Background and career
Taylor Daniel Lautner ( LOWT-nər; born February 11, 1992) is an American actor, martial artist, and producer. He is best known for playing the werewolf Jacob Black in The Twilight Saga film series (2008–2012). His accolades include a Scream Award, seven Teen Choice Awards, two People's Choice Awards, and an MTV Movie Award.
Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Lautner began practising martial arts at the age of six. He became a black belt at the age of 10, and by the age of 14, he was a four-time world champion. He began his acting career playing bit parts in comedy series such as The Bernie Mac Show (2003) and My Wife and Kids (2004), before having voice roles in television series like What's New, Scooby-Doo? (2005) and Danny Phantom (2005). In 2005, he got his big break when he landed the role of Sharkboy in the film The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl. Also that year, he starred in Cheaper by the Dozen 2.
The late 2000s saw Lautner become a teen idol and sex symbol, after extensively changing his physique to keep the role of Jacob Black in further Twilight installments and generating media attention for his looks. In 2010, he was ranked second on Glamour's "The 50 Sexiest Men of 2010" list, and fourth on People's "Most Amazing Bodies" list. Also in the same year, Lautner was named the highest-paid teenage actor in Hollywood.
In 2011, Lautner starred in the action film Abduction, in which he did almost all of his stunts. In 2013, he appeared in the comedy film Grown Ups 2. From 2014 to 2018, Lautner starred in the BBC sitcom Cuckoo as the son of the titular character. In 2015, he starred in the action film Tracers and the comedy film The Ridiculous 6. The following year, he portrayed Dr. Cassidy Cascade in the second season of Fox black comedy series Scream Queens.
How Taylor Lautner makes money
The film was a commercial success, earning $69 million its opening weekend, and has grossed $392 million worldwide. The opening weekend of New Moon is the third highest opening weekend in domestic history with $142,839,137.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (2026-09-25), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
