Taylor Swift (R) and Abigail Anderson Kevin Mazur/WireImage/Getty Images
Taylor Swift toasted longtime best friend Abigail Anderson Berard’s birthday during an intimate gathering on Thursday, April 4, Us Weekly can exclusively confirm.
“Taylor was celebrating Abigail Berard’s birthday last night,” a source tells Us on Friday, April 5, referring to Swift’s childhood pal.
According to photos obtained by TMZ, Swift, 34, and her crew were spotted having dinner at Barney’s Beanery in Los Angeles on Thursday.
Several of Anderson Berard’s other friends marked the milestone occasion, sharing 34th birthday tributes on social media. The birthday girl reposted them onto her Instagram Story on Friday.
Swift and Anderson Berard have been tight since high school, meeting during English class on the first day of freshman year.
“We were the ones in the back of the class saying negative things about Romeo and Juliet because we were so bitter toward that emotion at the time,” Anderson Berard recalled during a 2008 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. “We just really connected and ever since then we have been inseparable.”
Swift later included the moment in her 2008 song “Fifteen,” penned about the origins of their friendship.
“You sit in class next to a red-head named Abigail / And soon enough you’re best friends / Laughing at the other girls / Who think they’re so cool,” Swift sings in the song, which was rerecorded on 2021’s Fearless (Taylor’s Version). “We’ll be out of here as soon as we can/ And Abigail gave everything she had to a boy who changed his mind / And we both cried.”
Through the years, Swift and Anderson Berard’s friendship has endured through career accomplishments, breakups and new romances. Anderson Berard has often gushed over their bond and Swift’s musical talents via her social media pages.
Taylor Swift started writing songs about love and breakups in the early 2000s, but her talent was soon recognized by music executives who knew she was the real deal. From releasing her first record in 2006 to gracing stages all over the world this star has earned her place in the Hollywood A-list music scene. […]
“15 years of knowing you and watching you grow, both as a human and an artist, I can honestly say I’ve never been more proud to call you my friend,” Anderson Berard wrote via Instagram in August 2019 after the release of Swift’s Lover. “I am completely inspired by everything that is you, @taylorswift 💕Congrats, buddy.”
Anderson Berard has also championed the Grammy winner’s whirlwind romance with NFL star Travis Kelce. In November 2023, she dropped an Instagram “like” on footage of Swift swapping “Karma” lyrics to mention Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs football team.
Swift has also supported Anderson Berard throughout her relationships past and present, even serving as a bridesmaid during her 2017 wedding to now-ex Matt Lucier. Anderson Berard split from Lucier in 2021 and later married Charles Berard in October 2022.