Addison Rae

Background

Addison Rae was born to Monty Lopez and Sheri Easterling in Lafayette, Louisiana. She has two younger brothers and is of Spanish descent through her father. Rae’s parents split up when she was younger, eventually remarrying in 2017. Both also have active TikTok accounts and frequently feature in Rae’s posts. Since the age of six, Rae was a competitive dancer and competed in championships across the country. She briefly attended Louisiana State University, studying sports broadcasting, before dropping out to pursue her TikTok career in Los Angeles.

In December 2019, a few months after joining TikTok, Rae was inducted into the Hype House, a TikTok collaborative group. Upon gaining over one million followers, she decided to take her social media career more seriously and expanded to other platforms, which led to her signing with talent agency WME in January 2020. In July, she partnered with American Eagle on the brand’s first virtual photoshoot campaign, which she shot in her bedroom. A month later, Forbes reported that Rae was the highest-earning TikTok star. The following October, she confirmed her relationship with fellow TikToker Bryce Hall via social media posts. They broke up the next year. The same year, Rae donated one million in prize money from an all-star tennis tournament to the charity No Kid Hungry.

Rae’s increasing popularity has led to various endorsement deals with companies such as Reebok, L’Oreal, Hollister, and American Eagle. Apart from social media and endorsements, Rae has launched her own cosmetics line, “Item Beauty,” co-founded with beauty startup “Madeby Collective.” She starred in a 2021 remake of the 1999 teen comedy “She’s All That,” and has more recently signed a deal with Netflix. In March 2021, she released her first music single, ‘Obsessed.’ Rae faced some controversy in 2021 that stemmed from speculation about her support for President Donald Trump, but a representative quickly shot it down. From 2020 to 2022, she has been nominated for several popularity awards, winning the 2021 Streamys Lifestyle Award.