She’s a multi-platinum, award-winning artist as famous for her remarkable talent as for her tortured A-list romances.
But photographer Andrew Orth will always remember Taylor Swift as the bubbly little girl next door.
Andrew – an old family friend and former neighbour to the Swift family – has opened up his albums to reveal what has become a breathtaking photo diary of Taylor’s early years, from the ages of four to 16.
His photographs – taken over the course of a decade – capture the evolution of Taylor Swift from an adorable white blonde-haired toddler to a striking teenager destined for stardom.
Andrew remembers when her mother and father Andrea and Scott Swift brought newborn Taylor in a bundle to his parents’ home across the fence from their farm in Reading, Pennsylvania.
Andrew’s mother used to babysit for Taylor, and when he came home for the holidays from Los Angeles where he was a portrait celebrity photographer, Andrea would ask him to take family photographs.
Starting young: Taylor pictured with a guitar aged 12, two years before she moved to Nashville
His first shots of Taylor were taken in their family barn when she was just four years old.
Andrew remembered: ‘Taylor was a very pretty little girl, as you can see from her young pictures. She had this white hair, crystal blue eyes, pale skin, and pouty lips. She was just something.’
He said of the earliest photos, which show Taylor smiling in her barn with her two front teeth missing: ‘She had a way about her, she knew she was adorable and she really was the cutest thing in the world.’
So cute: Taylor apparently ‘knew she was adorable’ at a young age, according to the photographer
Fresh faced: Taylor, pictured aged five, and 11 showing off her tumbling golden locks
He remembers young Taylor as ‘a huggy little girl’ with an ‘extraordinary talent’.
Andrew, who often photographed children with talent agencies in Los Angeles, recalled: ‘I would tell her parents, “You don’t understand, she’s amazing. She is the most amazing little girl you’re ever going to meet.” ‘
He continued to photograph Taylor until she was 16, after she and her family left Pennsylvania for Nashville, where she would go on to make her name in country music.
Me and my instrument: Taylor is described as having a natural aptitude for songwriting and playing from an early age
Backyard shot: Andrew reveals the picture was taken out of Taylor’s backyard which appeared to back on to a river in Nashville
Blossoming career: Andrew shot photographs for Taylor’s first EP as well as the cover for her self-titled début album
As her career began to grow, he shot photographs for Taylor’s first EP as well as the cover for her self-titled début album.
He said: ‘I would go down to Nashville and stay with the family. We’d all hang out, have dinners, I’d sleep over for about a week, and we’d shoot for three days at all these locations I’d written down.’
Many of Andrew’s photos are from a Nashville shoot they did when Taylor was 14. He said: ‘She’s so photogenic, I couldn’t take a bad shot of this girl!’
Blonde ambition: Taylor posed with a bright pink sweater with the word ‘Blonde’ written on it
One fateful photo from the shoot shows Taylor holding her guitar up in front of an empty stadium in Nashville. He remembers telling the teen: ‘Pretend you’re famous. Hop up there and hold your guitar like there’s millions of people cheering and clapping for you.’
It’s a pose Taylor has recreated before stadiums full of screaming fans across the world. But back then, he remembers: ‘It was just me and her there.’
He even got to see Taylor play guitar in her childhood home, explaining: ‘When Taylor was around 12 or 13 years old, I’d say, “Taylor, can you sing me some songs you’ve been writing?” and without hesitation she’d grab her guitar, look at her fingers on the frets and start singing.
She’s just a Country girl: Taylor moved to Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 14, and is pictured her in the city
She’s in style: This shot of Taylor was apparently used in several publicity stills after she released her eponymous debut album, according to Andrew
‘It was so adorable I got goose bumps, and I’d think to myself, “Oh man, she’s amazing just amazing. Wait til the world gets a hold of her!”’
In addition to shooting Taylor, Andrew developed a unique relationship with his subject, who he watched grow up from a spectacular little girl to a successful young woman.
He said: ‘She was like my little kid sister.’ He remembers her as a ‘quiet soul’ and a ‘loner, but in a good way,’ revealing: ‘She is completely happy being by herself. She’s not a depressive or a dark person who goes and hides in a corner.
Holiday fun: Taylor pictured in black and white wearing a black bikini in black bikini in Avalon, New Jersey
Five years away from fame: Taylor, pictured aged 11, still sports the same corkscrew blonde curls she wears now
