From Broadway to motion pictures and now to television commercials, former New Kent student expanding her career

Taylor Richardson

Taylor Richardson made a huge splash in the entertainment world three years ago when she debuted on Broadway in “Annie.” Then after a two-year stint on stage, she landed a role in a major motion picture. A year ago, the Chronicle highlighted Taylor’s career up to the start of filming on the motion picture.

Now, the 13-year-old veteran performer and New Kent County native has jumped from the big screen into the realm of television commercials.

Those who remember Taylor growing up in New Kent and have been following her career can spot her in a BMW commercial that has been running the past few weeks on local and cable channels. The 30-second ad touts the carmaker’s sports activity sales event and an optional third row leather seat for “back-backseat drivers.”

The ad depicts mom, dad, two daughters, and grandma out for a drive. Grandma, seated in the third row, breaks the silence. Her mention of wearing leather in the past at the request of a dominating grandpa draws shocked looks from the two daughters in the back seat as well as a rebuke from dad up front. The daughter seated directly behind the dad is Taylor.

She traveled to New Orleans for the commercial shoot, said her (real) grandfather James Richardson Sr. And more ads with Taylor are on the way, he said, adding the commercial now airing on television is part of a series BMW plans to run this year.

Taylor, meanwhile, has not strayed far from the big screen. She is slated to appear in the drama “Jack of the Red Hearts,” her third motion picture venture. Shooting recently wrapped up in New York City and post-production work is under way. No release date has been set, but plans call for the film to be in theaters later this year.

The film stars AnnaSophia Robb, who starred in “Soul Surfer” and “Race to Witch Mountain,” along with Famke Janssen, who plays Jean Grey in the “X-Men” films and Liam Neeson’s estranged wife in the “Taken” series. The plot concerns a teenage con artist on the run from the law who somehow tricks a desperate mother into hiring her as a live-in companion and caregiver for an autistic daughter. Taylor plays the role of Glory, the autistic daughter.

Taylor’s first motion picture, “A Most Violent Year” starring two-time Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastain of “Zero Dark Thirty” fame and Golden Globe nominee Oscar Isaac, hit theaters on Dec. 31. The film details the struggles of an immigrant and his family amid crime and corruption in New York City in 1981, one of the most violent years in that city’s history. Taylor played one of the family’s daughters.

But as is the case with many first-timers on the silver screen, Taylor’s role was reduced to only a few scenes. Her grandfather, noting disappointment, called producers to find out why.

“I was told that if you’re not a star, it all comes down to what’s left on the cutting room floor,” he added.

Taylor, meanwhile, appears as “the red-headed Annie” in the opening scenes of the “Annie” motion picture that entered theaters in December. She also has a speaking role in that production.

Taylor lives with her parents, Tiffany Richardson and Scott Kennedy, in New York City where the family moved when she was cast in the stage version of “Annie” at the Palace Theater. She appeared in 487 performances during the two-year run, playing the title role on 252 of those occasions.