Words by Alix Earle built her audience one short video at a time, starting as a college freshman. By the fall of 2026 she had a podcast, a skincare line, a Netflix series and a runner-up finish on a prime-time dance competition on her résumé.
Earle was born Dec. 16, 2000, in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Her father, Thomas “TJ” Earle, ran a construction business in Wall Township, and her mother is Alisa Maniaci. Her parents divorced in 2013. She has a younger sister, Ashtin, and three half-siblings. She graduated from Red Bank Catholic High School in 2019 and went on to the University of Miami, where she earned a marketing degree in 2023.
From freshman posts to a following
She began posting on TikTok in February 2020, her freshman year at Miami. The turn came in the summer of 2022, when she posted openly about cystic acne. Her follower count climbed afterward, and by late 2022 she was best known for “Get Ready With Me” videos, in which she talks through a makeup routine while chatting to the camera. Fans began referring to the sales bump for products she mentioned as the “Alix Earle effect.”
The growth was quick. She reportedly added more than 2 million TikTok followers in January 2023 alone. In March of that year she signed with United Talent Agency. In May 2023 she discussed her acne on The Howard Stern Show. She has also spoken publicly about other personal matters, including her use of the medication Lexapro for anxiety, which she disclosed in a video in December 2022, and, in October 2023, an eating disorder and body dysmorphia she experienced in high school.
Her work drew formal recognition. She was named to the 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Miami, and in July 2025 she was included on the inaugural TIME100 Creators list.
Podcast, television and film
In September 2023 Earle announced a podcast, Hot Mess with Alix Earle, produced by Alex Cooper’s Unwell Network. She moved gradually into other media. In June 2024 she appeared in the music video for The Kid Laroi’s “Girls,” and in 2025 she played herself in Happy Gilmore 2.
In May 2025 she was announced as a contestant on season 34 of Dancing with the Stars. Paired with professional dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy, she reached the November 2025 finale and placed second to Robert Irwin.
In March 2026 she announced her own skincare brand, Reale Actives. In September 2026 she appeared with her family in the Netflix reality series Earle Meets World. The skincare launch fit her history: she found her audience by talking about skin.
Giving back, and life offscreen
Earle created the Alix Earle Scholarship at the University of Miami’s Herbert Business School in 2023. In 2024 she started a Miami meal-preparation initiative, first called Meals in Heels and later renamed Serving on Heels. In November 2025 she hosted a Los Angeles event where volunteers prepared about 3,000 Thanksgiving meals.
Her relationships have drawn press attention. She dated San Diego Padres player Tyler Wade for about three months in late 2022. In November 2023 she confirmed a relationship with Braxton Berrios, then a New York Giants wide receiver, and the two split in December 2025.
Earle did not come up through television or film. She came up through a phone camera and a college dorm, and she turned that attention into a business and a place on mainstream screens. Her record through October 2026 shows a creator who kept widening the range of what she does.
Sources: Wikipedia’s entry on Alix Earle.