Charli D'Amelio

Charli D'Amelio ( Template:IPAc-en; born Charli Grace D'Amelio; May 1, 2004) is an American social media personality, entrepreneur, dancer, actress, and singer who became the most prominent figure of the TikTok era, holding the record as the platform's most-followed creator from March 2020 to June 2022 and becoming the first person to reach 100 million followers on TikTok. As of 2025, she remains the second most-followed person on the platform with over 156 million followers. Often described by media outlets as "TikTok's biggest star," D'Amelio has leveraged her unprecedented social media following into a diversified business empire through D'Amelio Brands, the family holding company she co-founded in 2022 with her mother Heidi D'Amelio, her sister Dixie D'Amelio, and strategic investors.

D'Amelio's business ventures span fashion (D'Amelio Footwear, Social Tourist), beauty (Born Dreamer fragrance, Morphe 2 cosmetics, ZitsAllRight skincare), food and beverage (Be Happy Snacks, the "Charli" drink at Dunkin' Donuts), and venture capital (444 Capital, a $25 million fund investing in women and minority-led startups). D'Amelio Brands achieved a $100 million valuation in 2023 and has secured investments from notable figures including Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin, Apple Senior Vice President Eddy Cue, and Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer. She was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 and Fortune 40 Under 40 lists in 2020 (the youngest person ever to appear on Fortune's list), the TIME 100 Next list in 2021, and the inaugural TIME100 Creators list in July 2025. Forbes ranked her number six on its Top Creators 2025 list with estimated annual earnings of $23.5 million.

Beyond business, D'Amelio has achieved notable success in entertainment, winning Season 31 of Dancing with the Stars in 2022, making her Broadway debut in the ensemble of & Juliet in October 2024, and starring in the Hulu docuseries The D'Amelio Show (2021–2023). A competitive dancer for over a decade before her TikTok career, D'Amelio has been open about her struggles with eating disorders, body image, and the pressures of sudden fame, becoming an advocate for mental health awareness among young people.

Early life

Charli Grace D'Amelio was born on May 1, 2004, in Norwalk, Connecticut, the younger daughter of photographer and former model Heidi D'Amelio and business owner and former Republican Connecticut Senate candidate Marc D'Amelio. Her older sister, Dixie D'Amelio, would also become a prominent social media personality and business partner. The D'Amelio family's background combined creative and entrepreneurial elements: Heidi's work as a photographer and model provided exposure to visual media and branding, while Marc's business experience and political activity reflected an engagement with public life and commercial enterprise.

D'Amelio began dancing at the age of three, developing a passion for movement and performance that would shape the trajectory of her life. Over the following decade, she trained as a competitive dancer, participating in regional and national dance competitions and developing the technical proficiency that would later distinguish her TikTok content from the platform's predominantly amateur dance videos. Her training encompassed multiple dance styles and required the kind of discipline, dedication, and comfort with performance that would prove essential when she suddenly found herself performing for millions.

She attended the King School, a private school in Stamford, Connecticut, where she experienced a relatively normal childhood and adolescence until her sudden rise to social media fame in late 2019. Following her rapid ascent on TikTok, D'Amelio transitioned to virtual schooling to accommodate the demands of her content creation schedule and emerging business opportunities, a decision that reflected the unprecedented nature of the career path she was navigating.

Career

Rise to prominence on TikTok (2019–2020)

D'Amelio began posting on TikTok in May 2019 with a lip-syncing video alongside a friend—a modest beginning that gave no indication of the cultural phenomenon about to unfold. Her first video to gain significant traction was a "duet" (a side-by-side collaborative video format) with user Move With Joy, posted in July 2019. Over the following months, her dance videos—characterized by clean execution, genuine enthusiasm, and an approachable personality—attracted an increasingly large following.

The pivotal moment in D'Amelio's TikTok career came in October 2019, when she gained massive exposure for her videos performing a dance called the "Renegade" to the K Camp song "Lottery." She was credited with popularizing the dance on social media and was referred to by TikTok users as the "CEO of Renegade"—though this characterization would generate controversy, as the dance was actually created by Jalaiah Harmon, a young dancer from Atlanta. Following a New York Times profile of Harmon revealing her as the original creator, D'Amelio received online backlash for not crediting Harmon and subsequently began regularly crediting the creators of dances she performed.

In November 2019, D'Amelio and her sister joined The Hype House, a collaborative TikTok content house in Los Angeles, further accelerating their visibility. That same month, former Sony Music executive Barbara Jones signed D'Amelio to her management company, Outshine Talent, and in January 2020, the entire D'Amelio family signed with United Talent Agency, signaling the transition from casual content creator to professionally managed media property.

D'Amelio's ascent accelerated dramatically in early 2020, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns that drove massive increases in TikTok usage. In March 2020, she became the most-followed user on TikTok, displacing Loren Gray, and the first TikTok user to reach 50 million followers. By November 2020, she became the first person to surpass 100 million TikTok followers—a milestone that cemented her status as the platform's dominant creator. She held the title of most-followed TikTok creator from March 2020 to June 2022, when she was surpassed by Khaby Lame.

