Sam Taylor-Wood (born London, England, 4 March 1967) is a contemporary artist working mostly in video and photography. She has been identified as a member of the young British Artist group, and is a graduate of Goldsmiths College. She is married to her art dealer Jay Jopling.
Taylor-Wood's parents divorced when she was a teenager, and she moved with her mother and stepfather to a New Age commune in Surrey. It is commonly believed that Sam's mother abandoned the family when her daughter was sixteen and she moved into a bed-sit to live alone, but in reality Sam moved to Brighton to attend fashion college with her boyfriend at the time (Jake Chapman) before her mother left. Having fared poorly in exams, it took Taylor-Wood several years to gain the required qualification for entry into art school. After a year at a North London Polytechnic, she transferred to Goldsmiths College to complete a Fine Art degree in 1990.
Jobs at the Royal Opera House, and managed the Camden Palace...
