Bella Poarch is a leading TikTok sensation, currently the fourth most-followed creator on the platform. Famous for her viral lip-sync videos and unique style, she has successfully transitioned from social media stardom to the music industry, delivering chart-topping hits. As a singer, songwriter, and influencer, her rapid rise to fame continues to accelerate.
Bella Poarch: Early Life, Childhood, and Adoption
Bella Poarch, who turned 27 on February 8, 2024, is just 5’ 2” (155 cm) tall. Born in the Philippines to two Filipino parents, she was raised in the slums by her grandmother until she was three when a family adopted her.
Bella Poarch shows off her tattoos at The Fashion Awards 2021 at the Royal Albert Hall on November 29, 2021, in London, England (Credit: MEGA / WENN)
Her adoptive parents met in Saudi Arabia, where her American father was stationed while serving in the US military. Her adoptive mother was Filipino.
Bella’s real name is not Bella Poarch. While her birth name is not confirmed, some fans, based on Facebook digging, believe her name is Taylor Nariee.
Also, her age is up in the air, too. There are multiple accounts of people believing she is older than she claims. With adoption and international birth certificates, we may never know.
Bella Poarch in a feather-embellished Marcell Von Berlin dress at the 10th Annual LACMA Art+Film Gala presented by Gucci at Los Angeles County Museum of Art on November 6, 2021, in Los Angeles (Credit: MEGA / WENN)
Bella has shared that she and her adopted brother were both abused by their adoptive parents throughout their childhood. They lived on a farm, and Bella remembers that her two older adoptive sisters did not receive the same poor treatment as she did.
Her father physically and verbally abused her, while her mom did nothing to stop it. When Bella was 13, the family moved to Texas so her father could receive bypass surgery.
At this point, the physical abuse decreased, but the mental abuse continued from Bella’s adoptive father to her. The family also lived in Hawaii during Bella’s childhood.
Bella Poarch stuns in a pink feathered Marcell Von Berlin dress, complemented by sparkling diamond accessories, at the LACMA Art+Film Gala (Credit: Avalon / WENN)
The abuse ended when she enrolled in the military. She enlisted in the United States Navy in 2015 and served for four years, stationed in Hawaii and Japan.
Bella told Vogue about her time with the Navy: “The Navy taught me one thing: that you can’t do everything on your own—you have to have a great family of people around you to trust and achieve great things.”
How Bella Poarch Became a TikTok Sensation: From Zero to 94 Million Followers
With 95 million followers as of October 2024, Bella is the fourth most-followed creator on the platform. The only three people with more followers than Bella are Khabane Lame, Charli D’Amelio and MrBeast. In 2021, Bella overtook Addison Rae.
Though Bella doesn’t have the most followers, she holds one record: the most-liked video on TikTok. She created the most liked video on TikTok to date on August 17, 2020.
The most popular TikTok video of all time shows Bella Poarch making funny faces while bopping her head to Millie B’s ‘M to the B’
In the video, Bella lip-syncs to “M To The B (Soph Aspin Send)” by the British rapper Millie B. Bella has only had an account on TikTok since January 2020. She didn’t start posting actively until April of 2020 when she started posting cosplay and gaming content.
After her lip-syncing video went viral, and eventually became the number one liked video of all time on TikTok, Bella capitalized on her popularity by launching a YouTube channel and Twitter.
Bella Poarch’s Rise in the Music Industry: From TikTok Star to Music Sensation
TikTok further catapulted Bella into stardom when she signed a record deal in May 2021 with Warner Records. She released her debut single, “Build a Bitch,” in May of 2021.
Bella shared that the song was inspired by her history of being bullied as a kid. Some lyrics from the song go as follows, “This ain’t Build a Bitch / You don’t get to pick and choose / Different ass and bigger boobs / If my eyes are brown or blue.”
“Build a Bitch” singer Bella Poarch in a dramatic black lace jumpsuit featuring a cape and flared pants at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2021, at the Barclays Center in New York City (Credit: WENN / Avalon)
Bella shared with Vogue, “I feel like I found my family and part of that family is the label. When I looked up some of the artists that meant the most to me musically like Prince, Dua Lipa, and Madonna, I realized Warner has helped all of those people along the way too. So I’m very honored to have a family that gave me a chance and believes in me.”
Bella also released the song “Inferno” with the artist Sub Urban. The music video for her song was inspired by her experience with sexual assault. In the video, she is spiked and dragged into an elevator, but she gains power and fights back.
