The Untold Truth Of TikToker Gabriella Annalisa
Content creators are a dime a dozen, but few ever reach the level of success where they are able to turn social media into a full-on career. Those who do take off generally hit it big in a variety of areas outside of their primary social network, and that is true of YouTuber Gabriella Annalisa. Though she has identified "YouTube star" as being her ultimate childhood dream, Annalisa utilized TikTok to gain a following before transitioning that over to YouTube. Her TikTok has 3.8 million followers, and her videos have garnered over 209 million likes since she started a handful of years ago. Annalisa is also popular on Instagram, where she has 673,000 followers as of March 2024.
Annalisa was doing well on her own, but her star shot up once she left her home state for Nevada to join a new content house in February 2021. She is now situated in Miami, where she is trying her hand at everything from music to business. One of her biggest endeavors, her podcast "Always By Your Side," has seen a shift toward faith-based content. It has also helped Annalisa further grow her YouTube, since she posts videos of her podcast episodes for followers who prefer to have a visual alongside their audio content. Between the podcast and a surprise November 2023 engagement announcement, interest in the social media star's life is at an all-time high. Here is the untold truth of YouTuber Gabriella Annalisa.
She is a sports fan, especially for her hometown teams
American influencers tend to gravitate toward a handful of big cities, but few of them are actually from those places. Gabriella Annalisa fits the trend, as she began her social media career from her family home in Pennsylvania before taking off for Vegas. Annalisa's family lived just outside of Philadelphia for a lot of her childhood, before moving to, as she says, "the farms" (per Under the Timfluence Podcast). Even after leaving Philly, she maintained a love for the city — and like any good Philadelphian, remains a diehard fan of the city's sports teams. Annalisa has said she likes the Flyers, Philly's hockey team, but that the Philadelphia Eagles is the team that takes up the most space in her brain.
The influencer has expressed an admiration for tight end Zach Ertz (now on the Washington Commanders) but also confessed to being very into Carson Wentz around the time the Eagles won the Super Bowl in 2017 (their first and only win). "I was in Philadelphia when they won and, like, it was absolutely insane," she said on the WildChat podcast. "I skipped school and I went to the parade. It was like, if you weren't going to the parade, there was something wrong." Before she got into football, Annalisa was already a huge soccer fanatic, which she attributes to her family being from Argentina and Italy — both places where the sport is a massive deal. She has also shown some love to the Yankees but does not identify as a big baseball fan.
She has wanted to be a famous YouTuber since she was a little kid
YouTube is the second most popular website in the world, next to only Google, and it is used by just about everyone with an internet connection today. And since YouTube started in 2005, we are now at the point where a whole generation of people have no context for a world before online video. It makes sense, then, that Gabriella Annalisa "watched YouTube like TV growing up," and that she developed a fascination with the site (per The Teen Magazine). "I have been through different things in life that I was...like, in high school or anything, I would always go home and watch YouTube," she said on "Tyler Boronski Interviews" in 2021. "I always had my people that I liked to watch. It made me feel like it was an escape for me." Annalisa's fascination with watching other vloggers soon developed into a desire to be a famous YouTuber herself.
While Annalisa knew YouTube was where she wanted to land, she also realized that would be an uphill battle without an already established fanbase. That is why she headed to TikTok, which had just started. "I saw TikTok taking off and I was like 'let me just hop on this, like, maybe I can like get my following and like, transfer that to YouTube — which is obviously very difficult," she told Boronski. "It's not easy to just transfer a following to different platforms." As of early March 2024, Annalisa has 229,000 YouTube subscribers, in contrast to her 3.8 million followers on TikTok.
Her first big video was about Minecraft, but it embarrassed her at first
Though Gabriella Annalisa developed the dream of being YouTube-famous as a child, she was too self-conscious to follow that dream while in school. In fact, it was on the day of her high school graduation that she finally decided to begin posting on social media regularly. She did not give a lot of thought to her "brand" at that point, and simply posted what she liked. "I just started posting like 20 times a day on there, just like random sh*t," she said on the "Under the Timfluence" podcast. "I was just testing everything ... I was just like, 'whatever pops off first, I'll just run with that." The influencer was flabbergasted when one of her random videos blew up overnight, and she actually hesitated to embrace it at first.
