Who Is Abigail Anderson? All About Taylor Swift’s Best Friend

It’s common Swiftie knowledge that Taylor Swift’s best friend is a “redhead named Abigail” — specifically Abigail Anderson.

As Swift sings in her popular song “Fifteen,” the two met on the first day of their freshman year of high school when they sat next to each other in English class. Ever since their days together at Hendersonville High School in Tennessee, Swift and Anderson have remained close.

Over the years, Anderson has attended the Grammys with the “Anti-Hero” singer, appeared in her Miss Americana documentary and cheered her on at the Eras Tour in Nashville. She’s offered Swift unwavering support throughout every step of her career.

In August 2019, Anderson expressed her love for Swift and her seventh album, Lover, in an Instagram post.

“15 years of knowing you and watching you grow, both as a human and an artist, I can honestly say I’ve never been more proud to call you my friend,” she wrote. “I am completely inspired by everything that is you, @taylorswift 💕Congrats, buddy.”

So, who is Abigail Anderson? From inspiring “Fifteen” to appearing in several music videos, here’s everything to know about one of Taylor Swift’s best friends.

She and Swift met in high school

In a 2009 interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Swift shared that she and Anderson met on the first day of their freshman year at Hendersonville High School in Tennessee.

The duo sat next to each other in English class and have been inseparable ever since.

She inspired Swift’s song “Fifteen”

Swift references Anderson in her song “Fifteen” from her 2008 album Fearless. In the second verse of the coming-of-age tune, Swift sings: “You sit in class next to a redhead named Abigail / And soon enough you’re best friends / Laughing at the other girls / Who think they’re so cool / We’ll be out of here as soon as we can.” 

Later in the song, the singer reflects on her best friend’s heartbreak: “And Abigail gave everything she had to a boy who changed his mind / We both cried.”

On May 6, 2023, Anderson attended Swift’s Eras Tour in Nashville, and Swift dedicated an acoustic version of “Fifteen” to her “beautiful, redheaded high school best friend,” per Billboard. After the lyric, “We both cried,” Swift added, “And that’s alright.” In one TikTok video, Anderson can be seen enthusiastically singing along with Swift from the VIP tent.

A few days before the show, Anderson posted a photo of her and Swift giggling. In the caption, she referenced the song’s chorus, writing, “Cause when you’re … 33.”

She was a competitive swimmer

At Hendersonville High School, Anderson was a four-year letter winner in swimming and the school’s swimmer of the year for all four years. She went on to swim at the University of Kansas, where she was one of the top swimmers in the butterfly and backstroke events. During her junior year, Anderson scored 77 points for her team at the 2011 Big 12 Championships.

Anderson had wanted to swim at the college level as early as her freshman year of high school. Swift told Oprah Winfrey in 2009 that she and her best friend were both living out their dreams.

“She wanted to be a swimmer and go off on a college scholarship for swimming and I wanted to be a singer,” Swift said. “Now she’s off at Kansas on a swimming scholarship and I’m singing.”

She appears in Miss Americana and several of Swift’s music videos

In Swift’s 2019 documentary Miss Americana, Anderson makes a special appearance. As the pair catch up over dinner and drinks, they chat about a mutual friend who recently had a baby. Anderson tells Swift, “I think you’d be an excellent mother. No questions.”

Anderson also appears in several of Swift’s music videos, including “Picture to Burn,” “I’m Only Me When I’m with You,” “New Romantics” and, of course, “Fifteen.” Anderson plays herself in the “Fifteen” video, in which she and Swift laugh together beside a blackboard during the verse about their first encounter.

She was Swift’s date to the 2015 Grammys

Swift attended the 57th Grammy Awards with her longtime friend by her side. Anderson wore a sparkly brown dress with a thigh-high slit, while Swift opted for a turquoise gown.

Anderson shared several photos on Instagram from the night, including shots of the pair posing on the red carpet and sitting in the audience.

“When your red carpet poses are completely on point,” she joked about a silly red carpet picture. Anderson captioned other photos with “ Glammys” and “This is our ‘we’re smiling on the inside’ smile.”

Swift was a bridesmaid at her first wedding

Anderson married her first husband, photographer Matt Lucier, in September 2017, and Swift was a bridesmaid. The singer wore an elegant burgundy gown and carried the bride’s train into the Old Whaling Church in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

The pair later separated in 2021, as Anderson shared on her Instagram Story.

She works at Celero Commerce

Anderson works at Celero Commerce, a payment technology company, as the chief of staff for corporate development. According to the company’s website, Anderson manages mergers and acquisitions and “supports transaction planning and diligence execution.”

Anderson previously worked at Patriot Angels, a nonprofit that provides pension assistance for veterans and military spouses. In 2014, Swift told Entertainment Tonight that passion was an important quality in a friend.

“Abigail works with making sure that veterans from World War II get their compensation,” she said. “It couldn’t be more different from my career or Lena [Dunham]‘s career, but the fact that she is so passionate about what she does allows her to be able to relate to me on that level.”

She’s married to Charles Berard

Anderson and Charles “Charlie” Berard, chief technology officer at Celero Commerce, tied the knot in September 2022; it’s unknown whether or not Swift attended the wedding.

On Feb. 14, 2023, Anderson posted a series of wedding photos, including a black-and-white shot of the couple sharing a kiss.

“My husband,” she captioned the post. “My best friend. My forever Valentine. I’d marry you every single day if I could.”

They love to celebrate each other

The best friends hype each other up whenever one of them has a big life event. When Anderson turned 25 in April 2015, Swift threw her friend a huge party complete with cowboy hats and fake mustaches for a photo booth as well as celebrity guests like Lily Aldridge and Hayley Williams.

Swift even surprised Anderson with a special serenade by Chris Carrabba, the lead singer of her favorite band, Dashboard Confessional, per Alternative Press magazine. In a since-deleted Instagram video, Swift says, “I’m just asking a random question: Do we have anyone here named Chris Carrabba?” Carrabba led a singalong of his band’s song “Hands Down.”

In July 2020, Anderson celebrated Swift’s Folklore release in an Instagram post. She captioned a photo of her wearing the Folklore cardigan and wrote: “Taylor. Swift. What an absolute wonder you are. Your lyrical ability to move us is seismic.”

She added, “Much like this beautiful gifted cardigan, this album is a dream. I’ve never been more appreciative of your art. This one did something to me.”

She announced she’s expecting her first child in July 2024

Anderson shared the news that she and Berard are expecting their first child together with an Instagram post that showed off her baby bump as she cradled a box of Cheez-Its in her arm.

In the caption, she quoted Swift’s song, “But Daddy I Love Him,” writing, “I’m having his babyyyy… 💙.”

Swift commented on the post, “When the internet says ‘MOTHER’ I feel like this pic is actually what they mean.”