The Untold Truth Of Superstar Influencer Alix Earle
For those who aren't immersed in social media, the name Alix Earle may not immediately ring any bells. Yet in the world of TikTok, Earle has emerged as one of the platform's most powerful personalities, where she's gained an impressive 5.3 million followers — and counting. Her TikTok posts regularly receive views in the millions; a video in which she feeds a stray cat tiny chunks of steak from her fork while dining at a sidewalk cafe, and then realizing she's been continuing to feed herself with that same fork, has been watched more than 5.7 million times.
Earle is also no slouch on Instagram, where she's garnered a following of 3 million fans who watch her share her life of luxury travel, VIP treatment, and lavish extravagance. At the same time, Earle has candidly lifted the veil to reveal her own very real — and very relatable — problems, which transcend wealth and celebrity. It's that combination, in fact, that has proven to be a winning one for the charismatic young woman, who celebrated her 22nd birthday in December 2022.
For those who don't know much about her, it's likely they soon will, given that she's been making major inroads into Hollywood to build on the fame she's accumulated via social media. And for those who do, even they may not realize how much they actually don't know about her. To learn more, read on to discover the untold truth of superstar influencer Alix Earle.
Opening up about her acne struggles took her to the next level
When Alix Earle first launched her TikTok account with an eye toward making a name for herself as an influencer, she was one of millions of other young people chasing that same dream. At first, she made little headway when it came to breaking away and making herself stand out from the vast competition in the social media arena. Then, she made a bold decision by posting an unfiltered video of herself in the midst of a severe acne outbreak, with the idea that perhaps somebody else going through a similar situation would feel a bit better by knowing that she was going through her own skin struggle. Suddenly, she watched in awe as she began attracting followers like never before.
Earle then began receiving Accutane treatments, and posted regular updates of how her skin was improving — posts that continued to gain increasingly more followers for her account.
"When I started out I had no idea, and I was trying to be picture perfect, and I thought that was the way to go," Earle explained during a 2023 interview with "The Howard Stern Show." Instead, she learned a valuable lesson in social media, realizing that what actually connected with people was opening up her authentic self, not presenting a glossy, unreal facade. "The second I stopped trying to be the hot, picture-perfect girl is when things started to take off," she added.
She's revived the 'Great Ready with Me' trend on TikTok
Prior to Alix Earle really breaking through on TikTok, there was a lot of trial and error as she experimented with what worked and what didn't. "I tried a lot of the TikTok dances," she told Rolling Stone, admitting she threw a lot of stuff at the proverbial wall in order to see what wound up sticking. "I quickly learned that wasn't for me."
Earle ultimately decided to focus on filming herself putting on makeup, walking her viewers through the various techniques she'd come to adopt while sharing the tricks and tips she'd picked up along the way, at the same time teasing the event for which she was getting ready. As a result, reported the The Wall Street Journal, she became one of the leading personalities in what's come to be known as the "Get Ready with Me" (or GRWM) sub-genre of TikTok. Like much of what becomes successful on social media, the idea was hardly new; in fact, GRWM videos were first popularized in the early 2010s via YouTube before the format was adopted by TikTokers in the ever-expanding evolution of social media.
Interestingly, Earle has been just as influenced by others on TikTok even as she's become an influencer herself. "TikTok came around, obviously you're seeing a bunch of people do their makeup, and I was exposed to a lot more products and techniques," she told Rolling Stone. "So TikTok has definitely evolved my game."
Alix Earle was stranded in Italy after getting scammed
In May 2023, Alix Earle devoted her various social media feeds to chronicling a multi-week trip to Europe with a gang of female friends, in celebration of their graduation from college. That excursion brought them to various countries. When they arrived in Positano, Italy, however, they encountered a pretty significant problem. "We're stranded in Italy," Earle told fans in a video she posted to TikTok. "The house we were supposed to stay at doesn't exist. Our car service canceled. It's midnight. We literally don't know where to go." She added, "The girls trip took a turn."
According to Earle, she'd booked accommodations for herself and her pals via an online travel-booking site, only to discover upon arrival that they'd been scammed. Despite the late hour, she and her fellow travelers made the best of it, and eventually found an alternative option. "We found a place to stay the night after our 'scenic villa in Italy' didn't exist," she wrote in the caption of a subsequent TikTok video, in which she was apparently forced to share a single bed with three of her friends.