The video focused on one of Annalisa's self-described "nerdier" passions, and she was embarrassed for her real-life friends to know about it at first. "So, I made a video about Minecraft and it blew up. And I forgot I had linked my Instagram to my TikTok ... overnight it happened, it blew up," she said. "When I woke up the next morning, all these comments about Minecraft were all over my Instagram. I was like, 'oh my god.'" She started deleting comments before deciding to accept her interests without caring what others thought. Annalisa spent much of high school hiding her interests in art and computers — and doing things she did not enjoy, such as cheerleading — so this was a big deal for her.
She was studying to be an art teacher before her dad encouraged her to quit
Many of today's most famous influencers began their social media careers while still in high school (or middle school, even!) and the idea of college was never on the table due to that early life success. Because she was too self-conscious to post before graduation, Gabriella Annalisa was already enrolled in college when she hit in big. Her original plan was to be an art teacher, and she was attending a community college near home while at the same time trying to shoot to fame online In addition to posting on TikTok, she was also making daily YouTube videos, which she loved, but which took up a significant amount of time. Eventually, even her parents noticed.
"My dad came to me and he's like, "You can't focus on two things that you want to do at once, so just drop out," she explained on "Under the Timfluence." "He saw how dedicated I was to it." Annalisa was at that time out of the house from 7 a.m. until 7: 30 p.m. each day, going to between six and eight hours of classes, and coming up with content ideas in between. Once home, she would have to stay up until 4 a.m. to film and edit her content, which did not leave a lot of time for homework — or sleep. Her dad's encouragement came around the same time as a television opportunity, prompting Annalisa to drop out after one semester. The TV show never materialized, but Annalisa did just fine without it.
She was a part of the Society Las Vegas content house
The Hype House, the Sway House, the FaZe House — there are no shortage of content houses that have launched their members to fame, although the vast majority of them have been male-dominated and centered in Los Angeles. Society Las Vegas was different, in that it was a Nevada-based house and nearly all of its members were young women. Society Las Vegas — owned by Clubhouse Media, and the company's first house outside of California — included Jordan Beckham, Kayla Patterson, and Hannah Evana amongst its first influencers. A then 19-year-old Gabriella Annalisa was also one of the first members when the house began in February 2021, and she was the second oldest member after Cole Beckham (the collective's sole male member).
Annalisa announced her big move on YouTube, where she acknowledged never having lived anywhere aside from her parents' home. She appeared excited to make the move across the country — and who can blame her, considering Society Las Vegas was set up in a 6-bedroom, 6-bathroom house only 15 minutes from the Vegas strip, and outfitted with everything from an outdoor pool to movie room to a tennis court. "It had a lot of opportunities for me, so I think like, if you're trying to get into like, social media, content houses are, like, amazing to be a part of," she told Tyler Boronski in an interview. While Annalisa made friends and enjoyed her time there, she also said creators should view content houses as a "short-term" thing and not a longer-term commitment.
She moved to Miami after leaving Vegas, but returned home after three months
Gabriella Annalisa never wanted to be in a content house for the long-term, but that was not necessarily because of the people around her. In fact, when she left Society Las Vegas after five months, it was alongside a few of her roommates who also felt like they were through with Nevada. "We were going to L.A. like every weekend, and we kind of had no other creative ideas to do in Las Vegas," she explained to Tyler Boronski in a YouTube interview. In search of new backdrops and collaborations, they decided to head out to Miami. "If you guys didn't know, like, it's my dream to move there," the bubbly influencer told her audience in a July 2021 YouTube video.
Annalisa has said that she had opportunities in both Miami and Los Angeles, but that she felt the former would be a better fit for her and also better for her mental health. After three months in Florida, however, things fell apart when a roommate's family situation forced them to break their lease. Annalisa went back to Pennsylvania for a bit but, after realizing she was miserable at home, moved back to the Sunshine State only a few months later. She sees it as the perfect place for a young influencer with an entrepreneurial mindset. "For me, with my business, I think it's good," she said on "Under the Timfluence" in August 2023. "Like, I meet a lot of really good people. The people are very nice here too."
She developed a love for singing thanks to her mother
Social media has long been a place for young singers to get discovered and some of the biggest names in music —Shawn Mendes, Justin Bieber, Tori Kelly — have the Internet to thank for their rise to stardom. But with so many people vying for musical fame, it is becoming increasingly difficult to stand out online. Gabriella Annalisa has expressed a desire to do music, but she does not appear to be in a rush to get her singing career off the ground. In 2021, the young influencer said she was going to move toward focusing on her singing and on DJing, but she has not made huge strides toward those goals. Still, she has a built-in audience that will clearly listen whenever she does decide to make music a real priority.
