Where was Taylor Swift born?

Taylor Swift was born on December 13, 1989, in Reading, Pennsylvania. She was named after singer James Taylor. Her father, Scott Kingsley Swift, is a Merrill Lynch financial advisor. Her mother, Andrea Gardner (Finlay) Swift, is a homemaker who previously worked as a mutual fund marketing executive. Swift has a younger brother named Austin.

Swift spent the early years of her life on a Christmas tree farm in Cumru Township, Pennsylvania. She attended preschool and kindergarten at the Alvernia Montessori School, run by Franciscan nuns, before moving to the Wyndcroft School. The family then moved to a rented house in the suburban town of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, where she attended Wyomissing Area Junior/Senior High School. Swift summered at her parents' oceanfront vacation home in Stone Harbor, New Jersey, and described it as the place "where most of my childhood memories were formed".

At the age of nine, Swift became interested in musical theatre and performed in four Berks Youth Theatre Academy productions. She also traveled regularly to Broadway for vocal and acting lessons. Swift later turned her attention to country music. She spent her weekends performing at local festivals, coffeehouses, fairs, karaoke contests, garden clubs, Boy Scout meetings and sporting events. At the age of eleven, after many failed attempts, Swift won a local talent competition. Swift felt sure that she needed to go to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue a music career.