In a followup post, Earle revealed their misadventures were even more pronounced than previously revealed. Not only had they been hoodwinked about the nonexistent villa, but they all left the airport while forgetting to pick up their luggage when their flight arrived in Naples (thankfully, they were able to talk their way into retrieving their suitcases).
She revealed her life isn't as glamorous as it appears
While a quick peek at Alix Earle's social media might seemingly indicate her life entirely consists of fun, sun, and extravagance, that's not really the way it is behind the scenes. In fact, she set the record straight in a 2023 TikTok post offering a tour of the apartment she and her roommates shared while attending the University of Miami.
While viewers may have expected to see a bunch of privileged young women living in the lap of luxury, instead they encountered something altogether different. "So first off we have casa cucaracha, we get a lot of cockroaches so we just made a little house for them," she said while zooming in on a tiny bird house on the floor next to the trash bin, which had been adapted as a home for the numerous cockroaches in their kitchen. "Our chip bag clips are also cockroach themed," she added, focusing on bag clips styled to look like roaches.
After a quick visit with her fish, Elton, she offered a peek at the meal she was preparing: college-appropriate ramen noodles. This was followed by a trip to the main living room — boasting a small bar cart topped with empty cans, booze bottles, and Starbucks coffee cups — and her bathroom. "The toilet is like a children's toilet so it's like really right on the ground and this [seat] really doesn't stay on so you can't sit too hard," she explained.
The reason she got candid about her breast implants
Acne outbreaks and a cockroach-infested kitchen aren't the only things about which Alix Earle has candidly revealed in her social media videos. Another example came when she opened up about having her breasts surgically enlarged. She even celebrated the first anniversary of her breast-augmentation surgery in a TikTok video marking what she jokingly described as her "boobaversary." "From the start, I decided I was going to be open with this, especially on social media," Earle said. "If you're paying to get something done, wouldn't you want people to notice? Like, I paid all that money for a surgery and no one noticed anything different about me, I'd be pissed."
During her interview with Howard Stern, Earle insisted that having the surgery and trying to hide it from her fans wasn't even an option for her. The reason, she explained, was because she'd seen various others on social media insist they'd had no work done when it was obvious to anyone watching that they clearly did. "It's just not real," she declared.
As she explained, her breast augmentation was something about which she was neither proud nor embarrassed. "You know, it's just something that's a personal choice," she told Stern. "I think if there's something you want to do for yourself, then do it." That bolstered what she'd said in that TikTok video, when she advised fans, "Don't care about what other people think."
Why keeping it real has been her secret to mastering TikTok
According to statistics, TikTok boasts more than a billion users. Making oneself emerge from all those content-creating voices is no mean feat, yet Alix Earle has proven to be wildly adept at it — something that's even more impressive when considering she achieved that success as a university student in her early 20s.
Much of Earle's success can be attributed to what appears to be her innate ability to connect with viewers on a personal level, a phenomenon that was deconstructed by writer John Hermann in The New York Times. "One source of TikTok's power, however, is how unprofessional it still feels," he wrote. "Even when people are trying to sell you something, their messages seem off-the-cuff, like trustworthy recommendations rather than sponsored shilling."
Keeping it real, in fact, is something that Earle has continually leaned into when crafting her TikTok content. As she explained in an interview with Rolling Stone, coming of age in the era of emerging social media provided some valuable lessons about the power of honesty — particularly when it comes to cutting through the clutter. "Growing up, I saw a lot of perfection on social media, and would compare myself to it, a lot," she said. "And as I got older, I realized that that's not real."
She comes from a wildly wealthy family
According to Insider, Alix Earle is the daughter of a wealthy New Jersey construction magnate. Her dad, Thomas "TJ" Earle, is CEO of Earle, a construction firm specializing in building roads that was founded by her grandfather, Walter R. Earle, back in 1968. According to the Athens Post, the company boasts annual revenues of more than $24 million. Earle is described as a family business, and that's apparently true for the case for Alix; on her LinkedIn page, she noted that she's been a marketing intern at the company since 2020.
The company has diversified with a variety of holdings, some expected and some decidedly not so. According to its website, in addition to owning various industrial and warehouse properties in New Jersey, the company also owns a New Jersey-based solar energy farm, a few high-tech patents and, surprisingly, a frozen custard outlet in the heart of the Jersey Shore.