As the only child of a singer mother, Annalisa says she was pushed into music as a young child. She began vocal lessons in elementary school and was at one point involved with the School of Rock educational program. Annalisa took a break from music when she started on social media but regained a spark for it after discovering DJing. She started learning how to lay her vocals over tracks to produce her own music and has expressed a desire to do more of that in the future. In addition to music, Annalisa has expressed a desire to act and to engage in motivational speaking. "There's a lot that I want to accomplish," she told Tyler Boronski in 2021.
She has struggled with her mental health due to her career
Gabriella Annalisa has been very open about her mental health struggles, in particular the anxiety disorder that has long impacted her life. Being an influencer has not really helped since there is additional stress from not only the online interactions but also the offline ones. For starters, Annalisa has had issues dealing with the negativity that exists online and from which no influencer is immune. "The comments you have to get used to if you're not used to it and that's, like, a struggle," she said on the WildChat podcast. "But also, like comparing yourself to other people in your space is...very demotivating sometimes."
In that same interview, Annalisa said that her job's impact on mental health was the hardest part of being an influencer, and that TikTok was the most toxic of all online spaces (but also the most fun). Beyond everything that happens online, the popular star also struggles with the offline expectations for a big-name influencer. "The party life is a bit much for me. And even if you're not doing it, I feel like it's a bit taxing, like, on yourself," she explained on "Under the Timfluence." "Because you're constantly getting asked to go here, doing this, doing that." That is one reason why Annalisa moved to Miami instead of Los Angeles, where the pressure to live a certain lifestyle is sky-high. "I was like, 'I always hear really bad things about L.A. I don't know if that would be great for me,'" she said.
She helped start mental health-promoting clothing brand Cmfrt, but later left
Gabriella Annalisa is so invested in talking about mental health that she has made it a big part of her brand. And it is only natural that she developed merch to capitalize on this, since she is an influencer at the end of the day. Annalisa jumped headfirst into the business world when she helped co-found the brand Cmfrt, a line of hoodies that promote themselves as being mental health-focused. The company notes this in both the FAQ and on their social media accounts, as well as in their explanation for their choice in materials, which aim to put the body in a calm state supportive of positive mental health similar to how a weight blanket functions. There is also a "resource" page on the website linking visitors to different crisis lines and other informational resources.
Annalisa's move into production was a natural one since she was already advertising products online. She was promoting on Snapchat for PurelyWhite Deluxe, a teeth whitening product, when the company owner approached her with an idea. "So he wanted to make a whole hoodie line and I was like, 'Okay.' And I like, wanted to do something with mental health," she explained on "Under the Timfluence." So, like, we put our ideas together and we came out with Cmfrt." While Annalisa was talking about Cmfrt as recently as August 2023, she later told The Teen Mag that she left the company prior to starting her podcast, which means her departure happened sometime before September 2023.
She started a podcast during a low point in her life
Influencers have explored all sorts of ways to make money, from the conventional (for instance, selling merch or writing books) to the unconventional (like boxing matches, popular amongst social media stars like Bryce Hall). Podcasting is one of the more conventional undertakings, and it makes for a natural fit because, like Instagram or TikTok, it requires content creators to work on a set schedule but allows them plenty of creative freedom. It also has a natural overlap with social media, particularly YouTube, where it is common to post video versions of podcast interviews. Still, podcasting only really works if an influencer is committed, and if they have a solid enough brand that it will make their followers jump over from YouTube, TikTok, or wherever else they consume content.
So far, the podcast thing is working for Gabriella Annalisa, who launched her "Always By Your Side" show in September 2023. Annalisa had already been a guest on many others' podcasts by that time but was only compelled to start her own after going through a tough period where she felt alone. "I started my podcast because I went through a tough season of trials in my life. In that time, I went through a really toxic breakup, my best friend passed away, and I stepped away from my company," she told The Teen Mag. "I sat and thought about how God had blessed me with a platform and that I should use it for good." Annalisa now strives to release new podcast episodes every Monday.
She got engaged to her long-distance boyfriend KB in 2023
Trying to follow influencer relationships is basically a full-time job — and not an easy one. Few social media stars are upfront about their romances, let alone all of their hookups, breakups, makeups, and everything that comes in between. Since influencers don't typically get covered by tabloid media to the same degree as traditional celebrities, it is often the fans who uncover the nitty gritty of what is going on, most often by reading clues in the posted content. Even when people do discuss their dating lives, it is rarely in a way that gives the full picture. This is perhaps why it felt so sudden when Gabriella Annalisa announced her engagement, despite never having featured her partner on her social media.
