Taylor Swift’s Brother, Austin Swift, Has Spoken for Years About Their Friendship

Pop star Taylor Swift has always drawn from her personal life for musical inspiration, and that includes her family. In her song 'The Best Day,' she sings, 'God smiles on my little brother, inside and out, he’s better than I am.'

The little brother in question is actor and producer Austin Swift, who has been standing behind his big sister all the way through her career evolution. In her 2023 interview with Time after receiving Person of the Year, she said, 'My dad, my mum, and my brother come up with some of the best ideas in my career. I always joke that we’re a small family business.'

So here is everything to know about one part of Taylor’s integral behind-the-scenes support system: her brother, Austin Swift.

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Who is Austin Swift?

Austin Swift was born on March 11, 1992, just over three years after his older sister was welcomed by their parents, Andrea and Scott Swift. The two kids spent their early years on the famous Swift Christmas tree farm in Pennsylvania before moving to Nashville when Austin was around nine years old to support Taylor’s music career.

Creativity runs in the family. Growing up, Austin was a huge movie buff and went on to study film and acting at the University of Notre Dame. He told Vanity Fair in 2017 that as a child, he turned to the cinema for connection when he felt ostracised by his peers.

'I would go to the movies, and Daniel Craig was my friend, and Christian Bale was my friend, and Clive Owen was my friend, and Viggo Mortensen was my friend,' he shared.

In an interview with People in 2018, he stated, 'I’m pretty reserved in most circumstances, so [acting] never seemed like it would be a good fit. But I kind of got thrust into it and realised that it could be an opportunity to be creative.'

While at Notre Dame, he landed the leading role in the play Six Characters in Search of an Author, and he told People it was a big mental challenge.

'I got really worried I wasn’t good enough,' Austin explained. 'It became clear I needed to either buckle down or walk away. I started staying after rehearsals every night and running the whole play by myself, over and over, acting every part until the sun came up...By opening day, it was a different play, and I felt like I was a different person.'

Austin graduated in 2015 and debuted on film in the 2016 thriller I.T., and then in Live by Night that same year. In 2017, he had TV appearances on Embeds and the Billy Ray Cyrus series Still the King. Other notable roles include Cover Versions, We Summon the Darkness, and Braking for Whales.

The actor has branched out into producing as well, and is credited as an executive producer on Taylor’s Disney+ documentary Folklore: The Long Pond Sessions.

As for his private life, Austin was first linked to model Sydney Ness in September 2022. She has been seen hanging out with the whole Swift family since.

Are he and Swift close?

In his interview with Vanity Fair, Austin gushed about how his sister’s talent and career commitment were an inspiration to him.

'She found singing, and I knew from very early on that that was her direction. She was never going to quit; that was her thing, that was her life,' he shared. 'And I was always a little bit, you know, doing this, doing that.'

He continued, 'Something I learned myself, and learned through watching her, is respect. You just respect everyone’s time, everyone that you’re working with. They’re all there, it’s all their lives, and you need to put the work in to be worth that.'

Aside from the obvious admiration between them, they also work well together. In 2022, Austin received an ACM nomination for his work as a producer on her music video 'I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version),' which was directed by Taylor’s close friend, Blake Lively.

'I was so lucky to get to work with Blake, Taylor, and the entire amazing team behind the video for ‘I Bet You Think About Me’ and now I am so proud and thankful that we’ve been nominated for the ACM award for video of the year!' Austin wrote on Instagram when the news was announced.

Taylor has also spoken warmly about her brother, sharing a photo with Austin in 2020 for National Siblings Day and for the premiere of his movie We Summon The Darkness. In the caption, she wrote how proud she was of one of her 'best pals.'

That same year, he celebrated the release of her album Evermore, writing, 'As a brother and friend I couldn’t be more proud, as a lifelong fan I am thrilled beyond words, as a human being I am simply dumbfounded at this level of artistry and depth of insight into what it is to love and to lose and to simply exist.'

For her 29th birthday in 2018, Austin shared an adorable photo of them together as children.

'I have always had a best friend, a role model, and a caring, tireless, dedicated champion in my corner,' he shared. 'You have pulled me out of fires and carried me up mountains. The gift of getting to witness you become the wonderful person you are today has been the greatest privilege and honour of my life.'

And for her 27th birthday, he wrote something just as sweet with a picture just as cute.

What does Austin think of Travis Kelce?

Austin hasn’t spoken publicly about Taylor’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce, but he has shown some support for the Kansas City Chiefs player. On Christmas in 2023, Austin was in Kansas City to see Kelce’s team face off against the Las Vegas Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium, along with their parents and Austin’s girlfriend. The supportive brother was wearing a Santa Claus costume in the VIP box.

The siblings arrived together in a golf cart, where Austin was ringing a gold bell.

On his New Heights podcast, Kelce reflected on the festive atmosphere of the Christmas Day game and shared Austin’s gift to him.

'He actually made me feel like a child because his gift to me was straight out of the bag,' Kelce said. 'In the Santa sack. Whipped it out and handed me a VHS of my favourite football movie of all time: Little Giants.'

Ness and Austin put in an appearance at the Super Bowl in February 2024 as well, watching Kelce win the big game.

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