When Taylor Swift released the track list for her new album, The Tortured Poets Department, fans noted that one song was named after silent film actress Clara Bow, known as the first It Girl. Turns out Bow’s descendants were pretty surprised that the most famous pop star in the world wrote about their relative.
Bow’s great-granddaughters Nicole Sisneros and Brittany Grace Bell spoke to People about Taylor’s new song, with Sisneros saying, “We could not believe it. We were shocked and then the intrigue set in because no one from our family has been contacted or knew about this prior. We found out via the Instagram post like everybody else.”
Sisneros said she reached out to Taylor’s team but hasn’t heard back yet. “We just want to know what prompted it and where the connection is coming from,” Sisneros explained.
It turns out Bell and Sisneros are Swifties, and Sisneros even took her daughter to see the Eras Tour. “When we told her [about the new ‘Clara Bow’ song] she was excited and looking forward to telling her little friends,” says Sisneros.
Sisneros and Bell hope the new track captures the “perseverance” of their late great-grandmother, who died in 1965, with Bell explaining, “She came from a really tough background and she really made it happen for herself.”
“I hope she conveys a positive image of Clara Bow, which I think she will,” she continued. “They’re both people that have really strong raw talent.”
Sisneros, meanwhile, thinks Taylor is a modern-day It Girl, noting that the Eras Tour “truly shows her place in this industry.”
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