Bella shared a trigger warning and comment on YouTube alongside the video that says, “As a victim of sexual assault, this song and video mean a lot to me. It’s very hard for me to talk about. I decided to express myself by creating a song and video with Sub Urban based on how I wished my experience went. It’s a fantasy I wish was true.”
Bella Poarch leaves the Valentino Womenswear Spring/Summer 2022 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on October 1, 2021, in Paris, France (Credit: MEGA / WENN)
This social media sensation has proven that TikTok can launch the right person into fame. She went from 0 followers to nearly 86 million followers in just under two years. While this is not the path for every person on social media, it shows how transformational TikTok can be for certain creators.
Today, Bella is estimated to be worth $16 million. Her income comes primarily from sponsored posts. A sponsored TikTok post can earn her about $30,000, and on Instagram, a sponsored post earns her between $13,000 and $23,000.
The Meaning Behind Bella Poarch’s Tattoos: Covering Scars with Art
You can see her tattoos if you watch any of Bella’s TikTok videos. Across her entire back is a giant ship with feathered wings.
Bella Poarch has part of a 1 John 4:18 Bible verse, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear,” tattooed on her chest (Credit: MEGA / WENN)
The wings continue down the backs of her arms. She also has a bow on the back of her upper thighs and many other tattoos.
The story behind her originally getting tattoos is a sad one. When fans on TikTok pointed out that tattoos don’t suit her, Bella responded that due to her rough childhood, she had many scars from the abuse.
The scars made her feel insecure, so she covered them up with tattoos. That is one way to take back your power after abuse.
Bella Poarch in a futuristic outfit at the Marvel Studios’ “Eternals” premiere on October 18, 2021, in Los Angeles, California (Credit: MEGA / WENN)
At one point, she had a Rising Sun tattoo on her forearm. The Rising Sun is considered offensive by many Koreans, as they associate it with a sign of Japanese militarism and colonialism.
Bella took to Twitter on September 5, 2020, to apologize, “I apologize to Koreans because 6 months ago I got a tattoo of the red sun with 16 rays. At that time, I didn’t know the history. But when I found out, I immediately had it covered and scheduled for removal. I am ashamed of myself for not doing my research. I sincerely apologize.”
Bella Poarch’s Personal Life: Relationships, Rumors, and More
While the young musician has been linked to rapper Tyga (Kylie Jenner’s ex-boyfriend), whether the two are together is unclear.
The pair started posting videos together in September 2020. Some videos were filmed at Tyga’s mansion, but it is unclear how the two met. Rumors of an intimate sex tape featuring Bella and Tyga have circulated, but no evidence of this tape can be found currently.
Bella Poarch and Tyga are rumored to have made a sex tape (Credit: WENN / MEGA)
Bella appears to have an OnlyFans account, but there are no posts on it, and it is unclear if it is a real account.
In July 2021, Bella claimed she was single and shared that she only has two ex-boyfriends, one of whom was in the military at the same time that she was. She shared that the two broke up when she left the Navy.
In November 2022, Bella Poarch filed for divorce after secretly being married for nearly four years. She wed Tyler Poarch in January 2019 and successfully kept the relationship out of the public eye until the divorce filing.
Bella Poarch’s Fashion Evolution: From TikTok to Red Carpets
With Bella’s rise to stardom, the young musician and social media influencer can be seen at all types of fashion events.
Bella appeared at The Fashion Awards 2021 in a Richard Quinn brocade-style printed short dress with sheer gloves and thigh-high leather heeled boots. She paired the look with her signature high pony and many of her tattoos are on display.
She was also at the 10th Annual LACMA ART+FILM GALA wearing Marcell Von Berlin.
Bella Poarch in a feather-trimmed dress by German designer Marcell Von Berlin (Credit: Avalon / WENN)
Her floor-length, double-high-slit pink gown featured a bodice with pink feathers dipped in black, along with tall black boots and velvet long gloves. She wore her hair in her signature sky-high pigtails.
Bella attended the Eternals premiere in Los Angeles, the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards, several fashion shows in Paris during fashion week, and the premiere of Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings in Los Angeles.
Bella Poarch made her red carpet debut at the “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” World Premiere at El Capitan Theatre on August 16, 2021, in Los Angeles, California (Credit: MEGA / WENN)
Bella even earned a coveted spot in Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty Vol. 3 fashion show in 2021, breaking the standards for what models “should” look like. We cannot wait to see what this fun-loving young woman does next.