Madison Beer's Transformation From Teen YouTube Star To 27 Years Old

Singer. Model. Influencer. Beauty guru. The truth about Madison Beer lies in the many monikers that define her pop stardom. From her early years posting cover songs on YouTube to her Billboard-charting singles — and a high-profile romance or two thrown in there — the "Yes Baby" singer has made a name for herself in more ways than one. But amongst the bright lights and even brighter moments, Beer has also shed light on the darker side of fame that has led to struggles with her mental health. "I feel sorry for young Madison sometimes," she once admitted to The Paper. "I look back and it makes me sad to think I didn't have the courage to stand up to myself then. I try not to blame myself and think, 'Oh, you should have said something or gotten yourself out of there,' because I was a kid."

As she's grown up and learned to speak for herself more, she's reflected on her journey and focused even harder on doing things her way. "I was very rushed to grow up in a lot of ways because I was in the industry... now I'm like, poof!" she shared with The Independent. "It kind of trips me out sometimes."

From the very start, Madison Beer was destined for stardom. The Long Island native began her career at age 4 a model, appearing on the cover of Child Magazine after winning a contest. Born to a real estate developer father and an interior designer mother, the young starlet knew she wanted to be an entertainer as early as kindergarten. "I do remember that once I started taking singing lessons when I was eight, that's when I knew I wanted to take it really seriously," she recalled to GQ. From performing her own plays after school with just her parents in the audience, to making her debut at barely 13 years old at Arthur Ashe Kids' Day at the US Open, she spent her early years honing her craft. But even with early successes, her family made sure she still had a childhood like her peers. "Thankfully, my parents still wanted me to be a normal kid who wasn't running around with tons of money," she told the outlet.

When she wasn't performing, she was broadening her horizons as an artist by listening to a wide spread of genres and using those influences as inspiration. Her pop starlet roots started with the Cheetah Girls and "American Idol" alums, but she also found roots in her family's favorites. "My dad was a huge Grateful Dead fan my entire life, so I always listened to them, The Rolling Stones and Nirvana growing up, too," she told the outlet.

While we know how far Beer got in school, she began to get a new education in the music industry when she was just a teenager. The real reason she is so famous is thanks to a serendipitous social media share from Justin Bieber. At age 12, she was recording videos of herself performing cover songs and uploading them to YouTube. But after Bieber shared one of those covers — which was Etta James' "At Last" — and praised her voice, life was never the same for the pre-teen. The views on that video skyrocketed into the millions, and the pieces fell into place for her career to start. "If I was trying to get discovered, I probably would have done it a little more professionally," she joked to KTLA. "As a 12-year-old girl who would've died for Justin Bieber... it was pretty crazy."

From there, Bieber signed Beer to the label he was part of, Island Records. She also partnered with Bieber's former mega-manager, Scooter Braun, to further her career. The stars had aligned for the aspiring singer, and the pinch me moments just kept coming. While she ended up switching to Epic Records before releasing her debut EP, she still maintains a deep admiration for Bieber and considers him and wife Hailey Bieber some of her closest friends. "'I'm grateful that they've always been super supportive of me," she gushed to Metro UK. "I'm not Justin's artist anymore, but he still has that love for me, and it feels really good that he cares."

As a young artist, Madison Beer got the ball rolling with her solo career, beginning with several duets and collaborations with major artists. From fellow teen pop star Cody Simpson to Jack and Jack, the "Bittersweet" hitmaker spent a lot of time in the studio honing her craft. She also spent time in the EDM space, collaborating with the likes of Mako and David Guetta on singles that took over the dance charts. For the latter's single, "Blame It On Love," Beer was initially unsure if the duet would even see the light of day. "I didn't really think the song was gonna make the album because I figured maybe I'm just one of the people who's recording it and not gonna get on it," she revealed to Billboard in 2018. "And then once we found out that it was actually gonna be on the album and that he loved working with me, it was really, really cool."

