How ‘Zola’ star Taylour Paige stripped, found sexual freedom

Taylour Paige knows how to use her body to seductively swing her hips and “Hit the Floor,” after playing Ahsha Hayes on the VH1 series, but for her role in the new film “Zola” the actress hit the pole as well.

“Zola,” inspired by 2015’s notorious 148-tweet “hoeism” Twitter thread, details the epic and outrageous sequence of events between two strippers, Zola (Paige) and her new friend Stefani (Riley Keough). The duo embarks on a trip to Florida, where they attempt to make buckets of dollar bills by dancing across stages in thongs in Tampa.

Paige, 30, a former Los Angeles Laker girl and dancer, is no stranger to moving her body for a crowd, but to channel Zola for the A24 flick, she delved much deeper.

“I’m a dancer, but I worked at the strip club for four weeks,” Paige explained in a recent interview with The Wrap. “I think all my life experiences prepared me for the role. I didn’t want to look like an actor trying to dance, I didn’t want to look like a dancer trying to strip, I wanted to look like this person in the given circumstances who works at a restaurant and also dances.”

Riley Keough and Taylour Paige in "Zola." Paige said the role gave her "freedom to be a woman and love my body and my sexuality, and not being also self-conscious or such a perfectionist."
Riley Keough and Taylour Paige in “Zola.” Paige said the role gave her “freedom to be a woman and love my body and my sexuality, and not being also self-conscious or such a perfectionist.”
Everett Collection/A24

To tap — or shall we say, gyrate into character even further — Paige was lucky enough to form a friendship with A’Ziah-Monae “Zola” King, the former Detroit waitress who inspired the dramedy, which generated big buzz after a successful premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.

“We just talked a lot and I got to know her voice and her spirit,” said Paige. “She’s just so funny and quick and smart. Her use of punctuation, like everything about her … she’s on some other s–t.”

Though the role of Zola required Paige to lock into the inner spirit of the social media starlet, it ultimately unlocked a newfound freedom within herself.

Taylour Paige of "Zola" attends ELLE x Ferragamo Hollywood Rising Party.
Taylour Paige of “Zola” attends ELLE x Ferragamo Hollywood Rising Party.
FilmMagic,

“[The role gave me] freedom to be a woman and love my body and my sexuality, and not being also self-conscious or such a perfectionist,” Paige said of King’s effect on her. “Just giving myself grace to figure it out as I go and be as present and honest as I can with the dialogue … it just marked a really, really, really pivotal change in my life.”

Taylour Paige in A24's "Zola"
Taylour Paige in “Zola.” Of the real-life inspiration for her character, she says: “We just talked a lot and I got to know her voice and her spirit. She’s just so funny and quick and smart.”
A24/Everett Collection

“Zola” is only available in theaters now, which is a good thing since it’s definitely NSFW, even on your WFH laptop.

Riley Keough and Taylour Paige in A24's "Zola."
Paige said researching her “Zola” role “marked a really, really, really pivotal change in my life.”
Courtesy Everett Collection

Leave a Comment