Taylor Lautner

Taylor Lautner Bio

Taylor Daniel Lautner (born February 11, 1992) is an American actor and martial artist widely recognized for his portrayal of Jacob Black in The Twilight Saga film series. A trained karate competitor who earned championship titles as a child, Lautner transitioned from martial arts into acting during his early teens. Over the years, he has built a career that spans blockbuster franchises, ensemble comedies, and television sitcoms.

Lautner first drew notice as a young performer in family films before becoming a global teen idol through the Twilight series. His dedication to physical training and on-screen stunt work has shaped his public identity, and he continues to pursue a broader range of roles across film and television.

Early Life and Background

Taylor Daniel Lautner was born on February 11, 1992, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and grew up in nearby Hudsonville. He is the son of Deborah Lautner and Daniel Lautner. His mother works for a software development company, while his father was a Midwest Airlines pilot. Lautner has one younger sister named Makena. He was raised as a Roman Catholic and has Dutch, French, and German ancestry, along with distant Native American ancestry through his mother.

He took his first karate class at the age of six and quickly advanced in the sport. A year later, he attended a national karate tournament in Louisville, Kentucky, where he met Michael Chaturantabut, the founder of Xtreme Martial Arts. Chaturantabut invited Lautner to a training camp held at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the two worked together for several years. Lautner earned his black belt by the age of eight and went on to win several junior world championships. He also appeared in an ISKA karate event televised on ESPN in 2003.

In junior high, Lautner was active in karate, baseball, and hip-hop dance, and he won the award for Best Smile. He later attended Valencia High School in Santa Clarita, California, until his sophomore year. Chaturantabut, who once portrayed the Blue Ranger in Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue, encouraged Lautner to try acting, which led the family to begin traveling from Michigan to Los Angeles for auditions before relocating to California in 2002.

Path to Acting

Lautner began auditioning for television and film roles as a preteen, balancing school, sports, and martial arts with trips to Los Angeles. His early screen work included bit parts on comedy series such as The Bernie Mac Show and My Wife and Kids, followed by voice-over roles on animated programs including Danny Phantom, Duck Dodgers, and What’s New, Scooby-Doo?. These small jobs gave him on-set experience and helped him land a larger opportunity in 2005.

That year, Lautner earned his first breakout role, starring as Sharkboy in The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D, a Robert Rodriguez-directed family film shot in Austin, Texas. He choreographed all of his own fight scenes after the director learned of his martial arts background. He followed the film with a supporting role in Cheaper by the Dozen 2 later in 2005.

In 2006, Lautner appeared in the series Love Inc. and the television special He’s a Bully, Charlie Brown. Two years later, he took a lead role in the short-lived NBC drama My Own Worst Enemy, playing the son of Christian Slater’s character. These early credits established him as a working young actor before his casting in Twilight changed the trajectory of his career.

Taylor Lautner Career

Early Career (2001–2007)

Lautner’s professional career began in 2001 with a small role in the made-for-television film Shadow Fury, followed by a voice-over job in a commercial for Rugrats Go Wild. He then booked recurring television guest spots and voice work across several family-oriented series, which gave him a steady foothold in the entertainment industry. His big-screen debut came with The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D, and the role earned him a nomination for Best Performance in a Feature Film by a Leading Actor at the 2006 Young Artist Awards.

After returning from filming Cheaper by the Dozen 2 in Canada, Lautner said he first realized his newfound fame from Sharkboy and Lavagirl. Critics often described his early screen persona as either the popular kid, the jock, or the bully, and he continued taking on varied supporting roles through 2008.

Breakthrough (2008–2012)

In 2007, filmmakers began searching for actors to play Jacob Black, a Native American friend of lead character Bella Swan, in Twilight. Lautner auditioned in early 2008, reading alongside Kristen Stewart, and was cast in the role. The first Twilight film opened with a strong domestic debut and went on to gross hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide, helping to make Lautner a recognizable name among young audiences.

Before the sequel, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, director Chris Weitz considered recasting the role of Jacob Black due to the character’s physical growth between novels. To keep the part, Lautner weight-trained extensively and gained approximately 30 pounds of muscle. Summit Entertainment confirmed in January 2009 that he would return, and the sequel set several box office records, including the third-highest domestic opening weekend at the time. Lautner won Favorite Breakout Movie Actor at the 35th People’s Choice Awards for the role.

He returned as Jacob Black in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse in 2010 and in the two-part The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, released in 2011 and 2012. Between Twilight installments, Lautner joined the ensemble cast of Valentine’s Day in 2010, appeared in the action film Abduction in 2011, and earned a Teen Choice Award for Choice Action Actor in 2012. In 2010, he was also named the highest-paid teenage actor in Hollywood.

Notable Works and Milestones

Lautner’s signature work remains The Twilight Saga, in which his portrayal of Jacob Black turned him into a global teen idol and a frequent presence on magazine covers. He later earned recognition for the action film Abduction, the comedy Grown Ups 2, the BBC sitcom Cuckoo, and the Ryan Murphy horror comedy Scream Queens. His willingness to perform his own stunts and his disciplined approach to physical training have remained defining traits of his career.

Taylor Lautner Award Nominations

Lautner has received several notable award nominations across his career, including recognition from MTV, the People’s Choice Awards, and the Young Artist Awards. His earliest major nomination came at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards, where he was nominated for Male Breakthrough Performance for his work in Twilight.

Taylor Lautner Awards Won

Lautner has collected multiple fan-voted and genre awards tied to his work in The Twilight Saga and surrounding projects. He won Favorite Breakout Movie Actor at the 2010 People’s Choice Awards and Best Fantasy Actor at the 2010 Scream Awards. He also received a Teen Choice Award for Choice Action Actor in 2012 for his role in the action film Abduction.

Taylor Lautner Family

Taylor Daniel Lautner is the son of Deborah Lautner and Daniel Lautner. His mother works for a software development company, and his father was a Midwest Airlines pilot. He has one younger sister named Makena. The family relocated from Michigan to Santa Clarita, California, in 2002 to support his acting and martial arts training.

Personal Life

Lautner is married to Taylor Dome, a nurse. The couple began dating in 2018 and married on November 11, 2022, at Epoch Estate Wines in California. Before the wedding, Lautner shared that Dome planned to take his surname, meaning both partners would be named Taylor Lautner.

Earlier in his public life, Lautner was romantically linked to singer-songwriter Taylor Swift while filming Valentine’s Day in 2009. He later dated actress Lily Collins from 2010 to 2011, actress Marie Avgeropoulos from 2013 to 2015, and actress Billie Lourd from 2016 to 2017. Lautner has continued to train in martial arts and maintain the fitness regimen he developed while preparing for his Twilight roles.