She also released several theme songs for mega entertainment brands, including Monster High and League of Legends. For the latter, she teamed up with a bevy of fellow female artists including Miyeon and Soyeon from the K-Pop group I-DLE and Jaira Burns from the virtual group K/DA. The song, "Pop/Stars," soared to the number one spot on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart. She even performed the song live alongside her character's avatar at the game's World Championship competition in 2018.

Aside from her star-studded collaborations, Madison Beer spent several years fine-tuning her debut EP. But during recording, she parted ways with Island Records and spent several years as an independent artist. "It felt like no one wanted me, like I was a dog being abandoned on the side of the road," she recalled to The Paper. She continued creating her sound without a label, dropping several singles like "Unbreakable," "Dead," and "Say It To My Face" along the way. Finally, in early 2018, she released her debut EP "As She Pleases," which reached the top 10 of Billboard's US Independent Albums chart. The third single from that album, "Home With You," later entered the Top 40 charts — and marked her as the only female solo artist without a major label backing her on the charts at that time. "I just want to show everyone that you could really do it yourself," she shared with ET. "It's important to drive your own ship, and it's your career, so you might as well take it by the reins."

When she wasn't topping the charts, she was strutting the runway; she made an appearance at Milan Fashion Week in 2017 for Dolce and Gabbana. "Thank you for one of the most special moments in my life," she gushed in a Facebook post after the event. She's even maintained a relationship with the fashion house, wearing their designs on multiple red carpets.

In 2019, Madison Beer's career continued to skyrocket, especially after she signed with Epic Records and ended her years as an independent artist. With a new label behind her, she released her first full-length album, "Life Support," in 2021. The album debuted at number 65 on the Billboard 200 album chart and was buoyed by the hit single "Selfish," which went Platinum in the US and surpassed one million streams in just two days. The album marked a turning point for the artist, reflecting the new era of her career and life. "It's the first time I've been super-honest and vulnerable," she shared with The Paper. "In the past it's been a façade, a bit of playing a role." She channeled those feelings to help her cope with the deep depression she had fallen into, counting a serious breakup as inspiration for her songwriting. "I can hear myself going through the stages that I'm now past," she reflected to the outlet, even saying that the album title was meant to be taken literally.

While promoting the album, she embarked on a tour of North America and Europe. "It's so cool how songs get a new life when they're on tour," she told E! of the jaunt. "It's very special to be on stage and sing about something that you're so affected by and see so many people are as well. You're like, 'Wow, I'm not alone in this.'"

Apart from her music career, Madison Beer created something else new to add to her repertoire: her own makeup and skincare lines. Teaming up with Morphe, she launched a limited-edition makeup collection in 2020 featuring products including setting sprays, shimmering highlighters, and lip glosses. In the creation of the line, Beer focused on making affordable and usable products for everyone. "I wanted to make sure that I could make something that I could actually genuinely use and it [included] color tones that I wanted," she told PopSugar of the collection. "I was just really involved in the entirety of the process."

She and fellow former teen idol Vanessa Hudgens came together to launch Know Beauty, a brand devoted to zeroing in on a person's individual skin needs. The pair connected through Hudgens's little sister before becoming business partners. Beer's own skincare journey — and her struggle with her own personal image — inspired her to really hone in on what would make this line useful to people. "There are times where I look at my Instagram and I'm like, 'Oh, you seem like such a happy, like, glowing person,' but then I'm in bed crying myself to sleep," she admitted to Harper's Bazaar. "You've got to be your own best friend, and really hold your own hand through the process, and just be patient with it."

By 2023, Madison Beer was ready to release her second album, "Silence Between Songs." Citing inspirations like The Beatles and Lana Del Rey, she described her sophomore full-length effort as teaching her how to cope with growing up faster than others and how to take time for herself. "...I realized it's actually been the moments that I've been able to tune out the noise, and I've been able to be alone, really reflect and be more isolated where I've grown the most," she explained to Billboard. "...when the noise is turned off is when I feel like I've learned who I am the most."

