Who is Taylor Simone Ledward? Chadwick Boseman's 'queen' is a jazz singer who he married months before death
Taylor Simone Ledward, the widow of the late Chadwick Boseman, delivered an emotional speech in accepting his posthumous award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture. Boseman won his award for 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'. He is the second actor to win a posthumous Golden Globe award after late Peter Finch, who won in 1977 for Sidney Lumet's 'Network'. The actor, who has starred in movies such as 'Black Panther' and '21 Bridges', died on August 28, 2020, in his home in Los Angeles after a four-year battle with colon cancer.
"He would thank God. He would thank his parents. He would thank his ancestors for their guidance and their sacrifices," said Ledward in a tear-jerking speech. "He would say something beautiful, something inspiring, something that would amplify that little voice that tells you you can, that tells you the keep going," she said. Here's everything you need to know about the graceful Ledward, the real-life 'queen' of our beloved King T'Challa.
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Who is Taylor Simone Ledward?
Ledward graduated from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, in 2014, from where she earned a bachelor’s degree in music industry studies. She is a singer and has been seen singing in the library with her university’s jazz band. Ledward graduated from college a year before she and Boseman went public with their relationship.
It’s unclear when Boseman and Ledward started dating but the two had been together since at least 2015 when they were photographed at the Los Angeles International Airport. According to MTO News, Boseman and Ledward got engaged in October 2019.
When did she get together with Boseman?
Actor Denzel Washington was one of the earliest celebrities who witnessed the blooming love between the late actor and his wife. In an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, the director and actor spoke about working with Boseman on 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom', recalling how he told the 'Black Panther' star to marry Ledward after watching her care for him on the set of the Netflix film. Around the same time, Ledward was also photographed with a diamond engagement ring on her wedding finger as she and Boseman attended a Lakers/Clippers game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, sitting courtside at the NBA All-Star game along with Boseman's co-star, Michael B Jordan.
Ledward's grandmother reportedly spoke to In Touch Weekly in April 2018 about her granddaughter's relationship with Boseman. "They respect each other," she told Oprah Magazine. "She's very happy, and he is, too." The couple first turned heads at the 2019 Screen Actors Guild Awards when many wondered just who the beautiful woman he locked arms with was. According to Page Six, the two married in secret just months before Boseman’s death in August 2020.
Boseman didn’t leave a will, according to CNBC. Ledward has since filed probate documents to be an administrator with limited authority over part of Boseman’s estate, which is estimated at $939,000. This number isn’t all of Boseman’s estate, CNBC notes, as his assets are subject to probate, the legal process of administering someone’s estate after death through court intervention. As of 2020, up to $11.58M per person can be passed on tax-free to heirs, the report by Stylecaster adds. The couple does not have any children.