Stop making unproductive edits. Charli Grace D'Amelio (/dəˈmiːliːoʊ/; born May 1, 2004) is an American social media personality and dancer.
Born and raised in Norwalk, Connecticut, she was a competitive dancer for over 10 years before starting her social media career. She started actively posting content on the video-sharing app, TikTok, in late 2019, where she would post dance videos to trending songs on the platform. She quickly amassed a large following and subsequently became the most-followed creator on the app, surpassing Loren Gray.
She was named the second highest-earning TikTok personality by Forbes and was placed on Fortune's 40 Under 40 list in 2020. D'Amelio made her feature film debut with a voice role in the 2020 animated film StarDog and TurboCat, and her other endeavors include a podcast, a nail polish collection, a makeup line, and a sweatshirt collection. As of November 2020, she is the first person to earn over 100 million followers on TikTok. She has often been regarded as TikTok's "biggest star".
Early Life
Charli Grace D'Amelio was born on May 1, 2004[4] in Norwalk, Connecticut[5] to Marc D'Amelio, a former Republican Connecticut Senate candidate[6] and business owner[7] and Heidi D'Amelio, a photographer and former model,[8][7] with an older sister, Dixie.[9] Charli began dancing at age 3,[10] and was a trained competitive dancer for over 10 years prior to starting TikTok.[11] She formerly attended King School, but began attending school virtually following her TikTok success.
Career
D'Amelio first began posting on TikTok in May 2019 with a lip-syncing video alongside her friend.[12] Her first video to gain traction, a side-by-side video (known on the platform as a "duet") with user "Move With Joy", was posted in July 2019.[9][10] Since then, her content has mainly consisted of videos dancing to trending songs on the platform.[12] In October 2019, she gained further exposure for her videos performing a dance called the "Renegade" to the K Camp song "Lottery", and was subsequently credited with popularizing the dance on social media, while also being falsely credited with creating the dance, being referred to affectionately as the "CEO of Renegade".[14][15] Following a New York Times profile of dancer Jalaiah Harmon revealing her as the original creator of the dance, D'Amelio received online backlash for not crediting Harmon, which prompted D'Amelio to begin regularly crediting those who created the dances she performs.[12][16] She joined the collaborative TikTok content house, The Hype House, in November 2019, alongside her sister, Dixie.[17]
In late 2019, former Sony Music executive Barbara Jones signed D'Amelio to her management company, Outshine Talent, and in January 2020, D'Amelio signed with United Talent Agency along with the rest of her family.[18][19] Singer Bebe Rexha invited D'Amelio to perform alongside her during her opening performance for the Jonas Brothers in November 2019. That same month, she began posting on her self-titled YouTube vlog channel.[9]
In February 2020, she appeared in a Super Bowl commercial for Sabra Hummus along with other celebrities.[20] She was invited to meet Jennifer Lopez at Super Bowl LIV to create a TikTok dance challenge celebrating Lopez's Super Bowl LIV halftime show performance.[21] In March 2020, she and her sister partnered with UNICEF for an anti-bullying campaign.[22] That same month, D'Amelio partnered with Procter & Gamble to create the #DistanceDance challenge on TikTok with the goal of encouraging social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, which garnered praise from Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.[12][23] She also became the most-followed TikTok user, displacing American social media personality Loren Gray.[24] D'Amelio appeared in the ABC television special The Disney Family Singalong during the singing of "We're All In This Together" from the 2006 musical film High School Musical, alongside the original cast of the film, in April 2020.[25]
In May 2020, she and her sister announced a podcast deal with Ramble Podcast Network,[26] and both were included in the celebrity lineup for the television special Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020, hosted by LeBron James.[27] Also that month, she left the Hype House.[28] D'Amelio starred as Tinker in the June 2020 United States release of the 2019 animated children's film StarDog and TurboCat, marking her first role in a feature film.[29] She became the face of Hollister's "Jean Lab" campaign alongside her sister in July 2020, also creating a TikTok dance to promote the campaign.[30] That same month, she became an ambassador for braces brand Invisalign, while she and her sister partnered with Morphe Cosmetics to launch Morphe 2, a makeup line.[31][32][33] Charli and Dixie also launched a nail polish collection called Coastal Craze with Orosa Beauty in August 2020.[34] In a July 2020 interview with Dixie, it was confirmed that Industrial Media was producing a reality show of the D'Amelio family.[35][36]
Forbes published a report in August 2020 revealing that D'Amelio earned $4 million in the last year from her numerous sponsorship deals and merchandise, making her the second highest-earning TikTok star, following Addison Rae.[37] Dunkin' Donuts created a limited-time menu drink dedicated to D'Amelio and based on her "go-to" order called "The Charli" in September 2020.[38] D'Amelio and her sister also designed limited-edition fleece sweatshirts for Hollister, released in September 2020.[39] She joined Triller, a rival platform to TikTok, later that month, in the midst of a potential US ban on TikTok.[40] She also made an appearance in Jennifer Lopez and Maluma's music video for their singles "Pa' Ti + Lonely" and created a dance challenge (the #PaTiChallenge) for the song as part of a fundraising campaign with Lopez and Yoplait.[41] D'Amelio starred in the music video for the Bebe Rexha single, "Baby I'm Jealous", in October 2020.[42] Later that month, she partnered with mobile banking service Step for a promotional campaign shortly after its launch.[2]
In November 2020, following a controversy which caused her to lose over one million followers, D'Amelio became the first person to earn 100 million followers on TikTok.[43]
D'Amelio is set to release her first book, Essentially Charli: The Ultimate Guide to Keeping It Real, in December 2020.