Taylor Townsend (The O.C.)

Taylor Townsend
The O.C. character
Autumn Reeser as Taylor Townsend
First appearance	"The Shape of Things to Come" (episode 3.02)
Last appearance	"The End's Not Near, It's Here" (episode 4.16)
Created by	J.J. Philbin
Portrayed by	Autumn Reeser Bella Thorne (flashbacks)
Information
Nickname(s)	Tator Tot, Peaches
Gender	Female
Occupation	High school student (at the Harbor School; graduated) College student (at the Sorbonne; departed)
Title	Madame Taylor de Maumaront (2006–2007)
Family	Unnamed father (father; estranged) Veronica Townsend (mother)
Spouse(s)	Henri Michel de Maumaront (ex-husband)
Significant other(s)	Jack Hess (affair) Seung Ho (ex-boyfriend) Ryan Atwood (boyfriend)
Residence	Newport Beach, California Formerly: Paris, France

Taylor Townsend is a fictional character on the FOX television series The O.C., played by Autumn Reeser.

Reeser was promoted to series regular for the fourth season in light of cast member Mischa Barton's departure.

Taylor is the daughter of Veronica Townsend, a successful sports agent and chair of the parents' committee at The Harbor School. Her unnamed father left them when she was young. The only mention of her father is in episode 3.02 when Summer mentions raffling off a gas guzzling SUV from Taylor's father's dealership, and in an episode in season 4 where she is trying to convince Ryan to see his father by telling him that her father "lives in San Diego with his new family, and is in Newport once a quarter to check on his car dealership", and tell him that she hasn't spent more than 20 minutes with him since second grade.

Taylor is highly intelligent, quick-witted and over-achieving. She is thought to be multi-lingual, speaking French, Spanish and Korean in several episodes, and narrating a majority of her valedictorian speech in Latin.

Taylor does not get much attention from her mother and Reeser described her character's "desperate ambition" as a result of troubles in her home life. Described as the "preppy, double-crossing nemesis of Summer Roberts" who is said to be able "to handle a chainsaw", Taylor Townsend was introduced into the show in the third season as a neurotic and annoying "goody goody" who stalks Seth and attempts to break-up his relationship with Summer".

Despite being an overachiever, Taylor is also desperately needy and starved of affection and is prone to becoming besotted and obsessed with any man who offers her help or affection. This is largely the result of the lack of a father figure for much of her life and her being emotionally neglected by her perfectionist mother. In season 4, she is often seen in Summer's room or at the Cohens' house to escape her mother's constant put-downs. She was initially portrayed as a manipulative and conniving antagonist of the main characters, particularly Summer.

Taylor first appears in the third season, as Marissa Cooper is expelled from Harbor High School and thus barred from keeping her position as student social chair. Taylor's gain is part of the fallout from Marissa having shot Trey Atwood in order to defend his brother and her boyfriend, Ryan.