Charli and Dixie are the most famous girls on the internet

Here is their truest story

- By Amanda Montell

Here we are, spring 2020, and TikTok’s most famous sisters, Charli and Dixie D’Amelio, are on an hour-long conference call, trying their best to explain a life even they don’t quite understand.

As the tale goes, it was only last summer when the social media gods blessed a 15-year old girl from Connecticut named Charli after she posted a random dance on TikTok. While Charli had been training in dance since she was 3, she had no intention of becoming famous, much less by going viral on an app she was the last of her friends to join anyway.

A year ago, the most exciting parts of Charli’s life were her daily Dunkin’ cold brews and the 30 hours a week she spent at her local dance studio—her “happy place,” where she still takes class whenever she’s home.

These days, Charli jet sets to L.A. to hang out at the “Hype House,” the topsy-turvy mansion and enclave for young, famous TikTokers, over whom Charli reigns supreme.

But her best friend is still a girl named Gemma whom she met in dance class back home, back when winning an award at a regional competition probably would’ve made her just as happy as 2 billion views.

And now, that’s exactly what Charli’s got, thanks to over 48 million TikTok followers, who tune in to her inexplicably addictive daily posts, featuring trendy dance challenges like “I’m a Savage” and “Renegade” (a routine she popularized but admittedly didn’t invent).