Twinning!
Fans of Taylor Swift have mistaken Kelley Thrasher for the global icon for more than a decade — and her blonde hair and bright red lipstick are getting a lot more attention since last week’s album drop.
The 41-year-old lookalike from Prairie Village, Kansas, has been making appearances as Swift since June 2024 — during Swift’s “Tortured Poet’s Department” era — charging up to $550 per hour.
This time around, she’s already fully booked, having to turn down seven gig requests tied to the Oct. 3 release of “The Life of a Showgirl.”
“I didn’t push for anything,” Thrasher told the Post. “I could barely keep up as it is.”
Thrasher is now getting a taste of showbiz, complete with costumes, a makeup artist and a horde of fans who once “swarmed her” for photos and autographs outside of Super Bowl LIX party — though they had indeed thought she was the bona fide “Blank Space” singer.
For years, she ignored both friends and strangers who told her to get into the lookalike business, but it was Bruno Mars who inspired her to take the plunge after bumping into him at a restaurant and telling her to “monopolize that s–t.”
Eventually, the dog-mom-of-three stepped away from her teaching career to nanny full-time, allowing more flexibility for her high-profile side hustle.
Last June, she decided she would start small by making appearances at private parties. An agency set her up with her first gig, a children’s party.
Since then, she’s been booking everything from karaoke nights to corporate events.
Thrasher says she’s been able to lean into her role as a Swift stand-in, but she didn’t always feel comfortable with this business.
“I don’t like tricking people. That’s pretty uncomfortable for me,” she admitted. “I never know when I need to explain myself or not.”
Lately, she’s seeing the bright side to her newfound fame by cheering up children, promoting small businesses and fundraising for charities.
“It’s awesome that you can still have fun and make money and also do good things for the community,” she told The Post.
“I love kids’ parties because they’re so excited. Some of them think I’m really her,” she continued. “Kids are just so funny because they’ll be so excited, they think Taylor is at their birthday party, and then 10 minutes later they’re like, ‘OK, can we go cut the cake now?’”
Thrasher laughed. “They don’t care as much.”
While it can be hard to keep kids’ attention, she’s seen no shortage of stunned adults. Indeed, the Kansas City Chiefs fan caused a stir at an Aug. 22 preseason game against the Chicago Bears while wearing red lipstick — Swift’s signature lip color. Even local news networks were convinced they were seeing tight end Travis Kelce’s new fiancée in the stands.
By the time the game was over, Sports Illustrated had already published a story — prompting even her friends in Chicago watching the game to question, “Is this you?”
Speaking of Swift’s recent engagement, Thrasher hopes to see another spike in inquiries once the big date is set, telling The Post, “If Taylor needs a decoy for the wedding, I’m game.”
Read the full article here
