Entertainment Awards Shows and Events Grammys Celebrate Taylor Swift's Birthday by the Numbers: 3 Pet Cats, 27 Vault Songs and Everything Else Between 1 and 34 Born Dec. 13, 1989, the singer-songwriter has spent her life breaking records, blending genres, setting trends, touring the world and shaping her legacy By Zoey Lyttle Zoey Lyttle Zoey Lyttle is an Editorial Assistant at PEOPLE. She writes digital specials across all entertainment verticals and has been working at PEOPLE since July 2022. People Editorial Guidelines Updated on December 13, 2023 02:45PM EST Taylor Swift. Photo: John Shearer/Getty Happy birthday, Taylor Swift! The pop sensation is 34 years old, and in honor of the monster year she just had — and the exciting year ahead of her — we're looking back at some of her most impressive statistics. The songwriter has won dozens of awards, written hundreds of hit songs, appeared on screens big and small and rocked the world on several sold-out tours. The "Anti-Hero" singer might favor the numbers 13 and 1989, but she's got talent from 1 through 34 and beyond. This Dec. 13, take a look at some of Swift's most impressive milestones for every year of her life. 01 of 34 1 Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts From NYU Taylor Swift honorary doctorate of fine arts from NYU. ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty In May 2022, the pop star donned purple robes to accept an honorary doctoral degree from New York University. Swift also addressed the class of 2022 during their graduation at Yankee Stadium. Her commencement speech referenced a few of her hits — like the fittingly titled "Welcome to New York" and "22" — and recalled the lessons she's learned living in the spotlight. As she advised her fellow grads to "learn to live alongside cringe," the singer poked fun at her past style choices: "I had a phase where, for the entirely of 2012, I dressed like a 1950s housewife. But you know what? I was having fun," she shared. 02 of 34 2 'Time' Person of the Year Covers Taylor Swift. Inez and Vinoodh for TIME Time profiled Swift solo for its 2023 Person of the Year cover story as the first artist to take the spot. She'd previously appeared the cover in 2017 with other "silence breakers" who spoke out about sexual assault and harassment. The "All Too Well" singer posed alongside strawberry picker Isabel Pascual (who used a pseudonym), lobbyist Adama Iwu, actress Ashley Judd and software engineer Susan Fowler. 03 of 34 3 Pet Cats Taylor Swift and Cat. Raymond Hall/GC The cat-lover is a doting mother to three famous felines. Swift adopted her first Scottish Fold, Meredith Grey, in 2011 and named her after Ellen Pompeo's Grey's Anatomy character. A few years later, Meredith got a sister, another Scottish Fold with a TV-inspired moniker, Olivia Benson, for Mariska Hargitay's character on Law & Order: SVU. Swift's third cat joined the family in 2019, blazing his own trail as a Ragdoll breed with a movie character's name: Benjamin Button. The trio has made several notable appearances alongside Swift in her music videos, in her Miss Americana documentary film and on social media. Most recently, Benjamin Button can be seen posing around his mom's neck on her Time Person of the Year cover. 04 of 34 4 Re-Recorded Albums Taylor Swift. Kevin Winter/TAS23/Getty After Scott Borchetta sold Swift's masters to Scooter Braun, the prolific songwriter set out on a mission to re-record and reclaim her first six albums. So far, she's released Fearless (Taylor's Version), Red (Taylor's Version), Speak Now (Taylor's Version) and 1989 (Taylor's Version), leaving two more to go: her sixth album, Reputation, and her self-titled debut. 05 of 34 5 Feature Film Appearances Jeff Bridges and Taylor Swift. David Bloomer/Weinstein Company/Courtesy Everett Collection The artist has nabbed a few big-screen roles over the years. In 2010, she played a lovestruck teen alongside then-boyfriend Taylor Lautner in Valentine's Day. She lent her voice to the animated adaptation of The Lorax in 2012, and in 2014, she joined the likes of Meryl Streep, Jeff Bridges and Alexander Skarsgård with a cameo in The Giver (pictured). Swift tapped into her melodic talents and passion for the feline kind in the 2019 adaptation of the musical Cats. She even co-wrote the original song "Beautiful Ghosts" with Andrew Lloyd Webber for the film. Most recently, she was seen in Amsterdam for a cameo alongside Christian Bale, John David Washington and Margot Robbie. 06 of 34 6 Tours Taylor Swift Eras Tour. People / Getty Images Starting with her sophomore studio album Fearless, Swift has taken her albums on tour six times. Her latest, the iconic Eras Tour, spans across her songbook with an impressive 44-song setlist. 07 of 34 7 Weeks with "Blank Space" at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Swift's hottest single off 1989 reigned at the top of the Billboard 100 chart for seven weeks. "Blank Space" remained her longest running No. 1 single until January 2023, when her Midnights hit "Anti-Hero" beat it with an eight-week run. Swift reacted to the achievement on her Instagram Story, writing, "What on earth," and thanking her fans. 08 of 34 8 Appearances on 'Saturday Night Live' Taylor Swift on Saturday Night Live. Dana Edelson/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Over the course of her career, the superstar has appeared on SNL to host the show, to perform as a musical guest and to make a few surprise appearances. 