Taylor was born in
St. Louis, Missouri and grew up in
Boone, North Carolina. She graduated from
Watauga High School in 1997, and then competed collegiately for the
Harvard Crimson, studying
psychology and
biology at
Harvard University. She finished seventh in the 400 m hurdles at the
NCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship in 2000. Taylor's greatest college achievements came in her final year at Harvard when she ran a personal best of 55.88 seconds to win the NCAA final. She improved her best to 55.46 at a meeting in
Zagreb and then went on to reach to podium at the 2001
USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, winning the
bronze medal. As a result of these achievements, Taylor received the 2000–01
Honda Sports Award as the top women's collegiate track athlete. Taylor's performance at the national championships gained her selection into the
2001 World Championships in Athletics. Taylor finished sixth place in her semi-final. The following year, she was again third place in the 400 m hurdles at the national championships. Taylor began the 2003 season with a fourth-place performance in the
400 metres at the
USA Indoor Track and Field Championships. This earned her a place on the
4 × 400-meter relay team at the
2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships, where an American team of
Monique Hennagan,
Meghan Addy, Taylor and
Mary Danner took the bronze medal. In the outdoor season, Taylor came first at the
Mt. SAC Relays and again finished third at the Outdoor U.S. Championships. However, she encountered the more illicit side of track and field at the championships as she was offered the
banned substance modafinil. She claimed that she was "the only person that didn't take it". One of her competitors,
Sandra Glover, was among those later banned for taking the drug at the championships. Taylor was chosen to compete at the
2003 Pan American Games and she finished fourth behind
Andrea Blackett in the
400 m hurdles final. Taylor attended track and field meetings in Europe, coming third in Zagreb and taking fourth at the
Weltklasse Zurich in a personal record time of 54.92 seconds. Taylor reached the pinnacle of her athletic career in 2004, beginning with a win at the Mt. SAC Relays in a meet record time, and a personal best beating run of 54.36 seconds for second at
Golden Spike Ostrava. At the 2004
United States Olympic Trials she improved even further, finishing as runner-up to
Sheena Johnson with a time of 53.36 seconds. She closed the season with a bronze medal at the
2004 IAAF World Athletics Final. Her new best time of 53.36 ranked her as the fifth fastest 400 m hurdler of
2004. Taylor has a twin sister, Lindsay Taylor, who competes in the
pole vault. Taylor abruptly stopped competing in professional athletics after 2004. ==Personal bests==