While Addison Rae didn’t exactly grow up in the spotlight, the internet star has definitely come a long way from her TikTok days. Before becoming a household name, the Louisiana native was a college student with big dreams — most of which have now come true.
“A lot of people do say that I dropped out of school for TikTok and I don’t think I dropped out of school for TikTok. It was because I knew that this was a career path that I’ve always wanted to pursue, kind of, in the entertainment industry,” Addison explained to J-14 exclusively in June 2020. “People are confused [by] that and they think I dropped out because of the app, but it was really to focus on pursuing my career in the entertainment industry and moving out here to, obviously, get more connections and just more involved in everything that I was doing already. So, I think that’s kind of a misconception.”
Before moving to Los Angeles to kick off what ended up being a massive career, the influencer was studying journalism at Louisiana State University. At the time, she also told J-14 that if the opportunity presented itself, she would go back to school, but for now, she wants “to focus on all the opportunities being presented.”
Fans didn’t know it then, but some of those opportunities included a beauty brand (which is now being sold in Sephora), a Netflix movie role, a budding music career and a brief appearance on Keeping Up With the Kardashians after her friendship with Kourtney Kardashian made major headlines.
“She knows firsthand how to really handle all of this,” Addison told Vogue in May 2021, referring to the Poosh founder assisting her with newfound fame. In the same interview, the Item Beauty cofounder also noted that she talks to her mom, Sheri Easterling, “a lot.”
“Because there’s no rule book for what I’m doing,” she told the magazine.
Along with the positives from her growing stardom, Addison also experiences the negative, which includes criticisms from the public.
“I have to remind myself that the people who leave the hateful comments don’t know me,” the He’s All That star told ManeAddicts in December 2020. “They think they know me based off what they see on social media but they don’t know me completely. So, I can’t let that affect my heart and soul.”
After all, Addison is still figuring everything out! Scroll through our gallery to see her transformation to stardom.
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