Swift was born on December 13, 1989

Swift was born on December 13, 1989, in West Reading, Pennsylvania.[1] Her father, Scott Kingsley Swift, is a Merrill Lynch financial adviser.[2][3] Scott was raised in Pennsylvania and is the descendant of three generations of bank presidents.[4][5] Her mother, Andrea (née Finlay), is a homemaker who previously worked as a mutual fund marketing executive.[6] Andrea, though American, spent the first 10 years of her life in Singapore, before returning to the U.S. and settling in Texas—her own father was an engineer who worked throughout Southeast Asia.[5] Swift has a younger brother, Austin.[7]

Swift spent the early years of her life on an 11-acre Christmas-tree farm in Cumru Township, Pennsylvania.[8] She attended preschool and kindergarten at the Alvernia Montessori School, run by Franciscan nuns,[9] before moving to the Wyndcroft School, a co-ed private school.[10] Swift and her brother were raised in accordance with the Presbyterian faith and attended Vacation Bible School.[11][12] When Swift was nine years old, the family moved to a rented house in the suburban town of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania,[13] where she attended West Reading Elementary Center and Wyomissing Area Junior/Senior High School.[14] Swift summered at her parents' waterfront vacation home in Stone Harbor, New Jersey, and described it as the place "where most of my childhood memories were formed."[15]

During early adolescence, Swift became interested in musical theater and performed in numerous Berks Youth Theatre Academy productions.[16] She also traveled regularly to Broadway for vocal and acting lessons.[17] Swift then turned her attention to country music—Shania Twain's songs made her "want to just run around the block four times and daydream about everything."[18] She spent her weekends performing at local festivals, coffeehouses, fairs, karaoke contests, garden clubs, Boy Scout meetings and sporting events.[5][6][19] At the age of 11, after many failed attempts,[20] Swift won a local talent competition and was given the opportunity to appear as the opening act for Charlie Daniels.[21]

After watching a Behind the Music episode about Faith Hill, Swift felt sure that she needed to go to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue a music career.[22] At the age of 11, she traveled with her mother to Nashville to submit a demo, of Dolly Parton and Dixie Chicks karaoke covers, with record labels along Music Row.[23] She received label rejections and realized that "everyone in that town wanted to do what I wanted to do. So, I kept thinking to myself, I need to figure out a way to be different."[24]

At the age of 12, Swift was taught how to play three chords on a guitar, inspiring her to write her first song, "Lucky You."[25] She had previously won a national poetry contest with a poem titled "Monster in My Closet," but now began to focus on songwriting.[26] In 2003, Swift and her parents started working with New York-based music manager Dan Dymtrow. With Dymtrow's help, Swift modelled for Abercrombie & Fitch as part of their "Rising Stars" campaign, had an original song included on a Maybelline compilation CD, and attended meetings with major record labels.[27] After performing original songs at an RCA Records showcase, the eighth-grader was given an artist development deal and began making frequent trips to Nashville with her mother.[28] When Swift was fourteen, her father transferred to the Nashville office of Merrill Lynch and the family relocated to a lakefront house in Hendersonville, Tennessee:[4]

My parents took all the pressure off by saying, "We're just moving because we love the area, so don't worry." They knew nothing about the industry and had no involvement in entertainment, but I was obsessed with it and so they did their research and read up about it to help me in every way they could. They're amazing people.[29]

In Tennessee, Swift attended Hendersonville High School for her freshman and sophomore years.[30] Later, to accommodate her touring schedule, Swift transferred to the Aaron Academy, a private Christian school which offered homeschooling services. She maintained a 4.0 grade average and earned her high school diploma in 2008, having completed her final two years of course work in 12 months.[31][32]