Meet Taylor Swift's famous grandmother, who's also a singer

Meet Taylor Swift's famous grandmother, who's also a singer | HELLO! (2025)

Taylor Swift is the most famous singer in the world, and is known for her small town girl turned pop superstar story.

But did you know that the 35-year-old's grandmother was also a singer, and it's where Taylor got her musical talents?

Meet Taylor Swift's famous grandmother, who's also a singer | HELLO! (1)

A talented opera singer

Marjorie Finlay was the maternal grandmother of Taylor, the mother of Taylor's mom Andrea. Born October 5, 1928, Marjorie was a talented opera singer who worked for various symphonies across Missou

In 1950 she won a talent contest at the age of 22 which allowed her to tour the ABC radio network for 15 months. That exposure contributed to her growing popularity, and after a move to Puerto Rico she became the mistress of ceremonies forEl Show Pan-Americanoon APA-TV.

Meet Taylor Swift's famous grandmother, who's also a singer | HELLO! (2)

The TV show ran for six nights a week for 17 months.

Marjorie was popular in central and south American, touring the continents and South America and reportedly released an album in Mexico.

Falling in love

Meet Taylor Swift's famous grandmother, who's also a singer | HELLO! (3)

Eras Tour tribute

The Eras Tour saw Marjorie's granddaughter perform across the globe over 20 months, and the set list included a shortened version of the song "Marjorie," from Taylor's ninth album Evermore.

"My mom actually spent a lot of her childhood with her mom and dad and sister growing up in Singapore," Taylor told the crowds in March 2024 after singing the song.Watch the moment below:

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Musical ballad for Marjorie

The song "Marjorie" is a tribute to Marjorie, featuring advice Taylor received from her grandmother as well as regret and guilt that she did not get to know her better over the years.

'It was really hard to actually even sing it'

"The experience of writing that song was really surreal because I was kind of a wreck at times writing it, and it was really hard to actually even sing it," Taylor toldZane Lowe.

"I think that one of the hardest forms of regret to work through the regret of being so young when you lost someone, and that you didn't have the perspective to learn and appreciate who they were fully were. I'd open up my grandmother's closet and she had beautiful dresses from the 60s, and I wish I'd asked her where she wore every single one of them."

She continued: "She was a singer, and my mom will look at me so many times a year and say, 'God you're just you're just like her,' when I'll do some mannerism that I don't recognize as being anyone other than mine."

Meet Taylor Swift's famous grandmother, who's also a singer | HELLO! (6)

Taylor also honored her grandmother's operatic career by sampling her vocals in the background of the song: "One of the things about this song that still rips me apart when I listen to it is that she's singing with me on this song. My mom found a bunch of her old records of her singing opera and I sent them to Aaron [Dessner] and he added them to the song."

"What died didn't stay dead / You're alive, so alive / And if I didn't know better / I'd think you were singing to me now," sings Taylor, before Marjorie's singing can be heard.

Listen to "Marjorie" here:

The "Karma" singer also sung about her grandmother and grandfather in theSpeak Now (Taylor's Version) vault track "Timeless," and the video included various pictures of her grandparents over the years, as well as her paternal grandparents, Rose and Archie Dean Swift.

A picture of Marjorie also appeared in the music video for the 2023 song "Anti-Hero".

'What died didn't stay dead'

Marjorie died on June 1, 2003 in Taylor's hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania at the age of 74.