

If the TikTok app has ever cursed your phone, you’ve probably encountered a viral video of Charli or Dixie D’Amelio, pioneers in a legacy genre of celebrity fame: “teenagers who are famous for doing weird dances on the internet.” These days, they’re everywhere. On your phone, on television, out in the streets of Los Angeles. You can’t escape them on websites like the Daily Mail, nor can you run from their visages in TMZ or People or even Star and Life & Style. Have teens yourself? You’ll probably hear their name once or twice. You might even be a blogger like me, who feels like the walls of internet fame are swiftly caving in on you, while a haunting TikTok remix of a Lana Del Rey song makes your ears bleed.
Like many famous families, the D’Amelios banked their fame on just one sister, Charli, who is the youngest. Her presence on TikTok, since her early days on the app in 2019, can best be described as staccato, dance-like motions to random songs. It made her incredibly famous. Now, she’s signed with UTA, a Beverly Hills talent agency that also reps Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie, and she is currently best known for her incredibly public falling out with the now-infamous Hype House, as well as being roasted on an almost hourly basis by Alt TikTok, where users make more “niche” and risqué content such as a CGI Dora the Explorer smoking weed with a deepfaked James Charles. But after the Hype House’s roster of sweaty and perpetually shirtless teen boys gained massive popularity on the app, the D’Amelios severed their ties. According to an interview with the Hollywood Reporter in May, she just wanted to vibe, and they just wanted to make money. Sad!
@charlidamelio