Sam Taylor-Johnson's Real Name: Sam Taylor-Johnson
Sam Taylor-Johnson → Sam Taylor-Johnson
Quick answer: The artist and director is known professionally as Sam Taylor-Johnson. A Goldsmiths, University of London, honorand page says she was previously known as Sam Taylor-Wood and is now known as Sam Taylor-Johnson. DACS independently uses the name Sam Taylor-Johnson. DACS says she was born in London in 1967, without a calendar day. The Goldsmiths page does not give a birth date or birthplace.
Real name and early life
DACS identifies her as Sam Taylor-Johnson, a British artist and film director, and says she was born in London in 1967. The Goldsmiths honorand page independently identifies her as Sam Taylor-Johnson and says that artist Sam Taylor-Wood is now known as Sam Taylor-Johnson. The same Goldsmiths page says she graduated from Goldsmiths in 1990. In one place it says she was given an honorary degree in 1990, and later it says she received her honorary degree from Goldsmiths in 2008.
Career highlights
Both DACS and Goldsmiths say she emerged as part of the Young British Artists. Both describe a 2004 National Portrait Gallery commission, a video portrait of David Beckham depicted sleeping, and both record a 1997 Most Promising Young Artist honor at the Venice Biennale (DACS names it the Illy Café Prize) and a 1998 Turner Prize nomination. Goldsmiths also names the short film Still Life (2001) and says that in 2002 she became the youngest artist to have a solo show at the Hayward Gallery. Both say she was appointed OBE in 2011, with DACS specifying the Birthday Honours, for services to the Arts. Goldsmiths says she received a BAFTA nomination for the John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy and, on that page, that she was then filming an adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey. DACS independently names her as the director of films including '50 Shades of Grey' and Back to Black, the latter a biographical drama released in 2024, based on the life of Amy Winehouse.
Name notes for searchers
People looking up Sam Taylor-Johnson or Sam Taylor-Wood are looking for the same artist and director, including the later films Nowhere Boy and Fifty Shades of Grey most often associated with her name. Search traffic may use either form of the professional name.
FAQ
What is Sam Taylor-Johnson's real name?
She is known professionally as Sam Taylor-Johnson. Goldsmiths says she was previously known as Sam Taylor-Wood. DACS uses the name Sam Taylor-Johnson.
When and where was she born?
DACS says she was born in London in 1967, without a calendar day. The Goldsmiths page does not give a birth date or birthplace.
What later work is cited here?
Both sources discuss the 2004 National Portrait Gallery portrait of David Beckham and later film directing. Goldsmiths names Nowhere Boy and Fifty Shades of Grey. DACS names '50 Shades of Grey' and Back to Black (2024).
When did she receive an honorary degree from Goldsmiths?
The Goldsmiths page says she graduated in 1990. One line on that page says she was given an honorary degree in 1990, and a later line says she received her honorary degree in 2008.