Mikki Taylor is the quintessential authority on all matters regarding beauty. From A-list celebrities and world-renowned cover models, to women-in-the-know, Mikki influences all types of women with her vision of beauty and style. She has devoted a lifetime to helping women manage their inner and outer beauty and inspiring them to own their lives to the fullest.
For over 30 years, Taylor served as ESSENCE Magazine’s groundbreaking Beauty & Cover Director, and is now Editor-at-Large for the publication. In addition, she is the Founder and President of Mikki Taylor Enterprises, LLC, which serves as a holding company for a number of vertical businesses, including Satin Doll Productions, a full-service image building and consulting division, and MT Communications, a strategic communications and branding company. Most recently, she was national spokesperson for AMBI Skincare, a division of Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products Company.
A highly sought-after speaker, Taylor’s most recent speaking engagements include several high-profile annual events, including The ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards, Disney’s Dreamers Academy with Steve Harvey and ESSENCE Magazine, Gospel Goes To Hollywood Awards, The 2014 WNBA & WNBPA Player Orientation, 2013 WNBA Power Tour, the Girls Who Rule the World Mentoring Weekend presented by the Steve and Marjorie Harvey Foundation, BET’s Leading Women Defined Summit, the Women Helping Women breakfast fundraiser presented by Dress for Success Worldwide, Cathie Black’s Women in Leadership Conference, Texas Women’s Empowerment Conference, Southwestern Christian College Lectureship, Leading Ladies New Jersey Performing Arts Center, USO, Odyssey Network and the Power Conference, the largest gathering of women entrepreneurs in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.
Taylor has offered beauty and style advice through all types of media, including broadcast, digital and of course, print outlets, which culminated in her wildly successful book, Self-Seduction: Your Ultimate Path to Inner and Outer Beauty (Ballantine Books/One World). This triumph left readers craving more, therefore the sequel, Commander-in-Chic: Every Woman’s Guide to Managing Her Style Like a First Lady (Atria Books/Simon & Schuster), hit store shelves in the Fall of 2011, becoming an instant hit among women nationwide. Inspired firsthand by Michelle Obama’s “classic with a twist” fashion sense and confident approach to life, the book is a lifestyle resource guide for the everyday woman.
Taylor has been featured on many television outlets, including: The Insider, Today Show with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb, The View, Steve Harvey Show, TODAY, Weekend Today, NBC Nightly News, EXTRA, Inside Edition, E! Entertainment Television, CNN, TV Guide Channel, VH1, WE-TV, CBS 2 Morning News, the Style Network, The Oprah Winfrey Show, BET, and TV One. Viewers also received a weekly dose of Taylor’s positive influence on VH1’s highest rated debut series Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School, which premiered to more than five million viewers. Each week, Taylor served as the voice of reason and compassion as she imparted to the women honest, valuable information, insight and tips to help the contestants—and the women who watched the show—live a more productive, pride-filled life. She also served as the host of the TV One series Makeover Manor.
One of Taylor’s most treasured experiences was a trip to South Africa, at the special invitation of Oprah Winfrey, where she served as an instructor to 149 girls ages 12-14, at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls as part of its Arts Workshop 2007. Taylor taught a course called Celebrating Your Unique Beauty & Style, a three-part workshop that addressed practical and timeless elements of social graces and the essential basics of inner and outer beauty, and Your Best Shot, a session that taught the skills to insure a phenomenal photograph.
Mikki taylor is a recipient of numerous rewards for outstanding service including, among them the Black Retail Action Group (BRAG) Business Achievement Award acknowledging those who have penetrated and embraced the world of beauty in a significant way both in front of and behind the scenes; she's a four-time recipient of the Ceba Award, a former industry award acknowledging excellence in African-American media, the winner of the Associated Black Charities Image Makers Award, the Emerge Fashion Innovator’s Award, Columbia College Chicago 2013 Fashion Visionary Award, Black Street Lifetime of Greatness Award, ESSENCE Magazine’s Defining Excellence Award and various civic awards and citations in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the empowerment of women around the world.