Taylor Swift Gave Hailee Steinfeld Boss Advice That Everyone Should Follow
Hailee Steinfeld has been a movie star from a very young age, but over the past several years she’s emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the music industry as well. It should come as no surprise that she’s had a wise friend/mentor during that meteoric rise: none other than Taylor Swift.
Swift and Steinfeld are good friends, and that friendship enabled Swift to drop some serious knowledge onto Steinfeld about how to successfully navigate life as a popular recording artist. Here’s what Swift told her – as well as what she told another pop star.
Taylor Swift and Hailee Steinfeld’s friendship
Swift and Steinfeld are very close, with Steinfeld becoming one of Swift’s famed “Squad” along with several other famous women. Swift even asked Steinfeld and some other friends to appear onstage with her as part of one of her concert tours. Steinfeld told Vogue that being in the show with Swift was unlike anything else she’d ever done:
“Oh, my God. That, I’ve experienced nothing like … it was me, Lena [Dunham], Gigi [Hadid], and Lily [Aldridge]—and Taylor’s up on stage doing her thing, no big deal, just another night.”
Steinfeld was so overcome by emotion, she said she barely remembered anything and joked, “I’m pretty sure I blacked out.” It’s clear the two are close. But what makes their relationship very special is the fact that Swift saw fit to share some best practices with Steinfeld for making it through a crowded music industry.
Taylor Swift’s advice to Hailee Steinfeld
Appearing at one of Swift’s shows isn’t the only thing Steinfeld has done with the star. They also chatted about Steinfeld’s career. According to Steinfeld, Swift gave her some valuable advice about being in control of her decisions:
“One of the first things she told me was, ‘You’re going to have to make a lot of decisions—make sure it’s you that’s making them.’ And at that time, I was obviously very thankful for that and I nodded my head, yes and we went on to our next conversation.”
The actor added that it took her a while to truly grasp the weight of Swift’s words, saying, “It wasn’t until I had to start making decisions that I realized how many people are involved and how important it is that my decisions are being made.” The star listened to Swift, heeding her advice. After all, as Steinfeld jokingly noted, “I mean, she’s made a few right decisions.”
Swift has given advice to other celebrity BFFs
Steinfeld isn’t the only young star Swift provides advice for. She has also counseled Selena Gomez. According to E!, Swift and Gomez spoke about their careers, with Swift cautioning Gomez to surround herself with smart people:
“She was actually at my house the other day and we were sitting by the fire and I was talking about relationships and business in my life and she just kind of looked at me and was like, ‘Selena, if you’re the smartest person in the room, I think you’re going to be in the wrong room … She thinks I should constantly surround myself with people who are going to make me better, that are going to challenge and motivate me.”
Gomez said that after hearing that, she tends to surround herself with smart people. It’s clear that Swift is more than just her pop star persona. Behind all the flash is a sharp mind for business. She’s also generous, providing sage advice for her peers. She knows firsthand how hard it is to achieve success in show business, and because of that, she’s paying it forward with her wisdom.
