Teyana Taylor.Photo: Taylor Hill/WireImageTeyana Taylorhad a lot on her plate while tackling the new dramatic role she’s receiving early praise for.InA Thousand and One, the 31-year-old multi-hyphenate — who is mom to daughters Rue Rose, 2, andIman Tayla (a.k.a. Junie), 6½, with husband Iman Shumpert — plays Inez, a hairdresser who gets out on parole and kidnaps her son, Terry, out of foster care so they can start over together.Speaking withYahoo! Entertainmentabout her step into serious roles as an actress, the model mom of two admitted it was"definitely emotional" filming the drama.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Teyana Taylor.Marion Curtis/StarPix for Focus Features/Shutterstock"I was actually six months postpartum when we started working onA Thousand and One. So I was dealing with literal postpartum depression," she revealed to the outlet.“And in the midst of dealing with postpartum depression, I lost a lot of my childhood friends. [I was] back home to film and then come to find out that a lot of [my] childhood has been erased. That was a lot, emotionally.“Taylor called playing Inez “very therapeutic for me,” explaining, “I was able to cry out loud for once.“Teyana Taylor Instagram"I think I hadn’t been able to do that because when you’re a super mom, that’s all your kids see you as, you’re a superhero all day, every day,” she continued. “So going to the set every day, I was able to put my cape to the side, have my therapy session and just cry out loud.““Any type of quiet battles I was fighting or struggles, I was able to pour it all into Inez and really give my all. And I think that’s what made it so real and authentic because every single emotion was real. Every single tear was real. Every single scream was real. Every single emotion was real,” she explained.As Taylor noted, “This role is something that I prayed for, something I was willing to work for. It was something I was willing to fight for. And that’s exactly what I did.”

Teyana Taylor.Photo: Taylor Hill/WireImage

Iman Tayla Shumpert Jr., Teyana Taylor, and Rue Rose Shumpert attend the New York premiere of Focus Features' “A Thousand and One” at AMC Magic Johnson Harlem on March 27, 2023 in New York City.

Teyana Taylorhad a lot on her plate while tackling the new dramatic role she’s receiving early praise for.InA Thousand and One, the 31-year-old multi-hyphenate — who is mom to daughters Rue Rose, 2, andIman Tayla (a.k.a. Junie), 6½, with husband Iman Shumpert — plays Inez, a hairdresser who gets out on parole and kidnaps her son, Terry, out of foster care so they can start over together.Speaking withYahoo! Entertainmentabout her step into serious roles as an actress, the model mom of two admitted it was"definitely emotional” filming the drama.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Teyana Taylor.Marion Curtis/StarPix for Focus Features/Shutterstock"I was actually six months postpartum when we started working onA Thousand and One. So I was dealing with literal postpartum depression,” she revealed to the outlet.“And in the midst of dealing with postpartum depression, I lost a lot of my childhood friends. [I was] back home to film and then come to find out that a lot of [my] childhood has been erased. That was a lot, emotionally.“Taylor called playing Inez “very therapeutic for me,” explaining, “I was able to cry out loud for once.“Teyana Taylor Instagram"I think I hadn’t been able to do that because when you’re a super mom, that’s all your kids see you as, you’re a superhero all day, every day,” she continued. “So going to the set every day, I was able to put my cape to the side, have my therapy session and just cry out loud.““Any type of quiet battles I was fighting or struggles, I was able to pour it all into Inez and really give my all. And I think that’s what made it so real and authentic because every single emotion was real. Every single tear was real. Every single scream was real. Every single emotion was real,” she explained.As Taylor noted, “This role is something that I prayed for, something I was willing to work for. It was something I was willing to fight for. And that’s exactly what I did.”

Teyana Taylorhad a lot on her plate while tackling the new dramatic role she’s receiving early praise for.

InA Thousand and One, the 31-year-old multi-hyphenate — who is mom to daughters Rue Rose, 2, andIman Tayla (a.k.a. Junie), 6½, with husband Iman Shumpert — plays Inez, a hairdresser who gets out on parole and kidnaps her son, Terry, out of foster care so they can start over together.

Speaking withYahoo! Entertainmentabout her step into serious roles as an actress, the model mom of two admitted it was"definitely emotional” filming the drama.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Teyana Taylor.Marion Curtis/StarPix for Focus Features/Shutterstock

Teyana Taylor with daughters New York Premiere Focus Features' “A Thousand And One”, AMC Magic Johnson Harlem, USA - 27 Mar 2023

“I was actually six months postpartum when we started working onA Thousand and One. So I was dealing with literal postpartum depression,” she revealed to the outlet.

“And in the midst of dealing with postpartum depression, I lost a lot of my childhood friends. [I was] back home to film and then come to find out that a lot of [my] childhood has been erased. That was a lot, emotionally.”

Taylor called playing Inez “very therapeutic for me,” explaining, “I was able to cry out loud for once.”

Teyana Taylor Instagram

Teyana Taylor and Iman Shumpert kids

“I think I hadn’t been able to do that because when you’re a super mom, that’s all your kids see you as, you’re a superhero all day, every day,” she continued. “So going to the set every day, I was able to put my cape to the side, have my therapy session and just cry out loud.”

“Any type of quiet battles I was fighting or struggles, I was able to pour it all into Inez and really give my all. And I think that’s what made it so real and authentic because every single emotion was real. Every single tear was real. Every single scream was real. Every single emotion was real,” she explained.

As Taylor noted, “This role is something that I prayed for, something I was willing to work for. It was something I was willing to fight for. And that’s exactly what I did.”

source: people.com