She was crying five minutes ago. Now she's doing her makeup for millions.

That's not a strategy. That's just Alix Earle.

The 25-year-old TikTok phenomenon built an empire on being herself at moments most people would hide. Crying on camera. Talking through anxiety. Getting ready with a hangover. Posting about her acne when her skin was at its worst. She doesn't filter the mess. She shares it.

Nearly 12 million followers. Forbes 30 Under 30. The ability to sell out any product she touches. She's become Gen Z's most trusted voice. But here's what makes her different from the thousands of influencers doing the same thing: when Alix shares her chaos, millions of people feel like they actually know her.

Not "know her" in the parasocial sense. Know her like a friend who FaceTimes you while getting ready to go out.

What creates that feeling? Why does she connect when others don't?

It comes down to what drives her. And how she learned to show it.

TL;DR: Why Alix Earle is an Enneagram Type 3
  • Vulnerability That Resonates: Alix shares her biggest struggles openly: acne, family scandal, mental health. She's figured out something most achievers never do: the mess makes her more compelling, not less.
  • Achievement You Can Measure: From getting into her dream school through persistence, to building a scholarship at University of Miami, to briefly dethroning Joe Rogan on podcast charts. She tracks success in concrete accomplishments.
  • The "It Girl" Image: She compares herself to Serena van der Woodsen from Gossip Girl: glamorous, magnetic, always at the center. But she's self-aware enough to add: "besides the part where she's just not a good friend."
  • Performance Under Pressure: Dancing with the Stars, public breakup, podcast drama, controversies. She keeps producing content through every crisis. The show must go on.
  • Fun That Masks Drive: Her "queen of hangovers" persona and party-girl energy make achievement look effortless. That's not an accident. It's how she operates.

What is Alix Earle's Personality Type?

Alix Earle is an Enneagram Type 3 (The Achiever)

Enneagram Type 3s need to feel valuable through accomplishment and recognition. The pattern often starts in childhood: love came through achievement, not just existing.

Type 3s read rooms. They adapt. They intuitively understand what will resonate. This isn't manipulation. It's a survival instinct that becomes social intelligence.

What makes Alix interesting is her 7 wing. This adds spontaneity, humor, and "I'm just here for a good time" energy that softens the drive. She doesn't come across as a ruthless climber. She presents as your fun friend who happens to be wildly successful.

Most achievers tell you about their accomplishments. Alix shows you her acne, her hangover, her crying face. She walks away with more followers and brand deals than her polished competitors. She figured out what few people in her position ever do: the realness is the advantage.

Why Type 3 and Not Type 7 or Type 2?

Watch Alix party and you might see Type 7: fun-seeking, spontaneous, avoiding pain through pleasure. Watch her connect with fans and you might see Type 2: wanting to be loved, people-pleasing.

But look closer.

Type 7s chase experiences to avoid uncomfortable emotions. Alix doesn't avoid hers. She posts about them. The hangover content isn't escapism; it's documentation. Type 7s move away from pain. Alix sits in her bathroom, mascara running, and talks through it.

Type 2s measure worth through being needed by specific people. Alix measures worth through recognition from everyone. She created a scholarship. She celebrates making lists. She tracks metrics. Type 2s give to bond; Alix gives to build.

The giveaway is what drives her. Not fun (7) or connection (2). Success. Visible, recognized, validated success.

The First Time Cameras Found Her

Alix Earle's first experience with media attention wasn't the viral TikTok kind.

When she was seven years old, paparazzi showed up at her family home in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Her father, Thomas "TJ" Earle, a construction magnate, had been exposed in an affair with Ashley Alexandra Dupre. The same escort at the center of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's political scandal.

"I remember the day very clearly. Paparazzi had shown up at my house, and my mom quickly kind of got me and my sister out of the house, over to our cousins. We stayed there for a few days, and I had no idea what was going on."

Her mother Alisa shielded young Alix from understanding what happened. That protective move shaped something important. Alix learned early that narratives can be controlled. The story people tell matters more than raw facts.

Her parents divorced in 2013. Her father married Dupré that same year. What could have been permanent family dysfunction became something Alix now describes as "very modern." Mom, dad, and stepmom all vacation together.

