17 Facts About YouTube Royalty Lele Pons

Social media influencer Lele Pons went from awkward teen to youtube royalty in just a few short years. Lele, short for Elanora, has come a long way since her humble Vine roots. Not only did she conquer the six-second social media platform, she became the first person to gain 1 billion video loops due to her funny teen-centered comedy skits.

Lele has parlayed her Vine fame into something so much more. The 21-year-old internet sensation has upped her skits with the help of Youtube, the platform so she moved on to after Vine shutdown. At Youtube, she can now express herself with minutes versus here old six-second format and she's been able to land a lot more cool opportunities like a beauty contract as an ambassador for CoverGirl, a book based on her meteoric rise to fame and she's even walked the runway for Dolce and Gabbana Milan in 2017. But Lele's not satisfied with just that. She also wants a singing career and has even appeared in Camila Cabello's Havana video. The Latin sensation, born in Venezuela, is slowly climbing her way to the top. Her self-deprecating ways have garnered her millions of fans and counting, so let's check out how she became Youtube royalty.

17 She's The First Viner To Hit 1 Billion Loops

Lele Pons was just a teenager when she hit a huge milestone on her Vine account, she was the first person to hit 1 billion loops ( since then she's amassed over 7 billion loops). Lele rose to fame with her short six-second teen-centered comedy skits on the now-defunct Vine. She also reportedly coined the term, “do it for the Vine.” So when did the influencer know she had made it big in the digital world? She tells Forbes, "When I was named the #1 most viewed person on Vine, the #1 Female Viner in the world and, simultaneously, Time magazine named me the "Most Influential Teen.'" And Lele is very popular on Youtube with 9 million subscribers and Instagram with 23 million followers and has does not seem to be slowing down in social media popularity.

16 Lele Says She Was Bullied In School

Lele Pons may have fame and fortune now, but the influencer had a rough start in her Miami school. The teen sensation was bullied before she became internet famous.

"I didn't have friends. I went to high school and I started getting bullied because I was very weird. I'm not like the cool girls - I'm the other girl. The one that's basically a nerd, but proud of that," she told Teen Vogue. Lele started using Vine at the urging of a few friends and kids at school took notice of her notoriety on the social media video platform. "People from my school were respecting me more and it was really weird. Obviously, I don't really care about that, but I was very happy with it and kept doing what I was doing." She's since moved from Miami to continue her budding career.

15 She Moved Over To Youtube After Vine Crumbled

Lele isn't crying over Vine's demise, instead, she took her comedic skits to an even bigger platform, Youtube (and Instagram). In 2016 she enlisted the help of Shots Studios to help her manage her Youtube page. The company aids in content creation and promotion."From the beginning, John, Sam and the whole team have always trusted me in every creative decision that I have made… . I love that they give me the freedom to create the content that I want to create, but I also value their ideas and feedback. Their support makes being a part of Shots such an amazing opportunity," Lele told Forbes. Lele has millions of loyal fans that have followed her from Vine. Her six-second skits have graduated since joining Youtube with her friends of up and coming influencers.

14 She Originally Wanted A Singing Career

Lele Pons may be funny with excellent comedic timing but the Miami native actually wanted to become a singer before venturing into Vine. "I always wanted to be a singer. I was going to finish school and go to Berkeley and then Vine came out and I felt like I could finally show people my talent. I can even sing in the Vines. It's honestly changed my life. I don't know where I would be right now without it," Lele told Teen Vogue. And she still has dreams or parlaying her fame into a singing career. “I've always felt connected to music,” she told Billboard. “I have some ideas and I'm grateful to have an amazing team and talented friends that want to help me make them a reality… The possibilities are endless and I'm excited to create some really cool musical content for everyone to see.”

13 She Admits She Had Alterations Done

Lele has always been very transparent with her fans, from talking about being bullied in school to dealing with dyslexia, so when she had a rhinoplasty surgery (nose job). Lele went right to Twitter and explained her sudden absence from her social accounts. “Sorry I haven't been posting a lot lately, been in recovery cause yes… I did get a nose job #dowhatmakesyouhappy”. She explained a little more about her surgery decision on Instagram. “Yes, I got a nose job! I believe that you should do whatever makes you happy and feel confident. this is something I always wanted to do and waited until the right time to do it! It was my own choice😊 the important thing is that you don't change who you are inside! Thank you so much @drkassir for the amazing surgery!”

