Read more on thelist.com

KallMeKris: The Stunning Transformation Of Social Media Star Kris Collins – The List

While the popularity of social media platforms has grown to unmeasurable heights, the opportunities to gain notoriety through them have had a similar impact. Whether it be on video-sharing websites like YouTube or the aesthetically driven force that is Instagram, several notable figures have gone through the cycle of snagging fame due to the attention retained on each of these websites. Built on the backs of its predecessors, TikTok also shares the responsibility for ushering new stars into the entertainment industry. With acts like Addison Rae and Charli D’Amelio transitioning from social media icons to full-blown millionaires, none have quite had the transformation as Vancouver, Canada, native Kris Collins.

Collins, otherwise known as KallMeKris, started uploading comedic-themed content to TikTok during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this, Collins was able to leave an impression on many of its users due to her wide range of self-played fictional characters and overall relatability. Her success wasn’t ignored as Forbes recognized the aspiring comedian as one of the highest-earning acts on the platform in 2022. According to Collins’ interview on Breakfast Television, she intends to use her popularity on TikTok as a launching pad for other ventures. “I definitely do want this to be somewhat of a stepping stone, and I’m trying to get more into, like, the traditional space into TV and maybe movies,” she stated. This plan appears to be in full effect as Collins effortlessly transitioned into a popular YouTuber, part-time actor, and online entrepreneur. In addition to her other notable feats, here is the stunning transformation of Kris Collins!

As a child, Kris used humor to get attention from her family

Instagram

Born on July 1, 1996, Kris Collins came from a conservative family who had traditional ideas for future careers. Those ideologies, however, never stopped her from dreaming big. In a tell-all Q&A video, Collins revealed that she had aspirations of venturing into stand-up ever since she was a little girl. “I actually wanted to be a stand-up comedian when I was a kid, or a lawyer,” she explained. This — in addition to her heavily imaginative mind — made Collins show shades of this interest through her colorful personality, even if it was at the expense of her family’s perception of her.

 As the second oldest in a family of six, Collins experienced the trials and tribulations of not receiving enough attention. Given her older sister’s apparent list of talents, Collins usually felt outclassed. This, in turn, caused Collins to express the more abrasive side of her personality to get a reaction from her parents. During her appearance on Anthony Padilla’s “I Spent A Day With …,” Collins explained how this dilemma helped her find her voice through comedy.  “I kind of wanted to shine in any way I could in the family and try to get maybe a little bit of attention,” she revealed. “So that was cracking jokes, maybe being a little bit of an a**hole sometimes so my parents would notice me.”

She earned money cleaning houses when she was 14 years old

Instagram

Though stand-up held her interest from a young age, Kris Collins’ pursuit of said career did not take form until her early stages of adulthood. Instead, Kris indulged in various extracurricular activities as a teenager. As a high school athlete, Collins’ prowess in soccer was enough for her to earn a scholarship in the sport. Far before this, however, Collins showed off her entrepreneurial mindset at the ripe age of 14.

During their appearance at Vidcon in 2022, Collins sat down with Celina “CelinaSpookyBoo” Myers to answer some questions from the long string of fans who attended. Through this, one fan asked the two about their first job experience. According to Collins, she went into business for herself when she was only 14 years old. “My first job — which I actually kept for 10 years — I started my own cleaning business when I was 14. So, I cleaned houses,” she responded. “But then I kept that business up until I was like 23.” This wouldn’t be her only method for making money as a teenager, as she later revealed that she had other jobs in addition to her cleaning business. Considering where she ended up, it seems that Collins’ successful cleaning business prepared her for the entrepreneurial feats she’d accomplish as an online superstar.

Before TikTok, Kris pursued a career as a hairstylist

Instagram

With a cleaning business intact, Kris Collins balanced her entrepreneurial practices with her short-lived educational pursuits. After graduating high school, the future TikTok star attended the University of the Fraser Valley in Canada. As with most content creators, Collins dropped out to chase other aspirations. While most assumed Collins would make strides at becoming a notable stand-up act, she seemingly took a different route. During her appearance on “Breakfast Television,” Collins revealed her occupation before becoming an online megastar. “I was a hairdresser before,” she explained. “Which I loved doing that too, this just happened to become my career. But yeah, I was a hairdresser less than two years ago before I started all this.”

