Obituary / Published 2026-11-03

Nicole Taylor of Taylor Red Dies at 35

Nicole Taylor, one of the identical triplet sisters in Taylor Red, died on 28 September of breast cancer; she was 35, and her sisters announced the death in a video. The group formed as Red Roots, broke out on TikTok in 2021 with Country Money and reached more than 7 million social media followers, according to Deadline.

(See the reader poll and source context below).

The country singer died on 28 September of breast cancer, her sisters said in a video. Deadline and Variety disagree on when that video was posted, and on the year the trio formed.

Flat vector illustration of a wide audio waveform of vertical maroon and gold bars across a dark burgundy field with a soft glow behind the centre, and the words “A trio, one voice gone” in the lower-left corner.
Conceptual editorial illustration; not a photograph of the people or event described.

What do the sources establish?

Recorded source context. No verified social reaction quotes or aggregate vote results are supplied.
Platform / SourceCore Stance / QuoteEngagement MetricTimestamp
Nicole Taylor Dies: Singer In "Country Money" Triplets Group Taylor Red Was 35 — DeadlineReported context: [object Object] [object Object] [object Object] [object Object] [object Object] [object Object] [object Object] [object Object]Not recorded
Nicole Taylor, Country Singer in Triplet Trio Taylor Red, Dies at 35 — VarietyReported context: [object Object] [object Object] [object Object] [object Object] [object Object] [object Object] [object Object] [object Object]Not recorded

THE SHORT VERSION

  • Nicole Taylor, one of the identical triplet sisters in Taylor Red, died on 28 September of breast cancer; she was 35, and her sisters announced the death in a video.
  • The group formed as Red Roots, broke out on TikTok in 2021 with Country Money and reached more than 7 million social media followers, according to Deadline.
  • Variety reports a 2022 stage 3 diagnosis, a remission and a stage 4 recurrence, and that the family has held a private funeral service.

The death was announced in a family video

Nicole Taylor, one of the identical triplet sisters in the country group Taylor Red, died on 28 September of breast cancer. She was 35. Her sisters announced the death in a video, and Deadline and Variety both reported it on 3 November. The two outlets differ on the timing of that video: Deadline says the announcement came on Tuesday, while Variety reports that it was posted on Monday, 2 November.

Variety, citing a statement on the group's website, reports that Taylor died at her home in Nashville. Deadline's obituary gives no place of death, and its report appeared at 9:15 a.m. Eastern, before Variety's 7:58 a.m. Pacific filing. Both outlets name breast cancer as the cause, and neither reports where she was treated or which doctor made the diagnosis. The surviving sisters are Natalie and Nika Taylor; Deadline spells the second name Niki in its news sentence and Nika in a photo caption. Neither report says whether she was in hospice care.

From southern Mississippi to a Nashville trio

Taylor was born on 18 March 1991 in Wade, Mississippi, according to Deadline, which reports that the sisters eventually moved to Nashville to pursue a music career. Variety describes her as born and raised in southern Mississippi without naming a town or a date. Both accounts put three sisters in the group from the start, and both trace the same three albums before the name change.

The founding year is one of the small disagreements. Deadline dates the formation of Red Roots to 2011; Variety reports that the siblings began performing together in 2010 under that name, releasing three albums before rebranding as Taylor Red in 2018. Deadline lists those albums as the group's 2011 debut, 2012's The Middle of Nowhere and 2014's Triplicity, which earned a Dove Award nomination for Country Album of the Year. Nicole co-sang lead and played guitar, violin and banjo.

Country Money carried them past seven million followers

The breakthrough came on TikTok in 2021 with Country Money. Deadline reports that the track became popular on Spotify and helped the group amass more than 7 million followers on social media. Variety calls it one of their best-known releases and notes that the trio built a following on TikTok and YouTube with synchronized performances, covers and comedy bits, in a genre-blending country style built on close harmonies.

Variety had already written about that strategy. In 2020 the outlet featured Taylor Red in a report on how female country and pop groups were using TikTok to build audiences outside traditional industry channels, alongside acts including Avenue Beat and Four Diamonds. Deadline adds that the sisters performed more than 1,000 concerts across North America and Norway and opened for Amy Grant, Charlie Daniels and Diamond Rio. Neither outlet reports a chart position for the song.

A 2022 diagnosis, a remission and a recurrence

Variety reports the illness in detail. Taylor was diagnosed in 2022 with an aggressive form of stage 3 breast cancer and responded well to chemotherapy at first, and doctors declared her to have no evidence of disease. The cancer returned and progressed to stage 4. Doctors gave her three months to live after that diagnosis, and she lived for another year.

Neither outlet gives a month for the original diagnosis, names a treating hospital, or describes the treatment she received after the recurrence. Deadline's obituary does not mention the illness at all and gives only the cause of death. The account of the treatment, and of the prognosis, therefore rests on Variety's reporting alone, which attributes the detail to no named source, does not say who confirmed it, and is the only one of the two that mentions chemotherapy, remission or a prognosis.

What the sisters said, in the video and on the site

Deadline quotes Natalie Taylor announcing the death in a video posted to YouTube: "We are shocked and heartbroken to announce the passing of our sister Nicole Taylor," she said. She also said: "This isn't the video we thought we'd ever be making." Variety quotes Nika Taylor: "We honestly thought she'd be healed here on earth, but now she's healed in heaven."

Variety also records a written tribute posted on the group's website, which called Nicole the oldest of the three sisters by minutes and described her as their fearless leader and best friend. The sisters told Variety that she remained devoted to her Christian faith through the illness and kept up her exercise, travel and work during treatment. Natalie also said that Taylor tried not to live in fear and remained hopeful, and that she traveled and worked hard. Both outlets carry a version of the same opening line, but each attributes it to a different sister; Deadline carries the video quotes and no written statement.

A private funeral and what the reports leave open

Variety reports that the family has held a private funeral service and that fans are encouraged to make donations in Nicole Taylor's memory to Samaritan's Purse, one of her favorite charities, in lieu of flowers. Deadline gives no funeral arrangement. Neither outlet reports a public memorial service, and neither lists survivors beyond the two sisters or names the parents. No death certificate, coroner's finding or family statement beyond the video is quoted by either outlet.

What is confirmed after 3 November is the death on 28 September, the cause both outlets give, the group's recorded history and the tributes the sisters posted. The discrepancies are small but real: the day of the video, the founding year of Red Roots, the place of death and the spelling of Nika Taylor's name. Both outlets give her age as 35, and breast cancer is the part of the record neither disputes. Related coverage on this site includes the Bobby Wright obituary, the Earl Barret obituary and the new music roundup from 23 October.

Sources & reporting limits

  1. Nicole Taylor Dies: Singer In "Country Money" Triplets Group Taylor Red Was 35 — Deadline
  2. Nicole Taylor, Country Singer in Triplet Trio Taylor Red, Dies at 35 — Variety
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