The Untold Truth Of Annie LeBlanc

Annie LeBlanc is about to become a huge star, and, if you're a teenager or have teens or tweens in your family, chances are you already know that her celebrity is on the rise. The gymnast-turned-YouTube sensation, who's also become a singer and actress, is one of the hottest stars on the internet, and her career is just getting started. LeBlanc is known for her role on Chicken Girls — both the web series and the film. Both are set in the Brat universe which releases music and videos every day that are geared towards the younger generations.

The YouTube star is a new kind of celebrity. Born in 2004, her parents started putting videos of her online when she was a young child, so she basically grew up in front of the internet's eyes. If you haven't heard of her, you'll want to take note because Annie LeBlanc is a name that's going to be everywhere. Here's everything you need to know about the rising talent. 

Annie LeBlanc is far from the only star in her family. In fact, she didn't even start her YouTube career as a solo artist. Her first brush with fame came as a member of Bratayley, a family YouTube vlog that was launched in 2010. The vlog channel consists of family videos and featured Leblanc, her siblings, Hayley and Caleb, and her parents. As of this writing, the channel has more than 7 million subscribers.

According to People, the name of the channel came from a family nickname for Hayley which combined "brat" with her name. The moniker stuck, and it became the name of her YouTube channel which quickly become a family channel. But the channel isn't only responsible for launching Annie LeBlanc's career. Her little sister, Hayley, is also a YouTube star in her own right with more than 1 million subscribers on her personal channel.

Tragically, the oldest "Bratayley" sibling passed away in 2015. He was just 13 years old when he died, leaving his family and his fans devastated. According to an Instagram post on the Braytayley account, Caleb passed away from an undiagnosed medical condition, later revealed to be hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which is known to cause cardiac arrest in young people. "This has come as a shock to all of us," read the post. "Words cannot describe how much we will miss him. His incredibly funny, loving and wonderful spirit made us all fall in love with him as a YouTuber, friend, brother and son."

The family broadcast the memorial service on Facebook and Periscope in order to help Caleb's fans process the heartbreaking news. The impact of his loss deeply affected the family, who still posts pictures of Caleb regularly on the Bratayley Instagram account.

"What I miss most about him is his smile, or, like, his laugh," Annie LeBlanc said in a YouTube video in 2018. "It lit up the whole entire room."

Being a teenager isn't easy, but when you're growing up in the spotlight, things can be even harder. It always helps to have someone in your corner, and Annie LeBlanc fortunately has the perfect person for that. While some girls her age might clash with their moms, LeBlanc and her mom are super close, and she can count on her mom for help navigating whatever life throws at her. LeBlanc told Girls' Life that she always goes to her mom for advice. "I can tell her anything," she said. "If there is anything wrong with my performance I can say 'Hey, this isn't working.' She will help me calm down and help me focus on what really matters."

Whether it's coping with superstardom or just getting through the teen years and puberty, a support system like what LeBlanc has in her mom can make a huge difference.

Some teenagers might balk at being thrust into the spotlight at such a young age, but not Annie LeBlanc. The singer is susceptible to nerves like most of us, but she's got a pre-performance routine in place to shake off any lingering stage fright. How does LeBlanc get ready for her performances? By listening to music, of course. But not just any music — LeBlanc listens to her own songs to shake off those jitters.

It might seem weird at first, but listening to your own music is definitely one way to get you in the mood to perform it. We also can't blame her for wanting to listen to catchy songs like "Picture This" and "Ordinary Girl."

In addition to listening to a playlist of her own music to get in the zone, LeBlanc also makes sure to drink lots of water, to apply Chapstick, and to avoid stress before performances.

Teenage life is stressful, but, when it's compounded with the pressure of being a celebrity, it's must be downright overwhelming. So, you have to wonder how Annie LeBlanc keeps it all together. When your life is so busy, you need some good coping mechanisms in order to deal with it all. Fortunately, LeBlanc has the perfect way to unwind from a stressful day: Netflix.

