In 2021, the internet decided Addison Rae was cringe. By 2026, she was Grammy-nominated.

That's not luck. That's strategy.

Addison went from being mocked for her acting in "He's All That" and ridiculed for her first single "Obsessed" to earning a Best New Artist nomination. Her debut album reached #4 on the Billboard 200. Critics who dismissed her as "just another TikToker" now write glowing reviews of her hyperpop sound.

What happened? How does someone go from universal cringe to critical darling in four years?

The answer isn't hidden in one lucky break. It's in what drives her, and why she was willing to fail publicly before she figured it out.

TL;DR: Why Addison Rae is an Enneagram Type 3
  • Strategic Reinvention: Addison didn't just change her sound. She changed her entire positioning, from dance videos to hyperpop collaborations with Charli XCX. That level of adaptation is textbook Type 3.
  • Image Consciousness: "I feel like I've surpassed Addison Rae. It's just Addison now." She understands that identity is a brand, and brands evolve or die.
  • Achievement Over Approval: She left LSU after one semester when TikTok success called. Convinced her parents to move across the country. Put career first, always.
  • People-Pleaser Recovery: "Growing up, I struggled with that. I wanted to make everyone happy, and sometimes you compromise yourself." She learned that memorable people don't come from pleasing everyone.
  • Failure as Fuel: Her first music flopped. Her first movie was panned. Instead of retreating, she pivoted, found better collaborators, better sound, better image. That's the achiever's response to rejection.

What is Addison Rae's Personality Type?

Addison Rae is an Enneagram Type 3 (The Achiever)

Enneagram Type 3s are driven by the need to feel valuable through accomplishment and external recognition. They adapt their presentation to succeed in any environment.

What makes Addison interesting is how visibly she's lived the Type 3 journey. Most achievers hide their failures. Addison failed in public, got mocked, and then came back with something better. That takes a specific kind of drive.

"Everything I've done so far in my career is because of choices I've made, and staying true to myself and my intuition. So why would I listen to what anyone else has to say? I got here all on my own."

That's not arrogance. That's the hard-won confidence of someone who trusted themselves when the internet said they shouldn't.

Why Type 3 and Not Type 7 or Type 2?

Watch Addison's early content and you might see Type 7: fun, dancing, living her best life. See her connection with fans and family and you might think Type 2: warm, giving, people-focused.

But the through-line is achievement.

Type 7s avoid pain through pleasure-seeking. Addison sits with her therapist working through body image issues and mental health struggles. She doesn't run from discomfort.

Type 2s measure worth through being needed by specific people. Addison measures worth through recognition, chart positions, critical reviews. She tracks success in concrete accomplishments.

The giveaway? When "Obsessed" flopped, she didn't retreat into her support system (Type 2 response) or distract herself with new adventures (Type 7 response). She analyzed what went wrong, found better collaborators, and came back with "Diet Pepsi." That's Type 3.

The Small-Town Girl Who Wouldn't Stay Small

Addison Rae Easterling was born October 6, 2000, in Lafayette, Louisiana. Her parents, Sheri Nicole Easterling and Monty Lopez, had a turbulent on-and-off marriage. The instability meant constant moves: Louisiana to Texas, back to Louisiana.

"I remember being the new kid at multiple schools. I was bullied for owning Bearpaw shoes instead of UGGs."

Small humiliations that teach you something important: fitting in matters. Image matters. What people think of you affects your life.

But dance gave her something stable. She started lessons at six: ballet, jazz, contemporary. She competed across the country. For a kid whose family life was chaos, dance offered structure and measurable success. Competitions have winners. You can see where you stand.

By high school at Calvary Baptist Academy, she was doing gymnastics and cheerleading. More performance. More competition. More stages where achievement could be witnessed.

The Sports Broadcasting Dream That Wasn't

In 2019, Addison enrolled at Louisiana State University to study sports broadcasting. She wanted to be a journalist covering sports.

That career never happened.

While babysitting that year, she downloaded TikTok on a whim and posted a video for fun. It got 93,000 likes.

"I was like, 'woah.'"

One video. 93,000 people paying attention. For someone wired to seek recognition, that feedback loop was irresistible.

By November 2019, she had over a million followers. She dropped out of LSU after one semester.

