The Untold Truth Of Baby Ariel
Ariel Martin was born in 2000 in Pembroke Pines, Florida, not too far from Miami. She grew up as a regular kid, but her life changed when she became a teenage social media sensation. In 2015, Ariel Martin became Baby Ariel.
Before she found fame on an app called Musical.ly (now the cultural phenomenon we know as TikTok), Ariel was performing for her parents. She wrote in her 2018 book, "Dreaming Out Loud," "It's funny, but when I look back on my childhood, I see so many hints of the person I am today. There may not have been musical.ly when I was little, but I was still performing, hamming it up for an audience, spinning stories, and pushing the envelope."
Even after becoming a social media star, Ariel has stayed true to who she is, writing, "What I want you to know is that I'm just a normal seventeen-year-old, and I have no idea how or why it all happened the way it did. But I do feel extremely blessed to be on this journey." Now a young adult, Baby Ariel is still creating content for the masses, and she's worked hard to earn opportunities that many people her age only dream of. So, what's her secret?
Baby Ariel was only 14 when she became a content creator
When the Martin family's house flooded in 2015, they moved in with Baby Ariel's grandparents. Ariel signed up for Musical.ly at the age of 14 one day when she was "feeling bored and restless." After seeing her friend create content on Musical.ly, Ariel was ready to check it out. She chose "Baby Ariel" for her username so that she could "have a cute nickname" (via "Dreaming Out Loud").
The Musical.ly app was a hot spot for kids and teens to lip-sync to their favorite music, adding pizzazz with facial expressions and hand motions in 15-second clips. It was a hobby-turned-passion that made its young users happy. Ariel explained it best to Sweety High: "Some teenagers are passionate about sports. Some are really into Drama or Debate or Band or DECA. My passion has always been to create music, videos and write." Revealing that she feels "fortunate" that her fans relate to her videos, the star added, "Nothing makes me happier than connecting with other teenagers and knowing that in some way, I might have put a smile on their face or let them know that whatever tough time they're going through, I've been through something like that too." As she dove into Musical.ly, Ariel went through plenty of growing pains.
Baby Ariel has 'always been boy crazy'
From preschool to young adulthood, Baby Ariel has been a romantic at heart. Once in the public eye, Ariel had to deal with relationship rumors and "ships" from fans. When she started talking to Zach Clayton (another Musical.ly star), fans created "Zariel" as a ship name. Ariel wrote in her book that social media intruded on the friendship as Twitter wars broke out "from Zach's fans about whether I was worthy of him!"
The Internet affected the relationship once Ariel and Zach started dating, too, as she explained in "Dreaming Out Loud": "We dated for two months before we realized it wasn't the smartest decision. Looking back on it now, it all felt very rushed; our relationship didn't have a chance to evolve on its own. There was so much pressure to post videos together and tweet about each other and take selfies together that it never had a chance to be real ... It was a little like living in a fishbowl."
Ariel realized that she needn't rush into a relationship at that time: "I need to be happy 110 percent with the person I am, confident, secure, and loving myself before I'm prepared to love someone else." Though not always realistic, this seems like decent advice for a teen, especially one who's busy becoming a social media sensation!
Baby Ariel was inspired by... Charlie Chaplin?
Every viral social media personality has to start somewhere. Baby Ariel sought to do something different on the Musical.ly app and was inspired by Charlie Chaplin's "facial expressions and body movement" (via "Dreaming Out Loud"). Ariel's parents had "both studied film and acting" and introduced her to Chaplin's silent films. "They would point out how much could be said with just facial expressions and body movement. I thought I could do something like that with this cool new app," Ariel wrote. She continued, "...I found one of my favorite songs by Nicki Minaj and posted my first video and continued to post daily over the next couple of weeks ... Believe it or not, some of those fifteen-second clips took over an hour to plan and execute!"
Ariel had been on Musical.ly for a few weeks when one of her videos was featured on the app's home page. Her follower count climbed up to thousands, then well over a million (not to mention the 35.3 million TikTok followers she has at the time of this writing). A former boyfriend, Blake Gray, told Vulture, "She taught me [hand motions], I'm not gonna lie." Ariel was teaching multiple Musical.ly users through her tutorials. She also became a YouTuber as her popularity grew.
To devote more time to her social media career, Ariel transferred to an online program for her high school studies (via Business Insider). When Musical.ly merged with TikTok in 2018, Baby Ariel stayed with the platform.