09 of 34 9 Songs Performed for Movie Soundtracks Taylor Swift. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Swift has graced many movie soundtracks with her gift of song, from her Grammy-winning work for The Hunger Games to her iconic collaboration with Zayn Malik, "I Don't Want to Live Forever," written for Fifty Shades Darker. (Swift wrote two songs for Hannah Montana: The Movie, but only performed "Crazier." Miley Cyrus sang the Swift-penned "You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home.") 10 of 34 10 Minutes of "All Too Well" Taylor Swift. ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty The emotional, fan-favorite track unfurled into a 10-minute long ballad "From the Vault" when Swift released Red (Taylor's Version) in 2021. Swift even directed an "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" short film starring Sadie Sink and Dylan O'Brien, which won the Grammy for best video. Swift — who performs her longest song in full each night of The Eras Tour — has never confirmed the song's subject, but fans have long suspected "All Too Well" tells the story of her relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal. 11 of 34 11 No. 1 Songs on Billboard Hot 100 Charts Taylor Swift. Scott Eisen/TAS23/Getty Swift has claimed the top spot on Billboard's Hot 100 chart a total of 11 times, most recently with her pop hit "Cruel Summer," which rose to the top four years after its release on the 2019 album Lover. 12 of 34 12 Grammy Wins Taylor Swift. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Highly decorated is an understatement: the songstress has won 12 of the 46 Grammy Awards for which she's been nominated. She's thrice taken home golden gramophones for album of the year — first for Fearless in 2010, for 1989 in 2016 and for Folklore in 2021. Swift is the first female artist to win album of the year three times, and she could win a fourth, with Midnights nominated for the coveted award in 2024. 13 of 34 13 is Taylor's Lucky Number Taylor Swift. Kevin Mazur/WireImage) It's no secret that the star, born on Dec. 13, is all about the notoriously "unlucky" numeral. And she's got good reason to believe in numerology: besides her birthdate, Swift has noted how her first album went gold in 13 weeks and her first No. 1 song had a 13-second introduction. In 2009, she told Jay Leno that every time she'd won at an award show, she was seated in the 13th row. 14 of 34 14 Studio Albums Taylor Swift's Midnights. Courtesy Republic Records Between her re-recordings and the original albums, the "Cruel Summer" sings has released 14 studio albums total. 15 of 34 15, the Age That Inspired a 'Fearless' Single Abigail Anderson and Taylor Swift. Kevin Mazur/WireImage In "Fifteen," Swift recalls meeting her best friend, Abigail Anderson, and navigating the halls of high school together. 16 of 34 16 Years Old When Her First Album Came Out Taylor Swift. Big Machine Swift was just a teen when the country album Taylor Swift hit shelves in 2006. 17 of 34 17 Star Cameos in the 'Bad Blood' Music Video Swift recruited some of her close friends to feature in the music video for her "Bad Blood" remix with Kendrick Lamar in 2015. In addition to the featured rapper, the singer was joined by the likes of Selena Gomez, Gigi Hadid, Mariska Hargitay, Cindy Crawford, Lena Dunham, Ellie Goulding and more in the killer video. 18 of 34 18 Songs on 'Lover' Taylor Swift Lover. Among the tracks on her first album with Republic Records, "Lover," were "Me!" "Cornelia Street" and "The Man." 19 of 34 19 Songs on the Reputation Stadium Tour Setlist Taylor Swift. David Fisher/Shutterstock While songs varied between performances, Swift sang 19 hits during her first stop on the tour in May 2018. Four of the setlist songs were medleys that mixed in parts of her earlier music. Like on her Eras Tour, the "Don't Blame Me" singer kept fans on their toes with a number of surprise songs added as she toured the world. 20 of 34 20 U.S. Cities Hosted The Eras Tour in 2023 Taylor Swift. John Medina/Getty During the first 10 months of her Eras Tour, Swift visited 20 cities across the United States, starting in Glendale, Arizona and ending in Los Angeles. For most of her stateside stints, the "Love Story" singer sold out two or three concerts, performing on consecutive nights. However on her final stop in SoCal, Swift performed her three-and-a-half hour set for six nights in a row. 21 of 34 21 Other Artists Featured on Taylor Swift's Songs Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift. Anna Webber/Getty Swift has invited some of musics' biggest names to feature on her tracks, from Ed Sheeran to Bon Iver to Shawn Mendes. She's also drafted fellow artists to sing on her tracks "From the Vault," including Hayley Williams, Maren Morris and Phoebe Bridgers, to give new voices to old, unreleased lyrics. 22 of 34 22, the Age That Inspired a 'Red' Single Taylor Swift. Kevin Mazur/Getty In this high-energy single, Swift sings about "dressing up like hipsters" with her friends and "making fun of our exes." 23 of 34 23 MTV VMA Wins Taylor Swift. Kevin Mazur/Getty Since her first win in 2009, the "You Belong with Me" singer has nabbed a total of 23 Video Music Awards. In 2023 alone, she took home nine Moon Person statuettes. 