According to Collins herself, her hairdressing pursuits weren’t off to a great start, as she recalled a traumatic experience involving hair dye and a willing client in her first YouTube video titled “Q&A.” This, however, didn’t stop her from achieving notable success. Before finding fame through TikTok, her talents in cosmetics allowed her to work on a range of film-slash-television sets. When a fan asked Collins about her favorite TV show set she worked on, she revealed that she found work for the notable CW series “Riverdale.” “I liked working on ‘Riverdale.’ It was actually pretty fun,” she revealed. “The set was really good, and the cast was … relatively nice, and … yeah, it was an overall really good experience.”

Her content creator career started as a suggestion from her younger brother

Instagram

Though Kris Collins saw great success as a hairdresser, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a great deal of strain on her business. Due to the growing rate of cases in Canada, Collins had to shut down her services for the safety of her, her clients, and her family members altogether — which also meant no sources of income rolling in. While many would see this as an opportunity to make decisions out of desperation, this caused Collins to indulge in another habit, thanks to her little brother.

During her appearance on Bernard Marr’s podcast, Collins spoke candidly about her success on TikTok and how it came to be. “My little brother — of all people — told me that I should download TikTok because he knows that I have a bit of a funny bone and I like making funny videos,” she recalled. “So I was like, ‘Okay, it probably won’t amount to anything.'” Unbeknownst to her, her general interest in comedy sketches, along with an infectious personality, made her a household name on the platform in less than two months. “Once it started generating some income, I was like, ‘Okay, maybe I could put the hairbrush down and start making videos,'” she explained. “So that’s when it all started.”

She opened up about her long history of mental health

YouTube

Given her career as a content creator, it’s rare to see stars such as herself pull back the veil to reveal how bad their mental well-being was at one point. For Kris Collins, this only made us empathize with her more outside of her comedy sketches. In 2021, Collins uploaded an in-depth video detailing her struggles with mental health to her growing fans on YouTube. From being diagnosed with depression in middle school, Collins dealt with a long string of challenges that followed her throughout her adult life. Things came to a head in high school when one of Collins’ dearest friends committed suicide. “That was at a time where I was feeling the same way,” she stated. “And I saw everybody’s reaction to that and that’s what prevented me from ever taking it that far.”

Although Collins had unsuccessful attempts at therapy and experienced sexual assault, she revealed that she had a grace period where everything felt normal. This appeared short-lived, however, as a seasonal depressive episode led to another severe diagnosis rooted in self-harm. In July 2019, Collins was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa after a well-needed intervention from her family. “I saw myself in a picture that somebody else took of me, and I got so scared,” she shared. “I couldn’t believe I did that to myself … And I kept that picture and printed it out and had it up, and that’s the day I started actually recovering.”

If you need help with an eating disorder, or know someone who does, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA’s Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN’s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

She struggled with maintaining a healthy work-life balance

Instagram

Kris Collins’ struggles with mental health were seemingly behind her as she started posting regularly on TikTok. Given the number of fans she had reached, the positive feedback had a hand in helping Collins keep those symptoms at bay. However, as her online status grew, so did her need to maintain relevancy. While we’d see several content creators follow a similar path, Collins quickly realized early on that overworking herself wasn’t suitable for long-term success.

In an interview with MedCircle, Collins revealed that her initial approach to having a work-life balance was unhealthy. During her first year of stardom, the online comedian uploaded videos every day for the entire year. “It was kind of just a goal for myself halfway through the year,” she explained. “I was like, ‘You know what? I posted every single day, I might as well post every day for a year,’ and that was not good or okay.” During her appearance on Bernard Marr’s podcast, she went into further detail about the burnout she felt during that time and the pressure she put on herself to maintain her success on the platform. “I definitely had a period — multiple periods — of burning out and getting pretty low and thinking that I couldn’t take a break … but at the end of the day, it’s all on yourself,” she revealed. “People aren’t gonna care if you take one day off.”

Kris Collins ventured into acting in 2021

Amazon

As with many content creators, Kris Collins used the popularity she garnered on TikTok to branch out into more lucrative ventures. In 2021, she posted a vlog to her YouTube channel titled “My First Acting Gig!” Through this, we got to see the Vancouver native travel to Toronto to take part in the revamped sketch comedy series “The Kids in the Hall.” Seemingly upbeat about the opportunity, Collins spoke about the experience after wrapping up her first shoot. “I had so much fun. I’m glad to just be done and just be like, ‘Hey, I did that,'” she exclaimed. “Even though it was a small a** role, it’s just cool to be following my dreams and get my foot in the door for acting and all that kind of stuff.”