This reframing is revealing. Where others see dysfunction, Alix sees a progressive family structure. Where others might hide the scandal, she discusses it on podcasts. The trauma becomes material. The mess becomes the brand.

But the reframing didn't happen overnight. It took years and the people who stayed close.

The Women Who Shaped Her

Her mom Alisa became her anchor. Watch Alix's content and you'll notice her mom shows up constantly. Not as a background character, but as an active presence. Alisa shielded young Alix during the scandal, and that protective bond translated into adult friendship. When Alix moved to Miami and later LA, her mom remained her emotional constant.

Their relationship is visible in Alix's comfort with being seen at her worst. When your mom loves you through family scandal and public humiliation, you internalize that acceptance differently. You learn that being messy doesn't mean being unlovable.

Her sister Ashtin is equally central. They grew up navigating the same upheaval: same divorce, same scandal, same "very modern" family dynamics. Ashtin appears regularly in Alix's videos. Their sisterly shorthand has become part of the content. Fans know Ashtin. They've watched the sisters tease each other, get ready together, share the chaos.

This family network matters psychologically. Achievers often struggle with deep relationships because success takes precedence. But Alix built her career with her family embedded in the content. They're not separate from her success; they're woven into it.

She grew up wealthy in Wall Township, attended Red Bank Catholic High School, and stayed active in dance and sports. Competitive, performance-oriented activities that would foreshadow her career.

Miami: Where the Content Found Its Form

Alix wanted the University of Miami badly. When her initial application didn't go as planned, she persistently reached out to admissions until she achieved her goal.

"I wanted to do this so badly that I was willing to give up my friends, my home, and my school."

Once there, she faced the achiever's eternal challenge: balancing social life with academics. As a marketing major, she was already thinking strategically about influence. She managed social media for a clothing boutique back in New Jersey. Not for money. For experience.

In February 2020, as a freshman, she posted her first TikTok. Her friends showing off outfits made from trash bags. Nothing special. Just college kids being college kids.

Then something changed in summer 2022.

The Acne Video That Changed Everything

Alix was dealing with severe acne from a facial cyst. When her manager pushed her to post a sponsored video, she refused. Afraid to show her skin. But then she made a different choice.

She posted anyway. And talked about it.

"I could use my platform to help others struggling with the same issue."

What happened next wasn't gradual. Her comments exploded with people sharing their own skin struggles. "I've never seen an influencer show their real skin." "This makes me feel so much better about my acne." The algorithm picked it up. The video spread beyond her existing audience.

In one month during her senior year, she gained almost 3 million TikTok followers.

The lesson landed: the thing she wanted to hide was the thing that connected. She graduated in May 2023 with a marketing degree and used her success to create the Alix Earle Scholarship for students at Miami Herbert Business School.

What Watching Alix Actually Feels Like

Most influencer content creates distance. Ring lights. Curated backgrounds. Careful angles. You're watching a performance from the audience.

Alix's Get Ready With Me videos feel different.

She sits on her bathroom floor. Harsh overhead lighting. No ring light softening the shadows. She's often in a robe or old t-shirt. Her hair might be greasy. She rambles through stories while doing her makeup, jumping between topics, losing her train of thought, laughing at herself.

It feels like FaceTiming your friend who's getting ready to go out. You're not watching her; you're hanging out with her while she gets ready.

"I was trying to be picture perfect. I thought that was the way to go."

That strategy failed. The pivot to radical openness succeeded.

She calls herself "the queen of hangovers." She went out every night except Monday during college. She posts about vomiting on her dresses. Somehow, this makes brands want to work with her more.

The format works because it eliminates the fourth wall. When someone talks to you like a friend, complete with tangents and awkward pauses and "wait, where was I going with this?", your brain processes it as a real relationship. Millions of people genuinely feel like they know her.

The Alix Earle Effect: When Products Disappear

Here's what "influence" actually looks like at Alix's level:

In 2023, she mentioned Rare Beauty's Soft Pinch Liquid Blush in a video. The shade "Joy" sold out within hours. Not days. Hours. Sephora couldn't keep it stocked. The brand hadn't paid her to mention it.

When she started using Tarte's Juicy Lips Lip Gloss, the product went viral. Made by Mitchell cosmetics. Amazon finds she casually shares. Dresses she wears to events. The pattern is consistent: Alix mentions something, and it disappears from shelves.

