Mikki Taylor(II)
- Actress
Mikki Taylor is an award-winning journalist, author, storyteller and trusted authority on beauty and style for women of color. Taylor, who has over 30 years' experience in media, has made depicting the stories of women of color her life's work because of her strong desire to bring the beauty, strengths, and amazing complexities of womanhood to life.
As the former Beauty & Cover Director at ESSENCE magazine, Taylor casted and produced over 500 covers as well as its signature beauty pages to affirm and inspire the culture's definition of beauty. Today she's editor-at-large, for the publication where she hosts the audience at live events such as the ESSENCE Festival's PowerStage and Disney Dreamers Academy. Taylor also scripted and served as host for nearly a decade for the ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards which was dedicated to honoring the power and presence of Black women in front of as well as behind the camera, and she engaged such trailblazing women as Viola Davis, Ava Duvernay, Cicely Tyson, Lupita Nyong'o, Regina King, and others.
Taylor is also the President of Satin Doll Productions, Inc., which is dedicated to telling unexpected stories about women of color. As a voting member of the Screen Actors Guild, (SAG-AFTRA), Taylor continues her commitment to supporting the acting community, and influencing the changing representation in film and television. She also supports the arts as a member of the Women's Association of NJPAC (Women@NJPAC) for the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the anchor cultural institution for the city of Newark and the state of New Jersey.
Taylor has authored such critically acclaimed books as Self-Seduction (Random House); Commander in Chic: Every Woman's Guide to Managing Her Style Like a First Lady (Simon and Schuster); Editor-in-Chic: How to Style and Be Your Most Empowered Self (Simon and Schuster) and Force of Beauty: A Newark Family Memoir, an Audible Original, co-authored with filmmaker Deborah Riley Draper and released in February 2021. The first person-narrative reflects on Taylor's 1960s childhood in Newark, NJ and her front-row seat into the rising power and true glamour of Black culture. Listeners will hear Mikki describe the city and the landmarks that influenced her world, from her mother's work with the iconic singer Sarah Vaughan as hairstylist, makeup artist and wardrobe stylist to her role as a salon owner and award-winning stylist. Moreover, it depicts how Taylor became a "force of beauty" who changed an industry, and a leading trailblazer in the fight for equity and fairness for women of color everywhere.
Taylor has appeared on Good Morning America, NBC Today, The View, Steve Harvey Show and such networks as CNN, CBS, OWN and BET and has worked with some of the world's most fascinating and influential people, including Rosa Parks, Sidney Poitier, Michelle Obama, Rihanna, Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey and more. Internationally, she has served as an instructor at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa at the special invitation of Oprah Winfrey, and as a keynote speaker at the De Beers Global Women's Summit in Botswana on consumer engagement.
Taylor will be featured in such ground-breaking documentaries as YouTube Originals Supreme Models, executive produced by Iman & Marcellas Reynolds, Xfinity's The Black Beauty Effect (Fall 2022) and A & E Network's James Brown: Say it Loud, executive produced by Mick Jagger and Questlove (Spring 2023).
As the former Beauty & Cover Director at ESSENCE magazine, Taylor casted and produced over 500 covers as well as its signature beauty pages to affirm and inspire the culture's definition of beauty. Today she's editor-at-large, for the publication where she hosts the audience at live events such as the ESSENCE Festival's PowerStage and Disney Dreamers Academy. Taylor also scripted and served as host for nearly a decade for the ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards which was dedicated to honoring the power and presence of Black women in front of as well as behind the camera, and she engaged such trailblazing women as Viola Davis, Ava Duvernay, Cicely Tyson, Lupita Nyong'o, Regina King, and others.
Taylor is also the President of Satin Doll Productions, Inc., which is dedicated to telling unexpected stories about women of color. As a voting member of the Screen Actors Guild, (SAG-AFTRA), Taylor continues her commitment to supporting the acting community, and influencing the changing representation in film and television. She also supports the arts as a member of the Women's Association of NJPAC (Women@NJPAC) for the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the anchor cultural institution for the city of Newark and the state of New Jersey.
Taylor has authored such critically acclaimed books as Self-Seduction (Random House); Commander in Chic: Every Woman's Guide to Managing Her Style Like a First Lady (Simon and Schuster); Editor-in-Chic: How to Style and Be Your Most Empowered Self (Simon and Schuster) and Force of Beauty: A Newark Family Memoir, an Audible Original, co-authored with filmmaker Deborah Riley Draper and released in February 2021. The first person-narrative reflects on Taylor's 1960s childhood in Newark, NJ and her front-row seat into the rising power and true glamour of Black culture. Listeners will hear Mikki describe the city and the landmarks that influenced her world, from her mother's work with the iconic singer Sarah Vaughan as hairstylist, makeup artist and wardrobe stylist to her role as a salon owner and award-winning stylist. Moreover, it depicts how Taylor became a "force of beauty" who changed an industry, and a leading trailblazer in the fight for equity and fairness for women of color everywhere.
Taylor has appeared on Good Morning America, NBC Today, The View, Steve Harvey Show and such networks as CNN, CBS, OWN and BET and has worked with some of the world's most fascinating and influential people, including Rosa Parks, Sidney Poitier, Michelle Obama, Rihanna, Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey and more. Internationally, she has served as an instructor at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa at the special invitation of Oprah Winfrey, and as a keynote speaker at the De Beers Global Women's Summit in Botswana on consumer engagement.
Taylor will be featured in such ground-breaking documentaries as YouTube Originals Supreme Models, executive produced by Iman & Marcellas Reynolds, Xfinity's The Black Beauty Effect (Fall 2022) and A & E Network's James Brown: Say it Loud, executive produced by Mick Jagger and Questlove (Spring 2023).