Reminiscent of bubbly blonde comedienne’s before her, 19 year old Bailey Spinn, has amassed a whopping 7.6 million followers, 300 million likes, and more than 1 billion views on TikTok, with comedic vignettes poking fun at everything from mean girls and fashion faux pas; to lip syncing skits, Seinfeld-esque awkwardness and hilarious dating fails. It also doesn’t hurt that she looks like every guy’s teenage dream.
Bailey’s video style is “P.O.V.,” a subgenre of increasingly popular TikTok videos, making you feel like you’re in the video with her. They say “the first million’s the hardest,” but not for Bailey, whose TikTok account made a quantum leap to its first 5 million followers in three short months, before eventually climbing up to 7.6 million.
Born Bailey Spinnenweber, the TikTok mega-influencer grew up in suburban Virginia, outside Washington, DC, where she recalls an adolescence filled with merciless bullying from her fellow classmates. The socially ostracized teen was picked on to the point where, as she recalls, “I was forced to eat lunch alone in my high school’s bathroom.”
“The isolation and bullying took a great toll on my self-esteem and I plunged into a deep depression,” she continues.
A depression that Bailey says only worsened as 2019 rolled into 2020, when the now California-based college student brought her mental health woes into quarantine. “I was searching for something to live for, anything, and I started watching funny TikTok videos to cheer myself up.”
Falling into self-destructive patterns and looking for a way out, she began studying viral TikToks, and eventually decided to give the popular platform a try for herself.
“This platform saved my life. It allowed me to put my energy into something positive rather than things that were not helping me, and it gave me a creative outlet to express my true personality.”
Bailey’s videos are known for their “every girl” relatability. But some of them, Bailey says, “are just fun to watch,” as she adds, “I’m known for my surprising plot twists.”
Now a thriving college sophomore majoring in Marketing, Bailey created her TikTok empire out of her on campus apartment. She’s landed endorsement deals with companies, including the NoCap College App, Grammar.ly, Steve Madden, Princess Polly, Aeropostale, Curology and Netflix.
“I am making adult money,” says Bailey, “and I am really good about saving and investing,” though she says, “my parents never let me pay for anything when I go home to visit.”
A fitness buff and dedicated vegan and animal lover, Bailey’s main objective is to use her newfound social media notoriety to champion anti-bullying initiatives, a dangerous mental health hazard she is all too familiar with.
“I can be a powerful ally and a positive influence for young people who are experiencing bullying.”
She also has her sights set on a career in comedy. “Acting is definitely on the horizon for me. I’ve been playing to a daily audience of close to 8 million followers, making people laugh and helping people to see life from different perspectives with my videos.”
