Ashley Avignone and Taylor Swift at Super Bowl LVIII between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium on February 11, 2024.Photo:Harry How/Getty
Harry How/Getty
Taylor Swiftbrought some of her closest pals to watch her boyfriendTravis Kelceand the Kansas City Chiefscompete in the 2024 Super Bowl, including her best friend Ashley Avignone.
The two reportedly got close through their mutual friend,Emma Stone, when they were still teenagers and have stayed friends since. Apart from the Super Bowl, Avignone has attended events with Swift for years, including earlier games in the 2023 NFL season.
“30 years of life for you, 11 years of friendship for us,” Avignonewrote on Instagramin honor of Swift’s 30th birthday in 2019. “Thanks for being the bestest friend, listener, dance party-starter, story teller, haircut enthusiast, with the biggest, warmest, and most generous heart. Happy Birthday Tay!! Love you to pieces ❤️.”
So who is Taylor Swift’s close friend? Here’s everything to know about Ashley Avignone and her relationship with the pop star.
She went to college in Los Angeles
DAVID CROTTY/Patrick McMullan/Getty
Avignone first found her passion for fashion when she attended the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles. She graduated in 2006, per herLinkedIn, and began working as a stylist shortly after.
“I went to school for fashion design when celebrity styling was first getting a name,” she said in a 2016 interview withSchool of Doodle. “I started seeing that and thought I could do that, I can pick outfits out for people, I’ve been doing it for my friends for years.”
Now, Avignone mainly lives in New York City.
She appeared onThe Rachel Zoe Project
Ashley Avignone at an Edie Parker event in February 2020.Ashley Avignone Instagram
Ashley Avignone Instagram
The show was eventually canceled in 2013, but it helped Avignone on her way to becoming a successful stylist herself.
She is a stylist and designer
Taylor Swift and Ashley Avignone in a throwback photo.Ashley Avignone Instagram
“Two weeks after graduation, I started assisting one of the top celebrity stylists in L.A. and it just stuck with me,” she told the blog. “After years of assisting various stylists, I ventured out on my own. As I mentioned I don’t do so much red carpet work, I now focus more on the brand side.”
In 2012, Avignone signed with The Wall Group, which she credited for helping her find her big break as a solo stylist.
“I assisted the best stylists in the game for about 6 years, and when I decided to break out on my own I was nervous,” she told the blogSimplyin October 2013. “I was extremely lucky in finding representation right away. You have to believe in yourself, but it also helps when others believe in you too.”
She became friends with Swift through Emma Stone
Taylor Swift, Emma Stone and Ashley Avignone at the “Easy A” Los Angeles Premiere on September 13, 2010.Jeffrey Mayer/Getty
Jeffrey Mayer/Getty
Swift and Avignone first became close through Stone, who has been a longtime friend of both women. The three attended the premiere ofEasy A, Stone’s breakout movie, in 2010 together before also accompanying thePoor Thingsactress to the 2011 Vanity Fair Oscars party.
Swift wrote a hidden message to her in theRedalbum booklet
Taylor Swift, Claire WInter, and Ashley Avignone in a throwback photo.Ashley Avignone Instagram
When the booklet forRedcame out in October 2012, fans saw Swift had written a hidden message, naming four of her friends. “Ashley, Dianna, Claire, Selena,” the message read, referring to Avignone,Dianna Agron, Claire Winter andSelena Gomez.
The four pals even appeared in Swift’smusic video for “22,” dancing alongside her as she enjoyed her 22nd birthday celebration with cake.
She is part of Swift’s inner circle
Sydney Ness, Taylor Swift, Ashley Avignone, Selena Gomez, Este, Danielle and Alana Haim at Taylor’s Independence Day party in 2023.Ashley Avignone Instagram
Since the two became friends, Avignone has remained in Swift’s close inner circle, spending time with the pop star’s other pals like Lively andGigi Hadid. She joined Gomez and theHaimsisters atSwift’s Independence Day partyin 2023, and in 2019, she posted snaps onInstagramwith Swift’s friends — including some of the cast ofQueer Eye— at her 30th birthday party.
She attended multiple football games with Swift during the 2023 season
Taylor Swift, Brittany Mahomes, and Ashley Avignone cheer after a Kansas City Chiefs touchdown during the second quarter against the New England Patriots on December 17, 2023.Maddie Meyer/Getty
Maddie Meyer/Getty
As Swift ventured into the football world while supporting her boyfriend Kelce at games, she brought along some of her closest friends for the ride. Avignone was cheering alongside Swift and Brittany Mahomes, quarterbackPatrick Mahomes’ wife, at a December 2023 game against the New England Patriots.
She also joined Swift in her suite at the Super Bowl where the two were stressing and rooting for the Chiefs as they went up against the San Francisco 49ers. During a commercial break with eight minutes left in the second quarter of the game, the jumbotron panned to Swift and Avignone while they bothchugged their drinksto fans cheering them on.
source: people.com
