Golden Globes open with Teyana Taylor win for 'One Battle After Another'

Teyana Taylor appears in a scene from “One Battle After Another,” the Paul Thomas Anderson film that earned her the Golden Globe for best supporting actress during the opening moments of the 83rd Golden Globe Awards.

Teyana Taylor became the emotional center of the Golden Globes early Sunday night, winning best supporting actress in a motion picture for her performance in “One Battle After Another.”

Taylor’s win was the first award announced during the live telecast of the Golden Globe Awards, and it immediately shifted the tone inside the Beverly Hilton from pageantry to presence.

Teyana Taylor just gave the best speech of the entire award season at the Golden Globes

"To my brown sisters and little brown girls nominated tonight, our softness is not a liability. Our depth is not too much. Our light does not need permission to shine. We belong in every room… pic.twitter.com/LeWdDFA3Yr

— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) January 12, 2026

“To my brown sisters and little brown girls watching tonight, our softness is not a liability,” Taylor said as she accepted the award, visibly emotional. “Our depth is not too much. Our light does not need permission to shine. We belong in every room we walk into. Our voices matter and our dreams deserve space.”

In “One Battle After Another,” directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, Taylor plays Perfidia Beverly Hills, a role defined less by dialogue than by control. The performance resists flourish, relying instead on timing, restraint and physical presence — tools Taylor has honed across disciplines long before this moment.

She won the Globe over Emily Blunt for “The Smashing Machine,” Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas for “Sentimental Value,” Ariana Grande for “Wicked: For Good,” and Amy Madigan for “Weapons.” The category was crowded. The decision was decisive.

For much of her career, Taylor has existed in the space between visibility and validation — widely respected, rarely centered. She emerged publicly as a dancer and singer, but steadily expanded her range behind the scenes, directing visuals, shaping performances and, more recently, choosing acting roles with increasing care.

Sunday night did not introduce a new version of Teyana Taylor. It acknowledged one that has been forming in plain sight.