Aside from her brief acting credit in 2014’s “Into the Storm,” Collins appeared in other projects shortly after her first major gig. In 2022, Collins starred in the Sci-fi short “ADXM.” By 2023, she’d played a villain named Lady Spigh in the online series created by Steven He titled “Ginormo.” As for her future roles, it seems that Collins’ experience as a make-shift hairdresser helped her attain a role in the film “Bad Haircut.” Though the project is still in production as of this writing, we can’t wait to see what else is in store for Collins as she ventures into the acting world.

Kris Collins broke up with her boyfriend after six years

YouTube

Though Kris Collins’ has been known to be transparent with her fans, there was one aspect of her life that she decided to keep relatively hidden from the public. From meeting her potential beau at a backyard barbeque and going on their first date on her 19th birthday, Collins went on to have a 6-year relationship with Aaron Brown. During her appearance on Phillip DeFranco’s podcast “A Conversation With … ,” Collins explained how sudden her relationship with Aaron was. “I was kind of annoyed when I met him — sorry Aaron — because I was ready to be like single and just like, thrive. Do my own career,” she revealed. “Then I met him, and I was like, ‘F***, he’s perfect. I gotta go with this guy.”

Fans became enamored with their relationship through the few YouTube videos he appeared in, such as “Boyfriend Tag Q&A” and “Boyfriend does my makeup.” This came to a head in 2021 when rumors about their split began to circulate online. While fans continued to play detective, Collins eventually confirmed that the rumors were true in the comments of her second TikTok profile. “Tired of being asked if we’re together,” Collins stated. “We’re still good friends and we care for each other dearly. Just grew apart.”

She became well-acquainted with the Canadian rock band Nickelback

Instagram

Alongside her expansive reach online, Kris Collins has had the opportunity to collaborate with several notable figures she once — and probably still do — look up to. While some were simply legendary YouTubers, others were more or less hometown heroes in her eyes. In 2022, Collins had the opportunity to star in a Nickelback music video for their song “San Quentin.” There, you could briefly see the Vancouver native sporting a cropped long-sleeve paired with black shorts and boots, cheering alongside a crowd of fans.

The surprising crossover between Nickelback and Collins didn’t end there as the Canadian band brought her on stage during their performance in Sayreville, New Jersey, to perform their song “Rockstar” in November 2022. In an interview with CBC Kids News, Collins spoke about the legendary moment and suggested that it was a moment she’ll never forget. “It was wild. It was so weird,” she recalled. “The band is so sweet. They’re so nice, and everybody around is so sweet to let me do that and hurt everybody’s ears.” In addition to recording a TikTok with the band, Collins also sat down with the band in 2023 to celebrate their induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Kris Collins launched her own clothing brand in 2023

Instagram

Creating merch for fans to purchase is usually a foundational step many content creators take as a way to give back to their audience. In February, Kris Collins followed suit and announced the release of her unisex clothing line Otto By Kris. In addition to designing the pieces herself, Collins used this as an opportunity to donate to a cause she believes in. According to the website, proceeds made from their wide range of merchandise will be donated to The Alzheimer’s Association and The American Cancer Society.

Following its initial launch, Collins took to Instagram to announce that the online store was up. Collins also took this time to inform her followers about the reason for its conception. Named by her late grandparents, Collins dedicated this venture to two individuals who had a major influence on her life. “The brand is named Otto because that is the last name of the people that have impacted my life in so many positive ways. My Popsi & Grammi,” she wrote. “I lost both of them not long ago to Cancer & Alzheimer’s, and I miss and love them so much, and they were always so supportive in everything I did. I wanted to carry their name along with something I really loved and cared about, and knew they would love too. So @ottobykris was born.”

She was forced to relocate due to a slew of stalkers

YouTube

In light of her fame, Kris Collins has been transparent about the hurdles she had to jump through to adjust to this new way of life. Although many of these challenges came from her work-life imbalance and mental health, others came from crazed fanatics. One situation, in particular, caused the content creator to move out of her house due to the prying nature of her fans.

In April 2023, Collins posted a video titled “We Need To Talk” to address real-life issues. In 2021, Collins purchased her own house just a year after gaining notoriety online. Despite achieving this lifetime goal, she wouldn’t move in immediately due to her decision to renovate the place. After a year’s worth of renovations, Collins was able to settle in the remodeled house. This took a turn for the worse, however, as Collins revealed that she has been dealing with stalkers ever since she moved in. So much so that it caused Collins to relocate due to her fear of safety. “I don’t want to get into a whole lot of detail, but basically, people found my house — specifically men — and I’ve had everything from drones being in my backyard really late at night … to people harassing me by coming up and knocking on my door and running away just to see if I am home,” she detailed. “And these aren’t kids. These are adults.”