It took a Walmart trip for Baby Ariel to discover she was famous
Baby Ariel knows that her adolescence was a little unconventional, even though she's stayed true to herself. The social media star answered questions throughout her memoir, "Dreaming Out Loud." A fan asked when Baby Ariel realized she was famous. Ariel said, "I was taking off on musical.ly and I was in Walmart with my parents. Some girl snapped my photo on her phone. I was in my PJs at the time, and my hair was lookin' like a disaster, and I found the photo later on Instagram."
Ariel gained even more exposure through social media events like DigiTour and VidCon, but the teen's daily dedication to her craft is what solidified her stardom. As astounding as Baby Ariel's arc of online fame has been, her social media presence can also be viewed as a launching pad for her other pursuits in the entertainment industry. Years later, she continues to post on multiple social media apps and dates rising TikToker Milo Murphy, whom she has featured in some rather sweet videos.
Ariel also loves to travel — she has visited Israel, Panama, and Paris with her family (via "Dreaming Out Loud"), not to mention her professional travels to Los Angeles and Toronto. Fans all over the world must recognize Ariel just like that first girl at Walmart did. There's still more to discover with this talented individual, though.
She discovered that she loved 'acting and producing'
After guest-starring on a Brat TV YouTube series called "Chicken Girls," Baby Ariel got her own show on the platform, "Baby Doll Records," in which she played an aspiring music producer named Dru. Ariel's first experience with the Disney Channel aired on television in 2017, just before her YouTube projects. Ariel worked alongside fellow budding superstar Olivia Rodrigo in a Christmas episode of Disney Channel's "Bizaardvark."
Ariel wrote about her early show business experiences in "Dreaming Out Loud": "I had such fun that I knew I'd want to do even more acting. But getting to be involved in every part of the process, from developing the story to finding the actors to working with the director made me realize how much I love everything about filmmaking." She added, "One day, I'd like to write, direct, produce, and star in my own movie. ... So Hollywood, here I come!"
Baby Ariel has had darker days on social media
For all the success Baby Ariel was experiencing at a young age, she still had to deal with mean people on the Internet. She discussed the pain of receiving hate on social media in her book, "Dreaming Out Loud."
"The first few times it happened, the hate literally hurt my heart. I was so proud of what I was doing and this felt like someone just slapped me in the face. I felt like it was eating me up inside," Ariel wrote. The star then created a video for her followers about remaining "positive" and choosing "love over hate."
Baby Ariel has also taken breaks from her social media profession for good reasons. She explained a long absence in a 2019 YouTube video: "I immediately started this YouTube journey and Instagram journey without getting a second to think to myself, 'Hey, Ariel, who are you, and what kind of content do you want to be posting?' I never asked myself that. I was young, and I was just so excited to be involved in this community because it's always been my dream to act and sing." Ariel's "set schedule" made her feel like a "robot," and she had a panic attack. She took time to process her feelings, journaled a lot, and (reluctantly) went to therapy.
She stands up against bullying and hate
Based on her and the fans' experiences with hate, Baby Ariel launched an anti-bullying campaign, #ArielMovement, "to just create a positive platform where I might not be talking on there every single day but they're able to find a friend within each other and they're able to talk to each other and love and support each other," Ariel said in an interview with On The Move. Baby Ariel's stance against bullying goes much deeper than what she knows from her social media career.
In 2021, Ariel made a serious statement via social media for International Holocaust Remembrance Day. She opened with, "As a girl of Jewish and Hispanic descent, I have received my fair share of hate on social media over the years, and trust me, it always hurts to get hate because of who you are ... I want to talk about hate that kills. Imagine getting targeted, arrested, and killed because of your religion or your skin color, your sexuality or because you have a disability." Ariel acknowledged that the "same kind of hate is rising again in too many places around the world." The message was brave and true, and Combat Antisemitism shared it on Twitter, writing, "...@BabyAriel reminds her followers about the dangers of far-right anti-Semitism. CAM is honored to collaborate with Baby Ariel and share her story."
Baby Ariel cares about giving back
Baby Ariel opened the ninth chapter of her book, "Dreaming Out Loud," with, "Part of becoming a woman in the eyes of the Jewish faith is doing a charitable act. For my bat mitzvah project, I visited the Susan B. Anthony Recovery Center in Fort Lauderdale." The center cares for mothers and pregnant women recovering from addiction, and Baby Ariel's mom had been a volunteer at the facility for many years. Ariel also visited a home for young women who were victims of abuse or neglect, and she inspired them to be themselves and create things they loved. The Martin family reinforced the importance of giving back, so much so that Ariel wrote, "We were brought up to believe that charity doesn't always mean giving monetary gifts; giving of your time with love and energy is just as important and often more powerful."
