Taylor Swift added another milestone to her MTV Video Music Awards record on Monday, winning the Video of the Year award for her showgirl-inspired “The Fate of Ophelia” at the 2026 VMAs in Los Angeles.
"Ophelia" was the first single off her 2025 "The Life of a Showgirl" album. As she accepted the VMA honor, Swift praised Parton as "the ultimate showgirl."
"I think that we were all very lucky to share this planet with Dolly Parton for a time," she said on stage in downtown Los Angeles.
Swift also received the inaugural Artist Director Honors during the award ceremony, taking her total number of VMA wins to 31 and making her the most-awarded artist in the history of the VMAs. She had previously been tied with Beyoncé at 30 awards.
Accepting the Artist Director Honors, Taylor Swift reflected on her two decades of involvement in music videos.
“I got to start making music videos and being a part of music videos 20 years ago,” Swift said, adding that she has been involved in making around 60 music videos, 18 of which she wrote and directed.
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“You, the fans, make it so much fun,” she added.
Swift has directed videos for several of her songs and also took the director's chair for her new single “Patient Zero”.
Taylor Swift debuts ‘Patient Zero’ music video
Swift also debuted the music video for “Patient Zero” during the award show. She directed the video, which stars Colin Farrell and Dakota Johnson.
“Patient Zero” is Swift's first single since her marriage to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce at Madison Square Garden in July.
Madonna, Lisa among other VMA winners
Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter won the award for Best Collaboration for “Bring Your Love” after opening the ceremony with a performance of the song.
K-pop star Lisa won Best Pop for her solo song “Dream” featuring Kentaro Sakaguchi as Lisa became emotional while thanking her fans, popularly known as Lillies.
Madonna, who was the night's top nominee, also returned to the stage later in the ceremony for a performance with Charli xcx of their reworked version of “Danceteria”.