The Move That Changed Everything

Addison didn't just decide to pursue TikTok. She convinced her entire family to restructure their lives around her opportunity.

Her parents had just moved to Baton Rouge so she could attend LSU. Now she needed them in Los Angeles.

"When we moved out here collectively as a family, that's when things really started skyrocketing."

Both parents came. Her mom Sheri built her own TikTok following. The family became a social media operation.

That's not just ambition. That's the Type 3 ability to align an entire environment around achievement goals.

The Hype House Era: Fame and First Love

In December 2019, Addison joined the Hype House, a collaborative content mansion for TikTok creators. She quickly became one of the platform's biggest stars.

She also started dating Bryce Hall.

The relationship was public, messy, and formative. They got together, broke up, got back together, split amid cheating allegations.

"I'm very guarded when it comes to relationships because my first public relationship taught me a lot about myself. That was a shit show. He was very vocal about everything, and it was a mess."

She learned something crucial: public relationships are content. And content can become chaos. After Bryce, she kept her next serious relationship with music producer Omer Fedi significantly more private.

The Friendship That Raised Eyebrows

In 2021, Addison became close friends with Kourtney Kardashian. The more than 20-year age gap surprised people.

The connection started through Kourtney's son Mason, who wanted TikTok help. But it evolved into genuine friendship: workouts together, appearances on each other's content, support during career transitions.

For Addison, the friendship represented access to a different level. The Kardashians understand image management, brand evolution, and long-term career building in ways TikTokers don't. Kourtney became both friend and mentor.

The First Failures: Acting and Music

2021 was Addison's year of ambitious failures.

She starred in "He's All That," a Netflix gender-swapped remake of the 90s classic. Critics were brutal. Her acting was called wooden, her screen presence questioned.

She released "Obsessed," her first single. It was generic pop. Forgettable. The internet's verdict: stick to dancing.

For most people, that would be humiliating enough to retreat. For a Type 3, failure is data.

What went wrong? Bad material. Wrong positioning. Trying to be something conventional when conventional wasn't working.

She needed to find the right collaborators. The right sound. The right image.

The Reinvention: Finding Her People

The turning point came through relationships.

Omer Fedi, her boyfriend from 2021-2025, is a Grammy-winning producer. He co-wrote "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" with Lil Nas X and "Mood" with 24kGoldn. Through him, Addison gained access to the hyperpop and experimental music world.

Charli XCX became her musical mentor.

"My relationship with Charli has given me so much confidence, guidance, and direction in the industry."

Charli didn't just collaborate with Addison. She validated her. When one of pop's most credible artists treats you as a peer, the narrative changes.

In March 2024, Addison featured on Charli's "Von Dutch" remix. The track earned a Grammy nomination for Best Remixed Recording.

Then came "Diet Pepsi."

Diet Pepsi: The Song That Changed the Story

In 2024, Addison signed with Columbia Records and released "Diet Pepsi." The song was everything "Obsessed" wasn't: hyperpop production, confident attitude, self-aware humor.

It peaked at #54 on the Billboard Hot 100, her first entry on the chart. Certified platinum by the RIAA.

But the numbers don't capture what actually happened. The critical reception flipped.

Dazed named it Best Track of 2024. The Fader ranked it #2 on their 50 best songs list. Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield put it at #4 on his Top 25.

The same publications that ignored or mocked her earlier work were now praising her music as some of the year's best.

What changed? Not just the sound. The positioning. By aligning with hyperpop, working with A.G. Cook and Charli XCX, and releasing through a major label, Addison transformed from "TikToker trying music" to "artist with credible collaborators."

She performed "Diet Pepsi" at Madison Square Garden with Troye Sivan and Charli XCX during the Sweat tour. TikToker to arena performer.

The Album: "Addison"

Her debut album dropped in 2025 with a symbolic title: just "Addison."

"I feel like I've surpassed Addison Rae. It's just Addison now."

The album debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200. #2 in the UK. #2 in Australia. All 12 tracks written and produced by Addison, Luka Kloser, and Elvira Anderfjärd.

She embarked on her first headlining tour. Critics noted her dance background translated into commanding live performances.

Then came the nomination: Best New Artist at the 2026 Grammy Awards.