24 of 34 24, the Number of Times Taylor Sings the Word 'Karma' Taylor Swift. John Shearer/TAS23/Getty for TAS Rights Management On the original Midnights track, Swift says the word "karma" 24 times, sometimes referring to a purring cat in her lap, other times the breeze in her hair on the weekend. Down in Buenos Aires, karma was once "the guy on the Chiefs" when Swift changed the lyrics for her beau Travis Kelce in the audience. 25 of 34 25% of Billboard Hot 100 Dominated by 'Speak Now (Taylor's Version)' Taylor Swift. Beth Garrabrant The industry icon demonstrated just how much she rules the industry when she released her third re-recorded album in July 2023 and took up a quarter of Billboard's Hot 100 list. All 22 tracks from Speak Now (Taylor's Version) made the chart, plus Swift's continuously performing songs "Cruel Summer," "Anti-Hero" and "Karma." 26 of 34 26 Teen Choice Award Wins Taylor Swift. Kevin Winter/Getty In 2019, Swift won her 26th Teen Choice Award, which just so happened to be the ceremony's first-ever Icon Award. 27 of 34 27 Songs Released 'From the Vault' So Far Presley Cash, Taylor Swift, Joey King and Taylor Lautner. John Shearer/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS With each re-recording, the lyricist includes previously axed songs intended for her previous eras. When Swift dropped Speak Now (Taylor's Version), she released a music video for "I Can See You (From the Vault)," which starred her ex-boyfriend Taylor Lautner, Joey King and Presley Cash. (King and Cash both appeared in Swift's "Mean" music video from the 2010 version of Speak Now.) All three of her video's stars joined the Grammy winner on stage during her Eras Tour concert in Kansas City, where they premiered the spy-inspired video. 28 of 34 28, the Number of Times Taylor Sings 'Mr.' in 'Mr. Perfectly Fine' Taylor Swift and Sophie Turner. BeautifulSignatureIG / Shutterstock / SplashNews With Fearless (Taylor's Version) came "Mr. Perfectly Fine," a "Vault" song inspired by her short-lived romance with Joe Jonas in 2008. Swift sings the word "Mr." 28 times, which disproves any theories that she might still be hung up over Jonas' 27-second phone call breaking up with her way back when. In fact, there was no "Bad Blood" between Swift and Jonas when she released the song, and his then-wife Sophie Turner shared her appreciation for the track. Later, when Turner and Jonas split in 2023, his two blonde exes struck up a friendship of their own. 29 of 34 29 Songs Written with Aaron Dessner Taylor Swift and Aaron Dessner. Octavio Jones/TAS23/Getty The National band member has helped Swift pen several of her songs, and he's even joined her on stadium stages to perform their work in front of thousands. Dessner gushed to PEOPLE about his friendship with the talented songstress in honor of Swift's 2023 Most Intriguing People of the Year cover story, calling her "one of the greatest songwriters of all time." "Taylor is the hardest working artist I've ever encountered," Dessner said of his frequent collaborator. "She is involved in every aspect of writing and producing her songs and has an incredible attention span and focus on detail. And she never really stops writing songs." The duo often partners in production with Jack Antonoff, who has written a total of 49 songs with Swift so far. 30 of 34 30 Lessons Taylor Shared Taylor Swift. Christopher Polk/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Before turning 30 in 2019, the industry veteran opened up about her life's biggest lessons in an essay for Elle. Swift reflected on a number of topics that have impacted her world view, from her mom's battle with cancer to her fear of performing after the Manchester bombing and Vegas shooting. 31 of 34 31-Point Win By the Chiefs on Taylor's First Game Day Taylor Swift. Jason Hanna/Getty Swift first showed up to support Travis Kelce on Sept. 24, 2023, when he and his Kansas City Chiefs played a home game against the Chicago Bears. She proved to be his good luck charm, too, as the team won big time with an ending score of 41-10. 32 of 34 32 American Music Award Wins Taylor Swift. Kevin Winter/Getty The "Shake It Off" holds the record for most artist of the year wins at the American Music Awards, with seven to her name. 33 of 34 33 Million Puzzles to Open the Vault Taylor Swift. Kevin Winter/TAS23/Getty Swift tried to test her fans' puzzle-solving skills before revealing the "Vault" songs off 1989 (Taylor's Version). Keen participants were told to search “Taylor Swift” on Google and solve one of 89 available world puzzles that became available after clicking on a blue vault that showed up. Once 33 million puzzles were completed, the singer vowed to unveil her new song names. Not for the first time, Swift broke the internet and Google crashed, leaving fans frustrated and confused when the blue vault failed to show. The company even sent out a message, writing, "Swifties, the vault is jammed! But don't worry, there are no blank spaces inside. We're in our fix-it era and will be out of the woods soon.” 34 of 34 34 Years of Taylor Taylor Swift. Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood Happy birthday, Taylor Swift! "Long Live" the genre-bending, era-hopping pop sensation! Close