While Alix was certainly born into immense wealth, these days she's making her own money — and lots of it. In a TikTok video posted by social media marketing manager Jessica Sloann estimated that Alix is paid in the area of between $40,000 and $70,000 for a brand partnership. If she were to post just one branded video per month, that would translate into a not-too-shabby half-million dollars per year.
Her stepmother is no stranger to scandal
Long before Alix Earle gained fame as a social media influencer, Earle's dad was the one making headlines when, back in 2008, it was reported he'd been cheating on his wife with Ashley Dupré. If Dupré's name rings a bell, it's because she was the sex worker who'd been caught in flagrante delicto with then-New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, with the scandal ultimately resulting in his resignation.
In 2012, Page Six reported that Dupré and TJ were engaged — and expecting a baby. Earle's attorney, Mitchell Ansell, insisted there was nothing scandalous, or even scandal-adjacent, about the couple's relationship. "TJ and his wife divorced over a year ago. They divorced amicably. She has moved on, and he has moved on," he said. "There's nothing scandalous. No one's running around," he added. "[Ashley] is pregnant, and [TJ and Ashley] are planning on getting married."
Following the birth of that child, in 2013 Earle and Dupré tied the knot, with the nuptials held in Paris. Since then, Dupré has held the role of Alix's stepmother. Interestingly, Alix has chosen not to publicly comment on her stepmom's role in one of the most infamous sex scandals in American politics — although she did happily pose with Dupré and her dad on the occasion of her college graduation.
She dated a former MLB star
Just as Alix Earle's star was on the rise as a social media star, she began making headlines of her own — not for her TikToks, but for her romance with professional baseball player Tyler Wade. It all began in September 2022, when Earle posted a video on TikTok in which she was putting on makeup in preparation to attend a baseball game. "As of a few hours ago, I have a boyfriend," she said, writing in the caption, "Tea: she is not single."
That beau was eventually revealed to be Wade, who played five seasons as left fielder for the New York Yankees before going on to the Oakland Athletics. Wade made some appearances in Earle's social media videos — until the didn't. In a TikTok live she shared just three months later, she revealed it was over. "We haven't been together for a hot minute," Alix said, as reported by E! News. "I've just been hiding it from you guys because I didn't feel like dealing with it right now," she added, revealing they'd been broken up for a week or two at that point.
"We have been fighting for a bit. I just was not happy with the way I was feeling," she said in explanation for their split. In a subsequent video posted on someone else's TikTok account, Earle refuted rumors they'd reconciled. "No I did not get back together with Tyler," she said, via E! News. "I'm single."
Her best friend is another TikTok sensation
As fans of Alix Earle's social media accounts have likely ascertained, she's part of a large and very close friend group, forged during her years attending the University of Miami. Of those friends, one of her closest is Xandra Pohl, whom she met when they were both about to start freshman year. As it turns out, Pohl is something of a social media phenom in her own right, given that her TikTok account boasts a cool million followers, and her Instagram has more than 300,000.
"We've been best friends since before freshman year even started," Pohl explained in an interview with E! News. "It's just been such a crazy experience going through it together and having a best friend that's been there with me all the way through it and I've been there with her."
Following a path that Earle had blazed has been educational for Pohl, who revealed that their close relationship has extended to their respective social media ventures. "It's been amazing just to have that kind of support," Pohl said. "She's my best friend, that girl knows everything, it's great." Pohl doubled down on that sentiment in another interview with E! News, confirming how important her friendships have been as she experiences the same kind of zero-to-celebrity journey that Earle found herself on. "I have such a great support system ... friends, family, boyfriend, where if I'm feeling overwhelmed I can go to them and everything's better," she said.
Alix Earle has hobnobbed with celebrities
Anyone doubting the power of TikTok as a fame-making force only needs to examine the brief trajectory of Alix Earle, from college student posting makeup videos to bona fide celebrity rubbing shoulders with other famous folks on star-studded red carpets.
That was the case when she was invited to New York Fashion Week in February 2023; naturally, she posted a photo of herself at NYFW on Instagram. Later that same month, she also took in the Super Bowl, sharing her experiences via TikTok. As part of the game, she was invited to Sports Illustrated's Super Bowl bash, commemorating the occasion with, what else, a photo of herself on the red carpet that she shared via Instagram.
