TAYLOR SWIFT LOOKALIKE SEES BUSINESS SKYROCKET AFTER NEW ALBUM RELEASE

A Taylor Swift lookalike charges up to $550 for appearances and says business is booming after the superstar released her new album.

Kelley Thrasher, 41, has been told she looks like Taylor Swift for more than a decade – thanks to her blonde hair, bangs, and fondness for bright red lipstick.

People would rush up to her in the street and ask for selfies and autographs, thinking she was the real deal.

She brushed off the comments about their similarities for years – but finally decided in June to accept invitations to appear at parties, to see what would happen.

After the first booking, more requests came flooding in – for children’s parties, corporate events, and karaoke shows – charging up to $550 an hour.

Speaking about Taylor’s new album The Life of a Showgirl, Kelley said she was “pleasantly surprised” and said Taylor’s new era is “juicy and fun.”

Kelley, from Shawnee, Kansas, said: “I haven’t always loved being told that I look like Taylor – it did affect my life daily.

“But now, I have done hundreds of events and people know I exist as a performer – which is a lot better.

“I earn a lot from performances. For CEO events, I charge $550 an hour, otherwise my rate is $350 an hour.”

Kelley would always be stopped for photos because of her similarity to Taylor, and would even be asked for autographs after people found out she was just a lookalike.

She once got “swarmed” walking into a Super Bowl party.

And earlier this year she said she bumped into Bruno Mars at a restaurant – and he told her to “monopolize that s**t!” when he found out she wasn’t making money off her looks.

Kelley originally thought her schedule working full-time as a teacher would be too heavy for a lookalike side hustle.

But when she switched careers to become a nanny, she had more flexibility to take on new work.

She finally decided to take the advice of friends and work at kids’ parties, and was put in touch with an agency that set her up with her first appearance.

She recalled walking into a room full of young girls who were “so excited” to meet her.

Kelley said: “One of the reasons I didn’t want to do it at first was because I didn’t want to trick people – especially kids.

“But I spoke to someone who runs parties, and they said the kids don’t even care – they love Taylor and will be in awe regardless.

“And they were – they came up to me and they called me ‘adorable’.”

On October 3, 2025, Taylor released her highly anticipated new album, The Life of a Showgirl.

Kelley said the album is “juicy” and “different,” leaving her pleasantly surprised.

She said: “The album dropped at 11pm, and I listened to it live.

“I love this new era that she is in. It is juicy, it is fun, and it is different.

“I had no idea what this album would be like.

“The Fate of Ophelia is my favorite so far, it had some dancy bits to it. I felt like she was channeling Florence and the Machine.”

In this album, Taylor has reemerged back to pop, and Kelley said she does it to “surprise her fans.”

She said: “I think she loves to surprise her fans. I feel like she also likes to challenge herself.

“Taylor likes to do a lot of different things. Life is too short to stick to one thing.

“She likes to live adventurously.”

2025-10-07T10:30:15Z