LeBlanc loves to have Netflix marathons in bed, complete with popcorn, as reported by Girls' Life. Her favorite shows include The Vampire Diaries (she's #TeamStephen) and, of course, the timeless classic Friends, although she admitted to Hollywire that she's "more of a movie person."

Other favorite ways she unwinds include hanging out in her backyard by the pool and playing with her dogs. She also likes to light up some candles to help soothe her after a long day. Her favorite? "Pink and oatmeal-cookie scented candles." Sounds like the perfect way to relax!

Given that Annie LeBlanc said she's a "movie person," she, of course, has a favorite flick that she loves watching. The teenager is a Nicholas Sparks fan whose previous favorite movie, The Last Song, was displaced by a classic movie also based on one of Sparks' books, The Notebook.

Keep in mind that The Notebook was released in the summer of 2004, before LeBlanc was even born, making her favorite movie choice kind of a retro one (at least from her perspective). "My cousins were in town and we were watching The Notebook, which I had heard of ... but I just didn't have any interest in it for some reason," she said on her YouTube vlog. "I just didn't want to watch it. But they were like, 'No, you're going to love it.'"

It turns out LeBlanc's cousins know her well. "I watched it," she said. "I started crying at the end because it's such a good movie. And then I watched it again the next night, and it's just definitely my favorite movie. ... It's an amazing movie."

The dawn of social media seemingly split the world into two groups: those who are not old enough to have had their youth documented online and those whose fashion don'ts are plastered all over the internet for the rest of time. Annie LeBlanc grew up in the age of social media, which means that a lot of her childhood memories were documented online for public consumption, and she is not always happy about this fact. Like all of us, LeBlanc cringes at some of her old social media posts.

"I mean, I feel like all the old photos from like two years ago are kind of like cringey," she told CelebSecretsTV. "Every time I look at one, even an old blog, I'm like, 'Oh, why did I do that?' I mean, I don't necessarily regret it but it's something like... 'Oh, hey.'"

Fortunately, Annie LeBlanc doesn't cringe at all of her old social media posts. This is a good thing because, when you've been active on YouTube for most of your life, the pool for potential embarrassment is deep. Like her millions of fans, LeBlanc is also entertained by her past self. Her favorite video from her past, though, is actually one that heavily features her sister, Hayley. "Well, a long time ago my little sister was screaming because she didn't want to go to the park," LeBlanc told Nickelodeon. "It's a long story, but you should watch it!"

The video, which has over 66 million views, is titled "I'm Never Going at the Park Again!" In it, the "Bratayley" kids go to the park and, in the opening shot, Hayley is shown screaming and crying because she stepped in a mud puddle. We can see why LeBlanc is amused by the video, but we have to wonder if her little sister feels the same way!

Annie LeBlanc used to be a pretty serious gymnast who started training in the sport when she was just 2 years old. While she loved the sport, the competitive angle was not exactly her favorite. The YouTube star reached level nine in competitive gymnastics, and, if she had completed level ten, she would have been eligible to compete at the "elite" level, which would have qualified her to compete at Olympic Trials or professional events.

But LeBlanc simply didn't love competing enough to continue, so we'll probably never see her competing in the Olympics. "I hated competing even when I was a gymnast," she admitted to Hollywire. "I just brought so much stress... [but] after competing was amazing." She continued, "But when I was in gymnastics I hated it so I definitely do not miss it now. I like more of the practice. I just let the pressure get to me every time I competed."

Annie LeBlanc might be interested in dating, but, if she is, she doesn't get hung up on whether or not she has a significant other. If she's single for Valentine's Day, it's totally cool. This celeb is a big fan of Galentine's Day, and she enjoys spending the day with her friends.

