Addison Rae

Addison Rae Easterling (born October 6, 2000) is an American dancer, actress and singer. Rae rose to fame on TikTok and has amassed over 88 million followers, making her the fifth most-followed individual on the platform.

In 2021, Rae signed a publishing deal with Sandlot Records and released her debut single, "Obsessed", which peaked at number ten on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. The song was later included on Rae's debut EP, AR. She also made her acting debut in the Netflix original film, He's All That (2021) and starred in the holiday film Thanksgiving (2023). In 2024, Rae signed a recording contract with Columbia Records.

Early life
Addison Rae Easterling was born and raised in Lafayette, Louisiana, to parents Monty Lopez and Sheri Easterling. Rae has two younger brothers, Enzo Lopez and Lucas Lopez, and an older half-sister, Macye Neumeyer, who has two daughters of her own. Rae's parents initially divorced when she was younger and were on and off often throughout her childhood, before remarrying in 2017. Both parents also have their own presence on TikTok; Monty has 5 million followers and Sheri has 14 million followers.

Rae started dancing competitively at the age of six where she attended competitions across the country. Before moving to Los Angeles to pursue her TikTok career, the dancer briefly attended Louisiana State University (LSU) where she studied sports broadcasting in the fall but then dropped out when she began to gain popularity on TikTok. In an interview with Elle magazine, Rae talked about her choice to move to Los Angeles, saying: "a few people in LA reached out to me, and I was like 'I need to go. I need to go.' So my parents supported me fully."

Career
Addison Rae amassed 88.7 million followers on TikTok; she first joined TikTok in July 2019, uploading dance videos to trending songs on the platform. In just a few months, Rae gained over one million followers on TikTok and decided to leave LSU in November. "I remember that's when it changed for me," Rae told Business Insider in April 2020. "I knew I wanted to take it more seriously and expand it to other platforms. I uploaded a video to YouTube and got really active on Instagram." She signed with talent agency WME in January 2020, along with her parents. In that same month, Addison released a weekly podcast exclusive to Spotify with her mother called "Mama Knows Best" in July 2020 entailing topics covering their personal and career life. In 2021, Rae relaunched this podcast with the new name, "That was Fun? With Addison and Sheri." Addison has launched her own cosmetics line, Item Beauty, with her as the role of Chief Innovation Officer. She co-founded Item Beauty with Madeby Collective, and she oversees most of the products in the brand. Rae also founded her own fragrance line called “Addison Rae Fragrance”.

Rae starred in He's All That, a remake film of the 1999 teen comedy She's All That. Her role was inspired by Freddie Prinze Jr.'s character Zachary Siler from the original. The film was released on Netflix in August 2021 and though it was the most streamed film of its week, it received negative reviews from critics. Courtney Howard for Variety magazine wrote that "Rae has a natural ease and charm, at her best when she's either leaning into the bubbly, comedic, satirical overtones, or performing in a heavily choreographed dance-off; however, she's a little rough around the edges and not quite a confident presence when tasked to mine emotional poignancy, especially evident in the third act." On February 2, 2022, Rae announced on Instagram that she had signed to join the cast of a new movie called Fashionista, produced by Paramount, which any further details are unknown. In February 2023, it was announced that Rae would be cast in Eli Roth's Thanksgiving. The movie was released with favourable reviews and critics praising Rae's growth in acting since her debut film. On May 12, 2023, Rae was also cast alongside Ryan Reynolds for a live-action hybrid movie titled Animal Friends. The movie is scheduled for a 2025 release however, more details are yet to be revealed.

Personal life
In October 2020, Rae confirmed she was in a relationship with TikToker Bryce Hall through various social media posts; however, they broke up the following year. In January 2021, Rae donated her $1 million in prize money from winning an all-star Mario Tennis Aces tournament called the Stay At Home Slam to the charity No Kid Hungry. In June 2021, it was reported that Rae was in a relationship with Omer Fedi, a producer and musician based in Los Angeles.

Public image
Forbes published a report in August 2020 revealing that Rae earned $5 million in the last year through June from her various endorsement deals and merchandise, making her the highest-earning TikTok star at the time. Rae's TikTok success led her to work with companies such as Reebok, L'Oréal, Hollister and American Eagle. In July 2020, she partnered with American Eagle on the brand's campaign of #AExME Back to School '20 ads as the brand did their first virtual photoshoot that encompasses shots in Addison's bedroom due to the pandemic.

In late 2020, she was mentioned by Lil Yachty on the song "E-ER" by DJ Scheme, when Yachty said "I want Addison Rae to become my doctor and check on my privates". Bryce Hall attempted to get this lyric removed from the song, but it remained on the official release.

Rae came under scrutiny in August 2022 when she made a controversial post featuring a bra and a bikini with the words "Father", "Son" and "Holy Spirit", which was considered offensive by some Christians. She has since removed the post.

Rae, along with celebrities including Ice Spice and Billie Eilish, have been credited with reviving the popularity of the navel piercing in the 2020s.

Singles
As Lead Artist