When Teyana Taylor stepped onto the Golden Globes stage to accept the award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for One Battle After Another, she delivered a moment that felt deeply personal and profoundly collective.
Fresh off her win at the 83rd Golden Globes, Teyana stood in her truth: emotional, grateful, and grounded in the people who brought her there. Almost immediately, she centred what matters most to her, her children.
“Oh my babies, my babies are upstairs watching,” she said tearfully, before adding with a laugh, “Y’all better be off them damn phones and watching me right now!”
The room erupted in laughter, but the moment carried weight. Offering us a snapshot of who Teyana is: a mother, an artist, and a woman who understands that legacy isn’t only built on accolades, but on who’s watching you claim your space.
As she continued, she thanked God and the Golden Globes voters “for seeing me and reminding me that purpose always finds its moment.” It was a line that resonated deeply with anyone who has felt overlooked, underestimated, or asked to wait just a little longer for recognition.
This win didn’t feel sudden. It felt earned.
She went on to thank her “tribe,” grounding her success in community rather than individual triumph. Then came a tribute that landed just as powerfully: her parents, former model Nikki Taylor and Tito Smith.
“To my mommy and my daddy, it’s up for y’all anytime,” she said. “I love y’all so much. Thank you for being here with me tonight.”
It was gratitude without performance. Love without restraint.
But it was the way Teyana closed her speech that had viewers at home and in the room holding their breath. Turning her attention outward, she spoke directly to “my brown sisters and little brown girls watching.”
“Our softness is not a liability. Our depth is not too much,” she said. “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 less than a minute, Teyana articulated what so many women, especially Black women, spend lifetimes trying to unlearn: that they do not need to shrink to succeed.
Teyana Taylor’s Golden Globes speech wasn’t just about winning a trophy. It was about being witnessed by her children, honoured by her peers, and affirmed in her purpose. It was about softness as strength, motherhood as motivation, and patience as power.
And in that moment, standing on one of Hollywood’s biggest stages, she extended an invitation. To dream louder. To wait without losing faith. And to believe, even in the in-between, that purpose always finds its moment.
Recent stories by:
Thobeka Phanyeko
Motivation Monday Book Review: After the Fires by Nozipho Tshabalala
Book Review: Go Love Yourself by Zachary Levi
This is how you can tap into the power of manifestation to help you achieve your goals
Are you codependent? This is what you need to know
