Taylor Black (born September 13, 1991) is an American former actress, producer and model. Credited by her birth name, Taylor Gildersleeve, until 2015, she may be best known for her role, while a teenager, as Sydney Harris on the soap opera All My Children (2005—2006), or as the 2009 Miss New York Teen USA. Her last screen role was a guest appearance on a 2021 episode of Magnum P.I., after which she has focused on running Black Tandem, a creative arts company she and her husband founded in Los Angeles.
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Early life
Taylor Rene Gildersleeve was born and raised in Mattituck, on the North Fork of Long Island, New York. After graduating from Mattituck High School, she attended Columbia University and graduated with a degree in film studies, concentrating in production.
Career
2005–2012
In 2005, while still in high school, she auditioned for the role of Colby Chandler in All My Children and instead was offered the role of teenager Sydney Harris. Her character's story spanned 38 episodes and ended in June 2007. She also started appearing in a series of commercials, and guest starred in a 2008 episode of Law & Order. She took a hiatus from acting to concentrate on high school and to enter pageantry competition; she was crowned Miss New York Teen USA in March 2009, and went on to compete in the Miss Teen USA 2009 pageant in July.
In 2010, when she started her college studies at Columbia in New York City, she also returned to acting, making brief guest appearances in single episodes of five different series produced in the city, including 30 Rock, One Life To Live, Gossip Girl and NYC22. She also appeared in several episodes of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon as Fallon’s "assistant" and was a judge on the panel for Reel Teens 2010, choosing the teen who would feature in that fall's campaign for Aéropostale. In 2012 she played Blake, the co-lead of the Lorne Michaels web series Cool Kid’s Table, where she hosted and spoofed celebrities.
2013–2015: Film and television
In 2013, Black made her feature film debut as an unnamed character in Ass Backwards which was premiered at Sundance, followed by her first named film character, appearing as Summer in Sleeping with the Fishes. Her television work also increased during 2013, including nine episodes in MTV's sketch comedy series Hey Girl, Anna McGraw in the CBS series Unforgettable, Kippy Cook in The CW's Cheerleader Death Squad, and Laura Gorman in MTV’s One Bad Choice. In 2014, she appeared as Beth in the film Affluenza, and starred in the Lifetime's television movie Sugar Daddies. She had the supporting role of Kristin in the film ADDicted. In 2016, she guest starred as Laura Mahoney in David Schwimmer's AMC series, Feed the Beast and Jane in the Hulu series Deadbeat.
2015–present: Black Tandem and mainstream projects
In 2015, Black married the artist Bradley Livingstone Black; they have two children together. Their production company, Black Tandem, operates from Los Angeles. Their short film Helen of Troy (2017) was filmed on location in Paris and in Upstate New York. It enjoyed a successful festival run highlighted by its international premiere at the Bermuda International Film Festival in 2018, and ended in the United States at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood as part of the HollyShorts Film Festival in 2019. Beginning in 2017, Black became the face of the Swiss jewellery line, Nana Fink.
From 2015 to 2018, she mostly appeared in guest roles in single episodes of various television series, including CBS's Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders and Fox' Lucifer, and a three episode run on NBC's Midnight, Texas. Over 2019 and 2020, she had recurring roles as Ashley Cunningham in The CW's Dynasty and Emma Mitchell on Sony/Spectrum's L.A.'s Finest and also appeared in Woody Allen's film A Rainy Day in New York as well as the supporting lead role of Susie Steiner in Apple TV+'s streaming film The Banker, her last major film role. Her last appearance was a guest episode of Magnum P.I., in 2021.
Philanthropy
While in high school, Black's charitable work included the Make a Wish Foundation, Teens Against Cancer and volunteering for Cardinal McCloskey Services. As an adult, she has worked with the Children's Hospital Los Angeles and has been a patron of Ganna Walska Lotusland botanical gardens in Montecito, California.