The album was released in September that year, anchored by singles including "Showed Me (How I Fell In Love With You)." Her focus on a new era paid off, as the album was nominated for Best Immersive Audio Album at the 2024 Grammy Awards. The biggest win for Beer, though? Showing the world another side of her. "I've spoken to people, even in the industry, who assume that I make one type of music, and then they listen to it and realize it's different from what they thought," she shared with Vogue. "I do like to do things that take people by surprise."

Even with the world at her feet, it took Madison Beer a while to learn how to fall back in love with herself. Part of her coping was writing her memoir, "The Half of It," which was published in 2023. The move was surreal for the "Make You Mine" singer, especially as she recounted difficult memories and experiences to fully share her truth. "It has taken me a lot of extremely dark times to get here but I feel incredibly ready to tell you these chapters of my story," she shared on Instagram. "...I can't wait to reintroduce myself to you."

In the book, she details her struggles with mental health, particularly depression. She also shared some particularly somber stories publicly for the first time, including when a nude video of hers was leaked online by an ex-boyfriend when she was just 15. She also acknowledged that she was sexually abused as a child by someone close to her family. These traumas eventually led to self-harm and multiple suicide attempts. "It's a lot for me to think about," she reflected on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast. "It's a lot for me to accept that people made me feel that way. People kicked me while I was down and just did not give a f***."

Madison Beer's relationship history has been tabloid fodder from the beginning, but she craves constant companionship. "I've really never been single," she admitted on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast. "I think that is because of my deep-rooted abandonment issues and attachment style ... And I am working through that." Her former beaus include Jack Gillinsky of Jack and Jack, Zack Bia, Nick Austin, and a brief rumored fling with Brooklyn Beckham. Though she claims that she doesn't have a type, she admits to being a bit possessive when it comes to those she cares about. "Because I have such a weird life and never feel safe and comfortable with someone, when I cross that line of 'You're my boyfriend,' it feels really big," she dished to Cosmopolitan.

But some of those relationships opened her eyes to reality. Shortly after their breakup in 2017, an audio clip of Gillinsky verbally abusing Beer made the rounds online, prompting the "Make You Mine" songstress to speak out. Claiming that she had stayed in the relationship to "fix him," she urged fans to voice their concerns if they were in similar situations. "Don't make the same mistakes I did, your safety is never worth it," she wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post (via People). "No matter what, no one deserves to be treated that way," she wrote.

Following her breakup with longtime boyfriend Nick Austin in 2025, Madison Beer released her third album, "locket," with the singles "Make You Mine," "Yes Baby," and "Bittersweet." The first of those singles garnered her another Grammy nomination, this time for Best Dance-Pop Recording, and set the singer off on her most personal journey to date. The star described the album as a "real rollercoaster," charting the ups and downs of both her musical sound and the journey she had been on to that point as both an artist and a person. As for the process of putting the album together? This album felt more familiar than ever. "I felt a lot more self-assured, and I was feeling like I could do whatever I wanted, and I wanted to prioritise feeling good about that," she shared with Women in Pop.

The hard work paid off, as "Bittersweet" became Beer's first chart entry on the Billboard Hot 100. She embarked on the "locket" tour later in 2026, spanning North America and Europe. "I want to keep building this house, and then open the door for people to come on in," she explained to Vogue. "And I feel like each brick I place is an ascension of some kind.

Aside from knowing how much Madison Beer is really worth, we also know that she fell head over heels for Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert in 2025. The pair were snapped sharing some sideline PDA at one of Herbert's NFL games in October of that year, officially making them one of the hottest young couples in Hollywood. The two initially remained relatively tight-lipped in the press, but they certainly made the sports rounds that year while taking in LA-area basketball and baseball games together. She even brought her family to Chargers games to show support for her beau. And in 2026, she made her love for Herbert known in the best way she knows how: her music. The couple co-starred in the music video for Beer's single "Lovergirl" in May 2026, marking a big step in the public side of their relationship. But it wasn't just the singer who was ready to shout her love from the social media rooftops. "I am so lucky to be yours," Herbert shared on his Instagram story to celebrate Beer's birthday (via SportsCenter). "You are my dream come true."