Piper Rockelle Is Here to Bring the Drama

Piper Rockelle wants to be clear: she does not consider herself famous.

- By Katherine Hammer, Photography by Sean Scheidt

“Honestly, I try not to think too hard about it,” the 14-year-old admits of her astronomical social media following (which, as of this moment, is over 20 million fans across platforms). “It almost doesn’t make sense.”

But that’s the thing about social media celebs: The fans choose who’s a superstar, not the other way around. And for more than five years now, they’ve *definitely* picked Piper.

From her YouTube presence, it’s easy to see why so many followers adore her: She’s bold, energetic, optimistic and brutally honest. Though Piper confesses to being slightly more hype online, sitting across from her in a Los Angeles photo studio, Piper’s basically the same—though, self-admittedly, a bit more reserved. “I love meeting new people, but I’m a little shy sometimes. I get better after I’ve talked to them for a while. That’s something that a lot of people don’t know about me.”

Growing up in Georgia, Piper worked hard to excel in dance competitions and talent pageants. But with main character energy and an ~occasional~ flair for the dramatic (she’s a Leo, duh), Piper soon branched out from the local stage to the YouTube screen.

Only a year into posting, she experienced her very first viral success. “I put up a video where I was freaking out that I broke my leg on a hike, but I really just fell and scraped it,” she explains. “It got like 4 million views. It was completely shocking.”