12 Lele Moved To LA To Be An Actress

In 2015, at just 18-years-old Lele left sunny Miami for warm California in pursuit of her dreams to be an actress. She already had a huge following and was taking her success right to Hollywood. Lele moved into 1600 Vine, where dozens of other social media influencers are already residents (rent starts at $2500) according to Curbed. But the internet star is staying focused on her next move, which includes acting. In an interview with AOL, they asked Lele where she wanted her career to go in the next few years and she said, “More into movies and I like YouTube and I still want to do social media, but I also want to go through the more traditional entertainment world," she said. Adding her dream collaboration would be with Leonardo DiCaprio. “You say dream, so I'm going to go big. Leonardo DiCaprio, I just love him so much, I just want to save him in the next Titanic or something. I want to do dramatic acting or action role like a Lara Croft.”

11 She's Also A CoverGirl Ambassador

Lele Pons isn't just comedy these days, she's also into beauty and fashion. In 2017 the internet personality was able to snatch up a job with CoverGirl as one of their ambassadors. She shared her excitement with fans on Instagram, “AHHHHH So excited to share that I am partnering with @COVERGIRL to be their newest Brand Ambassador!”

Lele was even able to use her trademark comedy skills in a Youtube skit for CoverGirl where she finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her and plans to confront him at the Coachella festival, but the entire situation ends with a plot twist. Of course, the Lele and friends sprinkle a ton of CoverGirl products in the video as it is a sponsored video on Youtube, but Lele's content for the video is all her idea.

10 She Landed Spots On More Than One 'Top Most Influencer' Lists

Not only did Lele Pons became the first person on Vine to reach 1 billion loops, but she's had a ton of other milestones. She had 9 million youtube subscribers and 23 million Instagram followers. And In 2016, she made Time magazine's list of “The 30 Most Influential People on the Internet” she joined other internet stars like Kanye West, Donald Trump, and Caitlyn Jenner. Then Forbes added her to their Top Influencers of 2017 for entertainment. She joined other major notables like Lilly Singh, King Bach, and Miranda Sings. She was also on THR's Top 25 Digital Stars in 2015. She was Instagram's most-watched stories creator of 2017 according to Tubefilter. The influencer is up for a Shorty award and she is currently nominated for Youtuber of the Year (2018).

9 Lele And Her High Profile Best Friend Have Split

Lele's always surrounded by a ton of friends in her videos, but her friendship with the fellow influencer, Amanda Cerny, had a dramatic end in 2016. Amanda claims that a few of her most popular social media accounts like Instagram and Snapchat had been deleted. But she couldn't understand why. She told the website, The Dirty (via NYMag), “We never fought once. We were always together. Then I began to notice my photos being deleted, my videos were deleted and my account being put on private so no one could follow me. I immediately blamed the social media platforms and wouldn't even think it was her. This was happening to me nonstop until August. Until I was at a barbecue with Lele Pons and we were all playing a fun game of charades and I see Lele get up as I'm telling a joke. I look over my shoulder and see Lele on her phone Snapchatting and then realize wait… That's my phone. Take my phone back and my photo was deleted. So I knew it was her, and at that moment it all made sense.” Amanda also released images of texts between the ladies that confirms her accusation. Lele reportedly wrote, “AMANDA! I'm so sorry about that I feel horrible! So messed up for me and I act so immature and impulsively. It's so wrong what I did and I don't know what to do so you forgive me.” The ladies no longer speak.

8 She's On The New York Times Bestseller List

Lele Pons landed the New York Times Bestseller list after releasing her book, Surviving High School. The book is loosely based on Lele's teenage days when she went from awkward teen to internet famous during high school (just like in real life) and how she dealt with bullying. "I was a victim of bullying, so it's a topic that I feel comes easily for me to speak about," Lele told Bustle in an interview. "I completely understand the emotions that one can go through when you feel like the world is against you, and [you] immerse yourself in an outlet where you can feel safe to be yourself." It's been a few years since Lele graduated high school but the book comes from an inspirational point of view."Whatever drama you're currently going through or will go through, it's not the end of the world. Those challenges and obstacles will help you grow into a strong adult."

7 Her Role Was Terminated In The Scream TV Show

Lele is trying to do big things in Hollywood including having an acting career, in addition to all her comedy projects. The social media star even landed a spot on season 2 of MTV's Scream TV show. But there is a kicker she doesn't quite make it past the first commercial break in the episode. Lele's character is seen at home talking to a friend on the phone as she gets ready to leave for a date. She gets off the phone and starts looking for her cat when she ends up in the scary looking attic looking for her cat, Butterscotch. The spoiler alert a person appears behind her and scares her. She begins to call her friend Becca back when the phone rings in the persons hand it's-its her friend Becca. Then Becca stabs her and the scene pans out and it was all a movie scene in a theater. It was a scene inside a scene. Poor Lele!

