[2] First known as one half of the band Slow Club, she launched a solo career as Self Esteem with the single "Your Wife" in 2017, followed by the albums Compliments Please in 2019 and Prioritise Pleasure in 2021.

A multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter and theatre composer, she is winner of the 2021 BBC Music Introducing Artist of the Year Award and Prioritise Pleasure was nominated for the 2022 Mercury Prize.

[9][10] The band paused working in 2017,[11] following an extensive tour to support their last album, owing to differing musical interests and Taylor feeling unfulfilled.

[12][4] Slow Club's final tour in the winter of 2016, and Taylor's dissatisfaction and unhappiness with the band, was captured in the documentary Our Most Brilliant Friends, directed by Piers Dennis and released in 2018.

[15][16] Prior to releasing music under the name, she used 'Self Esteem' for a range of artistic projects including an exhibition of paintings and prints,[17] and short films.

[22] She credits Jamie T with encouraging her to release her music after she shared some of her early solo work with him;[17] his 2016 album Trick ends with a track called "Self Esteem".

[26] During the period of recording she played live at Latitude, Tramlines and a sold out show at Omeara Theatre London,[27] followed by an eight-show UK tour in autumn 2018.

[36] On 1 May 2020, Self Esteem released the Cuddles Please EP,[37] with stripped down versions of tracks from Compliments Please – "Favourite Problem", "The Best" and "In Time" – along with a cover of "Miami Memory" by Alex Cameron.

In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 she organised an online all-female festival, Pxssy Pandemique, to raise money for Women's Aid.

[39] Largely spoken word, and consequently compared to Baz Luhrmann's "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)",[40] Taylor said that "I went into this studio in Sheffield just to experiment, and I ended up building the backing track up, and just reading out my iPhone notes in a row".

Taylor composed the soundtrack for the West End Production of Suzie Miller's play Prima Facie starring Jodie Comer, which was released on 14 June 2022.

[56][57] Self Esteem played UK festivals in summer 2023 including Neighbourhood Weekender, Green Man, Bristol Sounds, Standon Calling, Parklife and Truck, and supported Blur at their Wembley Stadium gig on 8 July.

[61] In September, Self Esteem headlined a tour-closing show – billed as the last of the Prioritise Pleasure era – at Don Valley Bowl in Sheffield.

[63] In June, Self Esteem released an acoustic cover of "You Are So Beautiful", originally written and recorded by Billy Preston and popularised by Joe Cocker.

[69] In an interview for the podcast series Talk Art in July 2022, Taylor discussed the demo for a new song that contains the refrain "I can't be arsed", a phrase also included in the video for "Moody", stating that "essentially, album three has begun now".

[76] Self Esteem's music is characterised by its prominent drum rhythms, female choral elements[8] and powerful, precisely articulated lead vocals, often alongside organs, distorted guitars and string arrangements.

[20] Taylor has described herself and her producer Johan Hugo Karlberg as being "obsessed" with Kanye West,[78] and she has cited a range of other influences including Madonna, Destiny's Child, Rihanna, Outkast, Queen, Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young, Kate Bush, Max Richter, Arctic Monkeys, and Lady Gaga.

[82] Lyrically she explores themes around relationships, self-criticism, sex, mental health, misogyny, objectification, female empowerment and feminism.

[70][83] They often contain reference to internet culture including texting, sexting and social media; in images and videos she is often pictured holding or using a mobile phone,[84] and she frequently releases lines of lyrics or poetry on Instagram in the Apple Notes app.

Since they first started touring in 2018, the Self Esteem live band has featured Taylor on lead vocals, 2–3 dancing backing vocalists, a drummer and keyboard/bass player.

[citation needed] Self Esteem members coordinate their clothing at live shows often wearing identical slogan t-shirts (see below) and on occasions in Sheffield Wednesday shirts.

Taylor has worn notable outfits at Glastonbury performances – in 2019, a dress made from Boots Advantage (loyalty) cards,[88] and in 2022 a corset with a bra shaped like the domes of Sheffield's Meadowhall shopping centre.

[110] A fan of the UK TV show Taskmaster,[111] Taylor appeared in the 2023 New Year's episode in which she came joint second to winner Sir Mo Farah.

[113] In March 2024' she appeared as a guest judge on series 2 of RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World,[114] a long held ambition of hers.

[121] Taylor played Sally Bowles in the West End musical revival of Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club (Playhouse Theatre) from 25 September 2023 to 9 March 2024 opposite Jake Shears as the Emcee.