At such a young age, Ariel grasped some big ideas about doing good. She summed up her feelings in "Dreaming Out Loud": "When I take time out to help others, I find myself. All the stuff that's extra and unimportant will eventually fade away, and I tune into my purpose and why I do what I do: to bring joy into people's lives."
Baby Ariel is a published author
Baby Ariel's book, "Dreaming Out Loud," is part memoir, part how-to manual for success. The writer details her journey to social media fame, proving all the while that she's a real person with life goals she's working hard to achieve. Ariel offered an explanation within the text for how she named her book: "My family and I are big believers in visualization, having a dream and putting it out there on paper or canvas — and it's part of the reason I used this specific title for the book."
She announced the project on her YouTube channel in 2018 with the title, "My Secret Project Revealed!!!" In the short video, Ariel shares her excitement and says, "It's everything I've ever wanted to say on social media but I wasn't able to ... It's like, you're holding my journal in your hands, so be careful." The book is appropriate and impactful for all ages, but naturally, there are more chapters of Baby Ariel's story.
Her career has felt like 'a crazy whirlwind'
Baby Ariel seems to be utilizing every talent in her toolkit, which is fabulous! The two-time Teen Choice Award "Choice Muser" winner has released a number of singles (including Disney projects), but no full album as of this writing. When asked about the many phases of her career, Ariel told Bello Mag in part, "The fact that I've worked hard to be able to transition and pursue the things I'm passionate about in music and acting is amazing."
On the music front, Ariel said that her dad, "a musician and songwriter," played music by artists such as David Bowie, The Beatles, and Prince. Ariel "really got into hip-hop and rap" as a middle schooler and "loved Nicki Minaj, Kendrick Lamar, and Eminem." She also mentioned Billie Eilish, Declan McKenna, Alec Benjamin, and Lennon Stella as then-recent musical favorites. Baby Ariel added, "My brother and friends are constantly exposing me to new, different things, so when I write or go into a studio, I really like trying new things and don't want to feel like I'm going to be 'stuck' in a specific style or genre."
Baby Ariel's mantra of being herself is a part of her music. In fact, she told On The Move that her song "Wild Side" was "the most 'me-song'" she'd released thus far. She called it "very personal" and said, "...it means the world to me."
Her star is rising both at Disney and Nickelodeon
Baby Ariel flipped the script on youthful stardom by building her own brand and content catalog before moving into mainstream entertainment. In 2020, Ariel starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie "Zombies 2" and, as of this writing, will be reprising her role as Wynter in the trilogy's final installment.
Being a Disney star means so much to Baby Ariel, and she brings her special light to the current generation of young actors at the channel. In February 2021, she reminisced about a life-changing moment in her career. Ariel posted a clip of herself doing the famous Disney Channel "wand ID" where stars use a sparkling wand and a little green screen magic to draw Mickey Mouse's ears. In Ariel's prized video, she delivers the classic, "...and you're watching Disney Channel" and exclaims, "Look, mom! I just did it!" The glee in her video mirrors that in her Instagram caption: "One year ago today all of my dreams came true."
Ariel got to host "Disney Fam Jam," a family dance battle series, in 2020 with "Zombies" co-star Trevor Tordjman. In addition to the Disney projects, Baby Ariel has made a name for herself at Nickelodeon. She guest-starred on an episode of "Henry Danger," was a contestant on the 2019 "Double Dare" reboot, and was the lead in the "Bixler High Private Eye" movie.
Next comes a psychological thriller called "Oracle," about which Ariel tweeted, "My first feature film and I couldn't be more grateful."
Her success continues
As a teenager, Baby Ariel wrote that her favorite stores and labels were Nike, Converse, "Urban Outfitters, Puma, Foot Locker, Forever 21, Topshop, and Zara," along with "Champion hoodies, Calvin Klein undies, and Nike sweatpants." She also went to thrift shops at the time in search of "old distressed tees with lots of holes in them and jackets that no one else has" (via "Dreaming Out Loud").
It sounds like Ariel wears a wide range of clothing, but she can afford to buy the nicest items on the rack. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Baby Ariel has accrued $6 million in her time as a social media celebrity. In 2017, she was named one of Forbes' Top Influencers in Entertainment and was dubbed one of Time's "25 Most Influential People on the Internet" for 2018.
For some, it still might seem surprising that a bright-eyed teen on a lip-syncing app could funnel her passion into a thriving career in entertainment. However, that is exactly what Baby Ariel has done so far. Her road to success has been quickly traveled, and the star has been wise to step back and capture her vision as she has grown over time.