6 She Might Be Dating Another Vlogger

Lele is very elusive about her love life. Currently, she may be dating fellow influencer Juanpas, but she won't divulge that for sure. During a 2017 interview with The Cut, the writer says Lele does tell her who she is dating but asked to keep it off the record. But if scrolling through Lele's Instagram account is any indication, she may be dating social media star, Juanpa Zurita (also a former Vine star), but Lele has also been linked to the actor, Ray Diaz. She posts photos with both of her rumored boyfriends. But one maybe is a decoy. Lele also adds that she keeps her relationship status unclear to protect herself. If a guy doesn't need to be publicly named as her boyfriend then, “it just proves to you that he doesn't care about the followers,” she says. For now, it appears that JuanPa is her beau after their stunt in 2017 when he asked her to marry him at the MTV MIAW Awards in Mexico City. Although they are known for their comedy stunts.

5 Lele Was Almost Fired As A Miss Universe Judge

Lele was almost fired as a judge on the Miss Universe pageant in November 2017. The Youtube star is a proud Latina and her Hispanic pride almost lost her the Miss Universe gig. According to TMZ, Lele was asked by pageant officials to unfollow Miss Mexico, Miss Venezuela and Miss Colombia on social media after it looked like a conflict of interest and she may favor the Latin beauties in the pageant. They were the only contestants that Lele was following at the time. She responded to the accusation saying that's who she follows but ultimately she unfollowed the ladies for the sake of her job. Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa took the honor of Miss Universe 2017 and the first runner did happen to be a latina, Laura González from Colombia.

4 She Does Her Own Stunts

Lele has been known to do her own stunts. The self-deprecating beauty loves to get a laugh and even admits doing anything to make her classmates laugh, “I would get hurt to make them laugh,” she told The Cut. People don't believe Lele is actually the one getting hurt in her Vines, "People would not believe that I was the one getting hurt in my Vines. I'm a physical comedian. I like stunts but I like, also do relatable skits and things that can help other kids say what they want to say, but I'll act it out" (via J-14). Lele is often seen falling, tripping or getting hurt in her skits. Her commitment to her craft shines in her hilarious comedy sketches. She once told blogger Perez Hilton (Via The Sun) that making people laugh was important to her when he asked what she thinks about first thing in the morning. "How am I going to make four million or 10 million people laugh today? Or how am I going to entertain them today or what am I going to give them today from my life experience?"

3 She's Obsessed With Meeting Her Idol, Shakira

Lele has been on the hunt to meet her idol, Shakira for years now. She says she's made it publicly known that she is obsessed with the Columbian singer. But she hasn't received any love in return (yet). “Where is she living, in a rock?” She joked after not being able to get Shakira's attention on social media. “I have more followers than her, and I tweet her every damn day,” Lele said during an interview with The Cut. Over the years Lele has sent numerous tweets to Shakira like, “I wanna meet you so bad @shakira my idol !!!” or “SHAKIRA ADOPT ME” or “Never ask me how I feel about Shakira cause I will cry… ”She even does a mean Shakira impression but still nothing. But she still remains her dream mentor. Lele's publicist is hard at work making the introduction happen.

2 Lele Caused A Controversy On Instagram Over Hair Extensions

Lele Pons was slammed on social media in 2017 after she was accused of lying over a hair donation for charity, according to Teen Vogue. Lele did a big chop with the intention of donating it to cancer patients. She then took a photo of her cut off ponytail and put it on her social media accounts, writing, “DONATED MY HAIR !!!! First time I ever cut my hair. What do you think???” Then The influencer was called out by fans who said the hair looked fake. Lele had to jump on Twitter and explain the situation. "To help clear any assumptions, I cut my hair with the intention of donating it. Sadly after trying, I learned charities who donate wigs don't accept color treated hair. So I'm finding other ways to help those affected by hair loss b/c of cancer. This is still a priority for me."

1 She Says She Has Dyslexia

Lele has been open about her struggles in school. Lele, who was born in Venezuela and relocated to Miami when she was five says she encountered many struggled growing up. She tells Young Hollywood, "I had a problem, like talking or communicating with people. I was dyslexic. I didn't know how to read. I didn't know how to speak English. I came here in the United States and had to learn how to learn, and then I learned everything else. I was always excluded from a lot of people in the beginning." The star was later bullied over her awkwardness and her looks, “People threw food at me and sang songs about how ugly I was,” she tells People in an interview. She's come a long way since her six-second silly skits.

References: Forbes, Teen Vogue, Forbes, Teen Vogue, Billboard, Twitter, Instagram, Curbed, AOL, Instagram, Time, Forbes, TubeFilter, NYMag, Bustle, TheCut, TMZ, TheCut, j-14, TheSun, The Cut, Twitter, Teen Vogue, Allure, Youtube, People