Charli D’Amelio may soon be de-throned as the fastest-growing TikTok star by Filipino-American creator Bella Poarch.
Though you might not know her by name (yet), you’ve likely come across Bella’s infamous lip-sync content on your For You Page— most notably her quirky rendition of Millie B’s “M to the B” which is currently the most-liked video on TikTok with a whopping 416.3 million views and nearly 35 million likes.
Bella’s childlike facial expressions on superzoom coupled with a seamlessly timed lip-sync helped shoot the creator to instantaneous virality, gaining over 23 million followers in just one month after vibing to the trending song.
One of the most recognisable faces on the platform, Bella’s wasted no time reaping the benefits of viral stardom. The anime-lover is frequently spotted hanging out with famous influencers, including James Charles and members of The Hype House, and was recently tracked down by TikTok’s notorious paparazzo, Fletcher of The Hollywood Fix, solidifying her as one of the biggest up-and-coming stars on the internet.
Here’s what we know about TikTok star Bella Poarch.
She’s adopted
Born in the Philippines on February 8, 1997, Bella confirmed in a TikTok comment that she was adopted. The 23-year-old reportedly grew up in Hawaii and now seems to reside in Los Angeles.
She served in the U.S. Navy
Before striking it big online, Bella served in the U.S. Navy and left the service when her contract expired in 2019. The creator has mentioned multiple times on TikTok that while serving, she worked “in a flight line” and her rating was AO, which stands for Aviation Ordnanceman. According to Operation Military Kids, AO is responsible for “operating aviation ordnance equipment, maintaining guns, bombs, rockets, missiles, and torpedoes. They are also involved in issuing and loading of small arms.”
Bella was stationed in Japan for two years.
She has a controversial tattoo
Despite her newfound fame, Bella has already faced a major scandal when fans discovered the racist meaning behind one of her many tattoos. Bella’s tattoo in question is of the Japanese rising sun flag. She replaced the flag’s central sun symbol with a beating heart.
The star received significant backlash earlier this month, as the Japanese rising sun flag was used by the Imperial Japanese army before and during World War II. It represents regions Japan invaded and enslaved, including Korea.
@bellapoarch #greenscreen Here is a photo of my arm tattoo. I love Korea?? I would never do anything to hurt anyone.
♬ The Banjo Beat, Pt. 1 – Ricky Desktop
The BBC reports that some South Koreans liken the Japanese sun rising flag to a Nazi swastika.
Bella responded to the backlash on TikTok saying she didn’t know the dark meaning behind the flag and that she loves Korea. She has also said she will invest in laser tattoo removal.
She’s a gamer and a singer
Prior to finding her niche with superzoom lip sync videos, Bella primarily created content about gaming. She appears to play both PC and console and has expressed her love of Animal Crossing and Call of Duty.
The viral star is also a talented singer, occasionally flexing her vocal skills on the platform as well.
And that’s on the new queen bee of TikTok.