Annalisa posted a YouTube video about being engaged on November 14, 2023, 8 days after announcing the engagement on her Instagram in a vague, but still understandable, post. It was all surprising considering she said she was not even dating anyone in an August 2023 interview with "Under the Timfluence." The influencer (and KB) ran down the timeline in their YouTube video, where they also confessed to waiting a day after getting engaged to announce it so they could avoid any negative comments. According to the video, the couple first met in 2021, when Annalisa had a boyfriend, and they were talking on and off for years before things got romantic. Things were unlabeled for a while, but once they became official, an engagement followed within less than three months.
She identifies as a Christian and is very religious
All good podcasts need a hook, and for Gabriella Annalisa, that hook has been religion. Though she has always been religious, Annalisa's faith was not always heavily featured on her socials. Comments on a January 2024 Instagram post from a worship event make it clear that not all followers understand the move away from "thirst traps" and toward Jesus, but the wonderful thing about being a creator is that you can be more than just one thing — and also, evolve over time. The thirst traps are still around, for what it is worth, but there has been a clear shift toward God-focused content across Annalisa's social media accounts. Her Instagram is proudly labelled with "Glory to the highest" and a couple of crosses.
Annalisa's religious beliefs can most vividly be seen on the social media star's YouTube, which is where she posts videos of her podcast "Always By My Side" (also available on Apple Podcasts and the like). The podcast's topics have included "Being a Christian," "5 steps to find God and leave the past behind," and "The How to On Building Your Relationship With The Lord." Annalisa has also discussed how she feels about being called a "Jesus Freak," and she even enlisted her fiancé KB to help her cover the topic. "I hate even putting Jesus and freak in the same sentence. It makes me sad. Like being a Jesus freak is not a bad thing," she said in the video. "I like it. Like, it's honestly a compliment," added KB.
She's much shorter than people realize
Gabriella Annalisa has a larger-than-life presence, which is why she has been able to achieve success as an online celebrity. But fans who meet her in real life might be surprised that Annalisa's large personality is wrapped up in an itty bitty body. Though her IMDb erroneously lists her at 5'7", Annalisa is actually under 5 feet tall. She even made a TikTok video about how most people probably have not met a woman her size — although, at 4'11", she is in decent company in the entertainment industry. There are plenty of stars who are just as short as Annalisa, including Kristin Chenoweth, Quinta Brunson, Lil' Kim, and Melissa Rauch. Heck, even "Wizard of Oz" actor Judy Garland was only 4'11, and she is a bonafide legend.
With her jokey videos about height, Annalisa seems relatively comfortable with being little. Still, there is one area where her height has held her back and that is modeling, which she has expressed a desire to do. Tyler Boronski asked the star about it in a 2021 interview, and she was honest about how the industry standards were not inclusive of people like her. "I used to model when I was little and then, like, I grew up and never grew," she said, later adding, "usually they want really tall girls or really skinny girls and, I think, like, I'm neither." Though the modeling industry has become more open to petite models, "petite" is usually defined as being between 5'2" and 5'6".
She hates vegetables and loves a carnivore diet
Gabriella Annalisa does a bit of everything on her social media, but she is not really known for being a health and diet influencer. Still, as a young and attractive female in the public eye, she often fields questions related to food and exercise. Interestingly, Annalisa has a quite different approach to eating than most health-conscious people. For starters, she hates vegetables and will only eat edamame and a basic salad. In fact, Annalisa has said she did not even try salad until she was 20. Given that, it is not a huge surprise that the influencer tends to gravitate toward a diet of meat — and sometimes, only meat. "I'm on my carnivore diet again. For this past month, I've just been eating only meat," she said on "Under the Timfluence" in August 2023.
The social media star — who loves her meat extremely rare and bans all carbs from her diet — also detailed a move away from Door Dashing and toward making food at home. In that same podcast interview, she talked about using the meal prep company Ideal Nutrition, picking up ingredients each Monday to help her stick to her very peculiar diet. Annalisa also detailed how intermittent fasting meant she typically ate less frequently than most Americans. "You're actually only supposed to eat one meal a day, but it is supposed to be a big meal. So that's what I've been doing," she said. "I like it. It keeps me energized and feeling good."