Brand partnerships and endorsements

D'Amelio's enormous social media following translated rapidly into lucrative brand partnerships and endorsement deals with some of the world's most prominent companies:

• Dunkin' Donuts: In September 2020, Dunkin' launched "The Charli," a limited-time menu drink based on D'Amelio's favorite order. She later appeared alongside Ben Affleck in a Dunkin' Super Bowl commercial during the 2024 Grammy Awards ceremony.
• Procter & Gamble: D'Amelio partnered with P&G to create the #DistanceDance challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic, encouraging social distancing through TikTok dance videos and earning praise from Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.
• Prada: She fronted the Prada Linea Rossa fall/winter 2022 campaign, establishing herself in the luxury fashion space.
• Hollister Co.: Multi-year partnership including the Social Tourist apparel brand and limited-edition collections.
• Sabra: Appeared in a Super Bowl commercial in February 2020.
• Morphe: Partnered with Morphe to launch Morphe 2, a makeup line, in 2020.
• Garnier: Named brand ambassador in May 2024.
• Kate Spade New York: Fronted the brand's spring-summer 2025 campaign alongside rapper Ice Spice.
• Invisalign: Released a limited-edition aligner case.
• Meta Platforms: Partnered with Meta to introduce an AI chatbot named "Coco" modeled after her in 2023.

These partnerships established D'Amelio as one of the highest-earning social media personalities in the world. Forbes named her the highest-earning female TikTok personality in 2019 and the highest-earning personality on the platform in 2022.

D'Amelio Brands

In September 2022, D'Amelio and her family announced the formation of D'Amelio Brands, a holding company created to launch, operate, and manage the family's growing portfolio of consumer brands. As co-founders, Charli, her mother Heidi, and her sister Dixie share creative input for the company's marketing and product development, with each family member contributing their distinct perspective and audience appeal.

The venture launched with a $6 million seed round that attracted an impressive roster of strategic investors, including Michael Rubin (CEO of Fanatics), entrepreneur Richard Rosenblatt, Eddy Cue (Apple's Senior Vice President of Services), and Jon Feltheimer (CEO of Lionsgate). In August 2023, D'Amelio Brands received an additional $5 million in funding through a strategic investment by Fifth Growth Fund, a venture capital firm, at a company valuation of $100 million, marking a significant validation of the D'Amelio family's business-building capabilities.

D'Amelio Brands' portfolio includes:

• D'Amelio Footwear: A direct-to-consumer shoe brand launched in May 2023, with multiple pop-up retail events across the United States
• Be Happy Snacks: A flavored popcorn brand released in partnership with Walmart in late October 2023, representing D'Amelio Brands' expansion into food and beverage
• ZitsAllRight: A skincare line targeting D'Amelio's core Gen Z demographic
• Dam Fam Merch: A merchandise line for dedicated fans
• Born Dreamer: A fragrance line released exclusively through Ulta Beauty in June 2022

444 Capital venture fund

In March 2022, D'Amelio and her family launched 444 Capital, a $25 million venture capital fund created in partnership with Doug Renert and Jeff Beacher. The fund predominantly invests in women and minority-led startups across various sectors, in both early and later stages, reflecting the D'Amelio family's commitment to supporting entrepreneurship among underrepresented founders. Four investments were publicly announced in March 2023, though the full portfolio remains partially undisclosed.

The venture capital activity marked a sophisticated evolution in the D'Amelio family's business strategy, moving beyond brand endorsements and product launches into strategic investing. D'Amelio had previously participated as an investor in equity funding rounds for Step, a teen-oriented banking services company, demonstrating early interest in the fintech space targeting her demographic.

Entertainment career

Beyond her business ventures, D'Amelio has built a substantial entertainment career across multiple formats:

Television: She starred alongside her family in The D'Amelio Show, a Hulu docuseries that ran for three seasons from September 2021 to its cancellation in June 2024. The series won an MTV Movie & TV Award for Best Unscripted Series. She co-led the Snap Original reality show Charli vs. Dixie (2021–2022) with her sister.

Dancing with the Stars: In 2022, D'Amelio and her mother Heidi were both announced as celebrity participants on Season 31 of Dancing with the Stars, becoming the first family members to compete against each other on the show. Partnered with professional dancer Mark Ballas, Charli won the competition, validating her dancing credentials beyond the TikTok format.

Broadway: D'Amelio made her Broadway debut in October 2024, performing in the ensemble of the jukebox musical & Juliet in a "dance-heavy" role as Charmian at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, with a run through September 7, 2025. The Broadway casting represented a significant artistic leap from social media content to live theatrical performance.

Film: D'Amelio made her feature film debut with a voice role in the 2020 animated film StarDog and TurboCat. She was announced as the lead in Home School, a supernatural thriller from Village Roadshow Pictures and Ryan Kavanaugh, eyed as the first installment of a potential eight-film franchise, with production beginning in July 2022.

Music: She released her debut single, "If You Ask Me To," in October 2022, a piano ballad about teenage heartbreak that reached the top 40 on the Billboard Adult Pop Airplay chart.

