Taylor Swift’s Squad Then & Now: See Gigi Hadid, Blake Lively, Selena Gomez & More Transformations

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When it comes to A-list pals, nobody can compete with the “girl squad” Taylor Swift assembled in the mid-2010s. From lavish Fourth of July parties at her Rhode Island mansion, to casting her ultra-famous friends in her “Bad Blood” music video, these were some of the most high-profile friendships in the industry. It’s no surprise many of the once up-and-coming models, actors and musicians are now at the top of their field — take a look at where her squad members are today!

Gigi Hadid

Gigi Hadid was just a teenager when she and Taylor became friends. The pair reportedly met in 2014 through their mutual pal Karlie Kloss (more on her below) and they quickly hit it off. Not only did she cameo in Tay’s video for “Bad Blood” but she also joined her on stage as a special guest during her 1989 World Tour. Although she was already a successful model back then, Gigi has gone on to become one of the most recognizable faces in fashion and is one of the highest paid models in the world. She and Taylor are still friends: she attended Taylor’s 30th birthday bash and the singer sent her flowers back in April for her 25th birthday. In September 2020, Gigi welcomed her first child, a baby girl with boyfriend Zayn Malik.

Blake Lively 

Blake Lively, and by extension her hubby Ryan Reynolds, were first seen hanging out with Taylor at an Australian theme park in 2015. The Gossip Girl alum remained friends with the singer through the years, attending her “Taymerica” Fourth of July party in 2016 and showing her support at concerts. Blake has welcomed three girls since befriending Taylor: daughters James, Inez and a third daughter in 2019, who’s name remains unknown to the public. James’ voice was heard on Tay’s 2017 hit “Gorgeous” and both girls were name-checked on her 2020 song “Betty”, leading fans to speculate that Taylor revealed Blake’s youngest daughter’s name.

Selena Gomez

Selena Gomez and Taylor go way back to 2005, when they were both dating members of the Jonas Brothers. “She was the girl with the big curly hair and the bracelets and the cowboy boots, and I was definitely up-and-coming. We just clicked,” she told KIIS FM UK. The pair have remained close friends through the years, and gone on to have successful cross-genre careers in the music industry. Selena has performed on stage with Taylor multiple times, but more recently, branched out of the industry to launch a beauty line and debut a HBO Max cooking show. Taylor even made a surprise video call appearance on an episode of the show!

Karlie Kloss

Taylor met her former BFF Karlie Kloss at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, and they quickly solidified their friendship in the public domain with a well-documented trip to Big Sur. Over the years, the pair drifted amid reports they had a falling out. Although Taylor wasn’t even in attendance at Karlie’s secret 2018 wedding, the supermodel assured outlets like Vogue and Time in 2019 that the pair were indeed still friends. She now hosts “Project Runway” and runs the “Kode with Klossy” camp which teaches young women how to code.

Cara Delevingne 

Cara Delevingne and Taylor also met through the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, and appeared to be fast friends. While they were frequently spotted hitting the town in New York City and London — and she appeared in Tay’s “Bad Blood” video — rumors began to swirl the pair had fallen out because her name wasn’t included on Taylor’s 2017 “squad shirt”. The shirt in question was worn by the singer in her “Look What You Made Me Do” video. Nevertheless, Cara posted on Instagram following the release of her album “Lover” and Taylor wrote into our sister site Variety in June 2020 when Cara featured on the cover, writing, “Cara is extreme, eccentric, hilarious, loving and deeply loyal.” The British beauty has continued modeling and acting.

Lena Dunham

Girls creator and star Lena Dunham became friends in 2012, via Twitter! They later met in person at the 2013 Grammy’s and Lena went on to appear in the iconic “Bad Blood” video. While Lena and Taylor haven’t been spotted together in some time, the writer has shown Taylor love on social media over the years, most recently for her 30th birthday. Along with writing and starring on the small screen, Lena has appeared in movies like 2019’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. 

Ed Sheeran

When it comes to male squad members, nobody is as iconic as Ed Sheeran. The British musician performed “Everything Has Changed” with Taylor on her “Red” album, and went on to open for her on her world tour. Ed’s career has been on the up and up ever since: his album “Divide” was the best selling album around the world in 2017, and his tour broke records as one of the highest-grossing! He collaborated with Taylor again on her “Reputation” album, but has since taken a hiatus from music. He recently welcomed his first child, a daughter named Lyra, with his wife Cherry Seaborn.

Katy Perry

Taylor and Katy Perry have seriously come a long way since their feud. Katy described to Ellen DeGeneres that because she and Taylor had “such big groups of people that like to follow us,” fans started to turn against each other and turned a complete misunderstanding into something more explosive. Fortunately, these two have mended their friendship over the years and Katy even confessed that they have been texting each other a lot to work on their relationship and get back to being supportive of one another. Showing fans that they really mean it, Katy appeared in Taylor’s music video “You Need To Calm Down,” in which they shared a memorable embrace at the end of the video. Now a new mom, Katy showed her fans that Taylor is fully reciprocating the love, sending Katy a beautiful gift for her little one with Orlando Bloom, daughter Daisy!

Lorde

Like so many fans all over the world, music lovers are wondering where is Lorde?! The singer hasn’t released new music since her celebrated 2017 album Melodrama and consequently fans have anticipated what will come next in her eclectic music. But we know Taylor is bound to be in Lorde’s corner when it comes to her creative endeavors. The two women have been pals since the mid-2010s, and have even shared the stage from time to time! Back in 2016, Taylor even threw a birthday bash for Lorde, wholly solidifying their friendship. But in 2017, a rumors circulated that the famous duo was on the outs, to which Lorde responded in a tweet, “I want to say one more time that Taylor has been there for me in all my dark and light moments these past five years. All of them.” The two have not been spotted together in some time.

HAIM

Now, it’s time for Haim! The trio of rock sisters — Danielle, Este, and Alana — are relatively new additions to the squad since their star rose in the mid-2010s. The ladies, much like Taylor herself, are incredibly talented songwriters. Taylor has been spotted a number of times at the trio’s concerts, including once in 2015 with then-boyfriend Calvin Harris. Now, Danielle, Este, and Alana are riding the incredible success of their latest album Women In Music Pt. III.

Jaime King

Finally, Jaime King has been a longtime member of Taylor’s squad since 2014 when they ran into one another at a Golden Globes party. The Hart Of Dixie actress’s husband, Kyle Newman, actually directed Taylor’s music video for “Style” back in 2015. Unfortunately, in May 2020, Jaime not only filed for divorce but also a temporary restraining order against Kyle. Taylor’s bond with Jaime has been so close, however, that Taylor was named Godmother to Jaime’s second child, son Leo Thomas! Although Jaime isn’t one of the most prominent members of the squad, she and Taylor definitely share lovely moments and quiet nights together. Nowadays, Jaime is still adding new acting gigs to her filmography while balancing her personal life.