Some of her tips for the perfect Galentine's Day — "a day where women celebrate women" — are pretty inspired. "Valentine's Day can make people kind of sad," she said in a Nickelodeon video. "So that's why Galentine's Day is to celebrate friendship." Some of her favorite ways to celebrate the day include making heart-shaped Galentine's Day treats with her pals, watching rom-com films and letting the tears flow, getting a mani-pedi, sharing secrets, and, of course, having a dance party! Not only does this seem like a low-pressure way to celebrate February 14, but it also sounds like an epic way to bond with friends.

A lot of teenagers like to experiment with makeup, but Annie LeBlanc isn't one of them. The star keeps her face mostly makeup-free, although she does, of course, have makeup applied when she's on set filming a show or movie. The cosmetics are something that she likes to keep at work, though, preferring to rock a mostly makeup-free face when she's hanging out at home or with her friends.

"I only wear makeup when I'm on set," she said on her YouTube vlog. "That's pretty much it. Or if I want to. But normally I don't wear makeup. And if I do, I'll wear like mascara or like concealer or something."

Wearing so little makeup might not be what we expect from a celeb, especially one whose home life is often recorded on camera, but LeBlanc is living proof that you don't need cosmetics to be beautiful!

Annie LeBlanc isn't content to just be a YouTube sensation, actress, and pop star. The young celeb is also branching out into the business world and has launched her own unisex bracelet line. The name of the line plays on her last name and is called Annie LeBling. "As y'all know, I love rocking cute accessories every day," LeBlanc wrote on the Annie LeBling website. "You can always find me wearing at least one bracelet to tie my look together, so I thought I'd bring you guys in on the fun! My Annie LeBling bracelet designs are simple, playful, and they go with literally everything, so get ready to be the envy of everyone in your squad — they're all going to want one."

The jewelry company may have started out as just a bracelet line, but LeBlanc has since branched out into rings, too, and is hoping to add more accessories to the line in the future.

When it comes to performing, Annie LeBlanc is a natural. She doesn't really struggle to get into character, as she draws on inspiration from her own life to decide how to portray the parts she plays. When asked by Hollywire if she feels like she is her Chicken Girls character, Rhyme, or if there's something she does to prepare for the role, LeBlanc let her fans have a glimpse into how she gets ready to film.

"There definitely are some similarities of how me and Rhyme connect," she said. "I mean, like, she's going into school and, like, I'm going to school now. So I can definitely relate to her a lot of the times and just be like, 'Well, if I were going to do this, how would I react?' And I would kind of be like, 'Okay well, I guess Rhyme could react this way.'"

Given the fact that Annie LeBlanc has been on YouTube since such a young age, it might seem that she has always had an interest in being a movie star or was, at least, had been groomed for that career by her parents. According to LeBlanc, however, she got into acting and singing just for fun and didn't really think that it would bring her the success that it has.

LeBlanc's success in something that started off as a hobby is proof that everyone should explore their passions to find what they really love to do. "My advice for someone who really wants to discover their passion is to like try new things, different things," she told YSBNow. "Try something every day. One day do arts and crafts. Another day go to a soccer game. ... If you love it, keep doing it. Make sure that if you keep going that you still love it."  

Like most of us these days, Annie LeBlanc is pretty much wired to her devices and documents much of her life online. While she's a celebrity — not to mention one who got famous through social media — she doesn't actually take social media all that seriously, and she seems to have a pretty healthy relationship with the platforms she uses.

"I feel like a lot of children these days ... they all think that they have to become something on the internet and make sure that they're getting ... a certain amount of likes," she told YSBNow. "I don't think that was the point of social media to begin with at all. I use social media to like express creativity. That's like my favorite part of Instagram, that I can create like cool pictures and like cool vibes and make everyone else feel happy about that."

LeBlanc added that social media for her is about spreading "positive vibes" but that she tries not to dwell on it too much. "To be honest, it's such a big part of everybody's lives. I just like to take a step back and be like, 'It's really not that important.' Like you just need to, like, make sure that you're good on the inside. And you shouldn't be worrying about how many likes you're getting because that's not really who you are."