Publishing: Her debut book, Essentially Charli: The Ultimate Guide to Keeping It Real (Abrams Books, 2020), became a New York Times bestseller.

Personal life

Mental health advocacy

D'Amelio has been notably open about her struggles with eating disorders, body image, and the psychological toll of sudden internet fame, using her platform to advocate for mental health awareness among young people. In an anti-bullying campaign for UNICEF, she stated: "Some of the most hurtful comments that I read about myself online are about my body shape, my body type, which hits close to home because I struggled a lot with body image, body dysmorphia, [and] bad eating habits." Her willingness to discuss these issues publicly has been praised by mental health advocates as helping to normalize conversations about eating disorders and body image among her young audience.

Relationships

D'Amelio was in a relationship with social media influencer Chase Hudson (known as Lil Huddy) from December 2019 to April 2020. She was subsequently in a relationship with Landon Barker, the son of Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, from July 2022 to February 2024.

Philanthropy

D'Amelio has engaged in numerous philanthropic activities, including:

• Donating $50,000 to Norwalk Hospital in her hometown during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Partnering with UNICEF for anti-bullying campaigns
• Donating $100,000 to the American Dance Movement through a TikTok partnership in December 2020
• Raising funds for charity through the Charli vs. Dixie show, where the cash prize went to the winner's chosen charity (D'Amelio participated for UNICEF)

Controversies

"Dinner with the D'Amelios" backlash (2020)

In November 2020, D'Amelio and her family faced significant public backlash following the premiere episode of their YouTube series Dinner with the D'Amelios. In the video, the family and guest James Charles ate a paella dinner prepared by personal chef Aaron May. Social media users accused both Charli and Dixie of exhibiting rude behavior towards May, with Charli making faces as she described the meal and asking for "dino nuggets." She also expressed during the video that she wished she had reached 100 million followers on the one-year anniversary of earning one million—a comment that users and even Charles criticized as entitled.

The backlash was severe: D'Amelio lost over one million TikTok followers in less than one day. She addressed the situation in an emotional Instagram Live video, apologizing while noting that she had received violent threats. Chef May publicly defended the sisters, and Charles similarly expressed support. Media commentators including Rebecca Jennings of Vox called the controversy "cruel and unnecessary," while Dazed attributed the intensity of the backlash partly to misogyny.

COVID-19 travel controversy (2020)

In December 2020, D'Amelio faced criticism after it was revealed that she and other social media personalities had been vacationing at Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas during the COVID-19 pandemic, while cases in Los Angeles (where the D'Amelio family was residing) were surging. The criticism was intensified by the fact that D'Amelio had previously participated in a public health campaign encouraging social distancing and had publicly suggested that not staying home during the pandemic was "inconsiderate."

Renegade dance credit controversy

D'Amelio's initial failure to credit Jalaiah Harmon as the creator of the "Renegade" dance—which D'Amelio popularized on TikTok and which was central to her rise to fame—generated significant discussion about the appropriation of Black creators' content on social media platforms and the credit economy in the TikTok ecosystem. Following the backlash, D'Amelio began regularly crediting dance creators, and the broader conversation contributed to increased awareness of credit attribution on TikTok.

Awards and recognition

• Forbes 30 Under 30 (2020)
• Fortune 40 Under 40 (2020) — youngest person ever featured
• TIME100 Next (2021)
• TIME100 Creators (inaugural list, July 2025)
• Forbes Top Creators 2025 — ranked #6 ($23.5 million estimated earnings)
• Dancing with the Stars Season 31 champion (2022)
• MTV Movie & TV Award for Best Unscripted Series (The D'Amelio Show)
• Streamy Award for Breakout Creator (2020)
• Guinness World Record — most TikTok followers (2020)
• Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards co-host (2023)
• Lyst Power Dressers — #8 (2020)

Legacy and influence

Charli D'Amelio's impact on popular culture, social media, and the business of digital content creation is profound and multifaceted. As the first person to reach 100 million followers on TikTok, she helped define what it means to be a social media celebrity in the post-Instagram era, demonstrating that the platform could produce mainstream cultural figures on par with traditional entertainment.

Her transition from content creator to entrepreneur through D'Amelio Brands—achieving a $100 million company valuation before her 20th birthday—represents a new model for how social media celebrities can build lasting business empires rather than remaining dependent on platform-specific fame. The 444 Capital venture fund further demonstrated that young creators could move beyond personal brand monetization into strategic investing, potentially creating a pipeline for the next generation of entrepreneur-creators.

Her Broadway debut in & Juliet represented a particularly significant artistic achievement, proving that social media fame could serve as a launching pad for legitimate performing arts careers rather than a substitute for them. The combination of her competitive dance background, TikTok fame, and Broadway stage further demonstrates the increasingly fluid boundaries between digital and traditional entertainment.

D'Amelio's openness about eating disorders and mental health has contributed to broader cultural conversations about the psychological impact of social media on young people, using her massive platform to address issues that affect millions of her followers. At just 21 years old, the full scope of her influence remains to be determined, but she has already established herself as a defining figure of the TikTok generation's intersection with business, entertainment, and social advocacy.

External links

• Official website
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