Meanwhile, she's also appeared in a makeup-tutorial TikTok post alongside Selena Gomez, attended NBC's Miley Cyrus-hosted New Year's Eve celebration, for which she shared a special GRWM TikTok video as she did her makeup. "Why am I invited to this? I don't know," she asked, answering her own question. She also hit the red carpet at an OBB Media event in Los Angeles. It was during the latter that she had the opportunity to mix and mingle with such celebs as Hailey Bieber, even posing alongside Justin Bieber's spouse for photographers on the red carpet while wearing complementary black outfits.
Her power to sell products has been dubbed 'the Alix Earle effect'
Alix Earle has proven to be such a successful partner for the companies whose products she pitches, there's actually been a term created to explain it: the Alix Earle effect. That particular term, noted The Hollywood Reporter, encompasses not only how rapidly she rose to fame, but also how quickly the items she promotes on her social media platforms sell out.
As Fox News pointed out, Earle has lent her phenomenal selling skills to such products as meal-delivery app GrubHub, Tarte, White Fox Boutique and Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty. Data provided to the outlet from social-media marketing firm Ubiquitous indicated that a single TikTok video from Earle can result in Google searches for a product jumping by a full 100 percent. According to Ubiquitous, of 33 products that Earle had showcased in her videos, 10 of these had eventually sold out, while most of the others had sold out almost immediately after her videos went live. That power was also evident in the Google Trends 100-scale index, where each of those products experienced massive search increases.
"Her style of content exemplifies everything that makes influencer marketing work so well," Jeremy Boudinet, senior director of growth at Ubiquitous, told Fox News. "One member of our team remarked that it feels like you're watching a cool big sister get ready on FaceTime ... when she makes product recommendations, it feels like hearing about something from a friend."
Her TikTok stats are beyond impressive
The success of Alix Earle's TikTok and Instagram accounts are emblematic of the nature of social media growth, in which an account's followers grow slowly and steadily until hitting a critical mass, at which point that growth becomes fast and furious. That was particularly true in December 2022; that was the point that Earle gained 600,000 followers in just six days. In fact, noted Headline Planet, a single post in celebration of her own birthday garnered more than 100,000 likes within one hour.
How to explain those extraordinary numbers? TikTok strategist Keith Blackmer offered his theory (via TikTok, of course), positing that Earle had managed to be in perfect lockstep with the zeitgeist surrounding social media at the moment. "The Instagram era of perfect, photoshopped lives, where everything you do is perfect and beautiful, is over," he declared. "If you want to be a viral account on TikTok, you've got to be imperfect, open, honest, authentic ... Alix Earle is like a Barbie, but who's everybody's best friend."
It also didn't hurt that Earle is among the rare minority of people who are entirely undisturbed by nasty online comments to their posts. "People always ask, 'Like, aren't you afraid to get mean comments?' I don't know if this is weird, but I really like them," she explained in a TikTok post. "Because they're true! If you can't take a good self-roast, then come on."
She's repped by a Hollywood talent agency
Alix Earle's skyrocketing fame did not go unnoticed by Hollywood. In March 2023, The Hollywood Reporter reported that she'd signed on with one of the entertainment industry's biggest talent agencies, United Talent Agency. "Alix has taken social media by storm, and we look forward to introducing her relatable content to more audiences across new platforms," said Ali Berman, UTA's partner and head of digital talent, and Oren Rosenbaum, partner and head of audio, in a joint statement.
Those platforms will look at placing Earle in a whole other context beyond social media — don't be surprised to see her starring in, say, a TV reality show at some point. "UTA will help the beauty, fashion and lifestyle phenomenon expand her business across audio, ventures, television and more," the agency said in a statement shared via Instagram.
In whatever she does to expand her horizons, expect Earle to remain fully committed to the same degree of authenticity and originality that brought her to this point in the first place. "When sounds are trending, it's easy for everyone to do the voice-over, and do the sound or do the dance," she told Rolling Stone of why she avoids TikTok trends. "But I think when you're using your own voice and your own thoughts or whatever story you're telling, that's obviously just original to you. So it's not going to be saturated by everyone else following the trend, because it's your experience."