Early life

Taylor was born in Independence, Kansas, on June 10, 1971. She was a cheerleader at Union High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and graduated in 1989 with the name Shana Hughes. It has been reported that she changed her first and last name multiple times between high school and moving to California.

Career

Armstrong's first major television appearance was on the Bravo TV series The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in 2010 while married to former venture capitalist Russell Armstrong. During the series, other cast members brought to light the couple's alleged money troubles and claims of spousal abuse. After the truth about their marriage came out, Russell took his own life and was found by his landlord and Taylor on August 15, 2011. That September, Taylor said that she had suffered severe physical abuse during her marriage.

Armstrong's memoir, Hiding from Reality: My Story of Love, Loss, and Finding the Courage Within, was released February 7, 2012.

Philanthropy

She supports the 1736 Family Crisis Center, a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles which helps victims of domestic abuse. In 2012, she held a fundraiser for them. Additionally, she has created a bracelet designed by ZenJewelz by ZenJen to fundraise for them. She has also promoted the organization on Entertainment Tonight, an American television program.

Personal life

She married Russell Armstrong in 2005; their daughter Kennedy Caroline was born in 2006. In 2011, she filed for divorce, accusing her husband of domestic violence. She claims she had a titanium mesh implant required to support her right eye because of damage he caused when assualting her. He committed suicide shortly after.

She married attorney John Bluher in Pacific Palisades, California, on April 4, 2014.

Filmography