Content Creators

As TikTok’s reigning domestic goddess, Nara Smith conjures entire recipes from scratch for her husband and three children in videos that blend runway polish with domestic fantasy. The 23-year-old South African–German model and content creator films herself hand-pulling noodles, making homemade Pop-Tarts, and even bubblegum, all while wearing Chanel and narrating in a soft, steady voice. Her aesthetic isn’t housewife cosplay; it’s high fashion domesticity, where every detail is hyper-curated and deeply intentional.

Though she's often lumped into the "tradwife" discourse, Smith is more performance artist than ideology peddler. Her content reframes domestic labor as an elegant ritual, not an obligation. What began as casual cooking videos has become a full-blown internet phenomenon, inspiring thinkpieces, parodies, and nearly 12 million followers on TikTok. Her serene, detail-obsessed approach has helped redefine "quiet luxury" for the TikTok age. She’s not just baking bread; she’s building an identity rooted in calm, control, and craft. In a content economy built on speed and chaos, Nara Smith has slowed down — and in doing so, carved out one of the internet’s most fascinating personas.

Lifelong friends Rhett, 47, and Link, 46, are among the elder statesmen of the internet, having been online entertainers for nearly 20 years. Their two names are practically one word at this point: RhettAndLink. Their good-natured, funny friendship built the "Mythical" empire over the years, with YouTube series, podcasts, books, and TV shows. Good Mythical Morning — a daily variety show centered on Rhett and Link — is the flagship product with nearly 20 million subscribers, but that’s far from the only offering. Mythical Kitchen (hosted by chef Josh Scherer) has become a powerhouse brand in its own right, especially its massively popular series where celebs eat their “last meals.” You’ve likely seen clips of famous folks downing wildly complex dishes on TikTok. And that gets to why Rhett and Link remain such important creators in 2025 — they’ve created an entire ecosystem of content. And it continues to create new hits and stars. The Mythical studio, across all its YouTube channels, has racked up some 76 million subscribers and 27 billion lifetime views.

Few people online know how to use their roasting abilities for good. Drew Afualo is one of them. The creator has been called TikTok’s "crusader for women”, a “feminist Batman”, the ultimate “defender of women”. Raised in a Samoan family from Southern California, Afualo is the fright of online misogynists, known for calling out the rampant racism, sexism, and fatphobia seen online. At her core, Afualo is a voice for empowerment, fighting the patriarchy one post at a time. The creator began posting takedowns in 2020, with each post punctuated with her trademark giggle and biting humor. She first garnered attention for detailing “very specific red flags” in men. While male viewers haven’t always taken well to her witty roasts, women and allies have flocked to follow Afualo. The influencer has expanded her empire to include a podcast and a New York Times-bestselling book, with over 8 million loyal TikTok followers along for the ride.

From working as a production assistant on the sets of Prime Video’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel to becoming Hollywood's bona fide "Gen-Z Whisperer," Reece Feldman (@guywithamoviecamera) is a true entertainment buff. The creator, with over 2.5 million followers on Instagram, has become a fixture on the red carpet, creating content for studios, production houses, and at award shows. Feldman is a self-proclaimed cinephile, once telling The Cut, "I can give you casts, years, dates, history, but there’s nothing else. All the hours I spent watching movies until four in the morning have paid off." Feldman offers authentic, fun slice-of-life scenes from the Oscars and movie sets; he recently spent time on the sets of Superman and How to Train Your Dragon, churning out behind-the-scenes bits and interviews with cast members. His movie career could soon burgeon: the influencer wants to make his own films soon and create stories of his own.

The quintessential "get ready with me" videos would arguably be nowhere without Alix Earle. The lifestyle influencer began posting GRWMs five years ago, while chatting animatedly with her followers about skincare, plastic surgery, her family, and life at the University of Miami.

She quickly gained virality – including a few rumors and controversies – but has built on her online presence steadily, becoming known as TikTok’s “hot best friend.”

Fans couldn’t get enough. Look no further than the “Alix Earle effect”: Her emphasis on products, including an Amazon selfie light, has caused items to pretty much sell out. Earle’s alma mater even boasts a scholarship in her name.