From cringe TikToker to Grammy nominee in four years. That's not luck. That's relentless strategic repositioning.

The Mind Behind the Reinvention

Addison's psychology reveals itself in how she talks about success and failure.

On not needing everyone's approval:

"You're not meant to appeal to every single person. There are going to be people that don't like you. There are going to be people that don't like what you wear, but that's all a part of being unique and different and standing out. People who are memorable don't come from being people pleasers."

That's mature Type 3 insight. Early in life, achievers often try to be universally liked. Growth means accepting that polarization can be more valuable than broad approval.

On body image and self-worth:

"A lot of it has to do with body image. It's a really hard thing to deal with when you're a girl, especially going through your teens."

She's spoken openly about therapy, about learning self-love, about the mental health cost of having 70 million people scrutinize your appearance.

"Just staying mentally healthy has been a really big accomplishment for me."

For someone driven by external achievement, recognizing internal work as an accomplishment is significant growth.

The Controversies She Navigated

Success at Addison's level attracts criticism.

The Trump Handshake (2021): She voluntarily greeted Donald Trump at a UFC event. Fans were furious. She didn't apologize or explain. She absorbed the backlash and moved forward.

The Jimmy Fallon Dance Controversy: She performed TikTok dances on The Tonight Show without crediting the Black creators who originated them. The criticism was substantial and valid. She later credited the original choreographers.

The Religious Bikini: She posted a photo in a white bikini with "Father," "Son," and "Holy Spirit" printed on it. Conservative and religious fans were offended.

Each controversy followed a pattern: moment of attention, wave of criticism, measured response (or silence), then return to regular content. She doesn't let backlash derail her trajectory.

The Private Life She Protected

After the Bryce Hall chaos, Addison kept her relationship with Omer Fedi quiet. Four years together, relatively out of the spotlight.

They split in late 2025. A source told Entertainment Tonight there was "no bad blood" and she wanted to "focus on her career" without "distractions."

"If it's not a vibe, I'm very quick to be like, 'This is not a vibe.' I'm not afraid to say it out loud."

She learned from her first public relationship. Love and career are separate. When career requires focus, everything else adjusts.

What's Next: Acting, Fashion, and Legacy

Beyond music, Addison continues building.

Acting: After "Thanksgiving" (2023), she's cast in "Animal Friends" alongside Ryan Reynolds and Aubrey Plaza, releasing October 2025. She'll also appear in Ryan Murphy's "Monsters: The Ed Gein Story."

Fashion: She starred in Saint Laurent's campaign film "As Time Goes By" with Chloë Sevigny. She was the face of Marc Jacobs x Vaquera. In August 2025, she launched a collaboration with Lucky Brand.

Philanthropy: In 2021, she donated $1 million in prize money from a Mario Tennis Aces tournament to No Kid Hungry.

The portfolio keeps expanding. Music, acting, fashion, philanthropy. Each new area is another opportunity for achievement.

The Pattern Behind the Success

What Addison Rae figured out:

Failure is information, not identity. When "Obsessed" flopped and "He's All That" was panned, she didn't defend the work or retreat from the spotlight. She analyzed what went wrong and found better collaborators.

Positioning matters as much as talent. The same voice that sang "Obsessed" sang "Diet Pepsi." The difference was production, collaborators, and credibility by association.

Adaptability is survival. TikTok dance star → actress → singer → critically acclaimed hyperpop artist. Each pivot built on what worked from the previous era.

Internal validation takes work. She goes to therapy. She talks openly about mental health. For someone driven by external recognition, developing internal worth is deliberate effort.

"I've become everything I knew I was meant to be. I've always lived the life that I wanted to live. I think it's inspiring for people to see that someone like me from a small town in Louisiana was able to make these dreams come to life."

That's not arrogance. That's the confidence of someone who bet on themselves and won.

In a handful of years, she's gone from bullied new kid in Louisiana to Grammy-nominated artist performing at Madison Square Garden. The internet said she was cringe. She proved she was strategic.

If you're trying to reinvent yourself, here's the uncomfortable truth: you have to be willing to look bad before you look inevitable.

Addison Rae figured it out. And she's just getting started.

Disclaimer: This analysis of Addison Rae's Enneagram type is speculative, based on publicly available information, and may not reflect her actual personality type.