building toward this moment for years.
Watch the NAACP Image Awards on BET and CBS on Feb. 28, 2026.
