RELATED: David Hasselhoff’s Daughter Just Made Playboy History. Teyana Taylor is a singer, actor, dancer, choreographer, director, and model, to name a few of her many hats. Now, the 30-year-old mother of two is also Maxim’s 2021 “Sexiest Woman Alive,” and she’s making history in the process. Taylor was overwhelmed by the honor. “Somebody pinch me,” she wrote on Instagram. “To be named the ‘Sexiest Woman alive’ by literally living in the skin I’m in. Wow.” Since Taylor has moved toward directing music videos, she said shifting to being the center of attention was a change for her. “Stepping back in front of the lens has been a journey of self-reflection and self-confidence. Living up to the name and title of this shoot wholeheartedly made me nervous,” she wrote on Instagram. RELATED: Dennis Rodman’s 18-Year-Old Daughter Just Made Sports History Twice. Taylor is a busy working mom and wife—she has two daughters, five-year-old Junie and nine-month-old Rue, with her husband, former NBA star Iman Shumpert. So, as she wrote on Instagram, she tends to hide behind her sweatpants, T-shirts, glasses, and snapbacks, which doesn’t give her much of an opportunity to feel sexy. However, the cover shoot for Maxim helped her embrace her natural style as exactly that. “This particular day was dope because it made me see another side of myself,” wrote Taylor, who went to the shoot after dropping her daughter off at school wearing sweatpants and a beanie with no hair and makeup done. When she arrived on set, photographer Gilles Bensimon said he wanted to photograph Taylor as she was because it was “pure.” Taylor said that as confused as she was by his approach, her “heart also melted.” The reason Taylor explained the background of her shoot was to emphasize that people should embrace their true selves. “I say all of this to say in the true words of Audrey Hepburn… ‘The beauty of a woman is not in facial mode, but the true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows. The beauty of a woman grows with the passing years,’” Taylor wrote, quoting the iconic actor.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb She went on to remind her followers, “Embrace and love yourselves for who and what you are because only the purest heart shines through.” RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. Although Taylor was named Maxim’s “Sexiest Woman Alive” for 2021, there are another 99 women the magazine honored on the Hot 100 list, like singers Megan Thee Stallion and Jennifer Lopez; models Irina Shayk and Cindy Kimberly; actor Eiza Gonzalez (pictured here); and professional fighter Mia Kang. RELATED: See Vanessa and Natalia Bryant Model in New Mother-Daughter Campaign.