The creator is now focusing on building out her podcast, appropriately titled "Hot Mess with Alix Earle." Oh, and she's a contestant on the most recent season of the long-running reality program Dancing With the Stars.

With 19.4 million followers on TikTok and millions more followers on Twitch, YouTube, and Instagram, Kai Cenat is one of the most-followed creators online and arguably the most popular streamer of all time.

The 23-year-old is best known for reaction videos, pranks, viral challenges, gaming content, and collaborations with other streamers and musicians like MrBeast, NLE Choppa, Lil Baby, 21 Savage, and more.

His impact on the digital culture world is unmatched, from hosting popular Twitch livestreams attended by hundreds of thousands to reportedly coining terms like "rizz."

This year, Cenat notably launched Streamer University, where he aimed to teach aspiring influencers how to build a brand online during a weekend of sessions at the University of Akron.

Olympian? Podcast host? Dancing with the Stars alum? Influencer and content creator? How about all of the above? Ilona Maher rose to fame during the 2024 Paris Olympics when she won bronze with the U.S. in rugby sevens — and posted all about it online. She has amassed 5 million followers on Instagram, along with a strong following on TikTok and YouTube, posting everything from clips from her podcast House of Maher, which she co-hosts with her sisters Olivia and Adrianna, to her Sports Illustrated swimsuit shoot and clips from her game, to breakdowns of what a "healthy body" looks like.

If you're a liberal who likes their depressing news in short bursts but with a big dose of encouragement that the good fight can still be won, then you probably know the creator V Spehar. Their TikTok account, Under The Desk News, became a mainstay of very online liberals during the pandemic and now has 3.6 million followers. The brand has another 1.1 million followers between YouTube and Instagram. Spehar recently told Mashable they started the show with the goal of creating a "safe space" for viewers. Spehar delivered the news literally under a desk, a conceit that they eventually moved away from but then revived during the first 100 days of the Trump administration and again when Congress passed his tax-cutting, benefits-slashing bill. No matter where Spehar is filming from, their matter-of-fact reports relaying and interpreting the biggest news events are designed to give viewers a clear sense of what's happening in politics and in the world — and what they can do if they don't like it.

A 2019 TikTok of her trying kombucha for the first time secured Brittany Broski (née Tomlinson) a spot in the reaction meme hall of fame. It also kick-started a prolific entertainment career: Now 28, the cackling, chaotic Texas native hosts a popular podcast called The Broski Report while presiding over "Royal Court," a YouTube show where she interviews celebrity guests like Charli XCX and Colman Domingo. Most recently, Broski entered the music scene in the spring of 2025 with a Harry Styles cover and two soulful original songs. They've earned her more than 339,000 monthly Spotify listeners to date and inspired comments like, "Girl, I'm in your walls, drop the album before I start chewing on the wires[.]" Broski Nation is rabid about all of its Supreme Leader's projects: Her fanbase has grown to more than 7.6 million followers on TikTok, 2.1 million on Instagram, and 2.75 million subscribers on her main YouTube channel. This success speaks to TikTok's viability as a creative launchpad, yes, but mainly to the fact that Broski has personality and talent to spare.

Few creators embody pure chaos and charisma like Darren "IShowSpeed" Watkins Jr.

The Ohio-born streamer and content creator launched his YouTube channel in 2016, but it was his explosive rise in 2021 — marked by meme-worthy outbursts, frenetic gameplay, and larger-than-life stunts — that made him one of the internet’s most talked-about personalities.

Now, he’s amassed over 43 million YouTube subscribers and more than 5.4 billion views, putting him among the platform’s most-watched creators.

Speed isn't just a digital tornado; he’s becoming a cultural phenomenon. His off-the-cuff IRL adventures span high-speed car stunts, traveling with NBA players, and streaming from countries such as China and Lithuania. In 2022, Speed's Warner-backed single "World Cup," in honor of the FIFA World Cup, charted in multiple countries. Last year, he took home the title of Streamer of the Year at the Streamer Awards.

Speed's latest adventure is a 35-day, 25-state U.S. roadshow titled Speed Does America Tour, which he is streaming 24/7.