The industry started calling this "the Alix Earle effect."

Why does it work? Her recommendations don't feel like ads. When your friend texts you "you NEED this lip gloss," you're more likely to buy it than when a celebrity posts a sponsored #ad. Alix has built that friend-text energy at scale.

This isn't despite her messiness. It's because of it. Compare her to Taylor Swift's carefully crafted eras or Kim Kardashian's curated glamour. Those strategies work too. But Alix found a different path: real chaos, real influence.

When critics accuse her of being "calculated," she pushes back. She treats her platforms "like an online diary," posting without much planning. The spontaneity is genuine.

But she also has natural instincts for what resonates. She's "intentional, strategic, and consistent" about showing up. Those aren't contradictions. She's genuinely herself, AND her personality happens to be compelling. Both things are true.

Dancing With the Stars: The Achiever Under Spotlight

In 2025, Alix joined Season 34 of Dancing with the Stars. For someone driven by visible, measurable success, this was perfect territory: a competitive platform where improvement could be tracked week by week.

Partnered with Val Chmerkovskiy, she became one of the season's most improved dancers. Judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli praised her growth. Her performances consistently earned among the highest scores.

The emotional peak came on Dedication Night. She performed a contemporary dance with her 12-year-old half-sister Izabel, one of Ashley Dupre's daughters. The complicated family history transformed into something beautiful on national television. The performance scored 35 out of 40. Fans insisted she deserved higher.

In the finale, she and Val earned perfect 30s on all their dances. They finished in second place behind Robert Irwin and Witney Carson.

"This Dancing With the Stars journey really just has changed my life. I am gonna come out of this such a different person than I was going in."

That's growth through achievement. Using competition not just for recognition, but for genuine transformation.

The Controversies: How She Handles Fire

Success at Alix's level attracts scrutiny. In 2024, she faced her most serious public crisis.

Screenshots surfaced from her old ask.fm account showing her using a racial slur in 2014. She was 13 at the time.

"I am taking accountability and want to make it clear that I was 13 years old and did not understand the deeply offensive meaning behind that word."

The apology was direct but the fallout complicated. Allegations emerged that her legal team attempted to trademark the screenshots to prevent their spread. Claims she called "absolutely ridiculous and untrue."

Around the same time, she filed a lawsuit against Gymshark for allegedly dropping an influencer deal due to her "perceived stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict" after she posted a pro-Israel comment. The case settled out of court in January 2025.

In 2023, she'd been photographed partying with Ivanka Trump at Art Basel, sparking criticism from fans who assumed political alignment.

Each controversy followed a pattern: initial silence, measured response, then pivot back to regular content. She doesn't let criticism spiral into identity crisis. She addresses, adapts, and continues performing.

Love in the Long Distance

Alix's relationship with NFL wide receiver Braxton Berrios became public in 2023. They met at a Miami party in February, and by summer they were making red carpet appearances together at the ESPYs.

The relationship had controversy from the start. Berrios's ex, Sophia Culpo, suggested there was "betrayal" involved. Alix and Braxton denied any overlap.

For nearly two years, they were TikTok's favorite NFL couple. Alix attended games. Braxton appeared in her content. They fostered rescue dogs.

Then came the long-distance reality.

When Alix relocated to Los Angeles for Dancing with the Stars while Braxton traveled with the Houston Texans, the relationship cracked. They were apart for months. Not just weeks. The distance became untenable.

"Braxton and I are no longer together. We have been doing long distance since, basically, June and we haven't gotten to see each other that often. It's just been really difficult for me."

Her tearful TikTok announcing the split was classic Alix: vulnerable, direct, unfiltered. She cried on camera. She shared her pain. And then she kept dancing, kept competing, kept showing up.

The Alex Cooper Situation

In September 2023, Alix launched her podcast "Hot Mess with Alix Earle" under Alex Cooper's Unwell Network. Upon debut, it briefly dethroned The Joe Rogan Experience from the top spot on Spotify's podcast charts. A position Rogan had held for two years.

The partnership seemed perfect. Alex Cooper had built a podcasting empire with "Call Her Daddy." Alix brought the Gen Z audience. They collaborated and promoted each other's work.

Then something happened. Nobody outside the situation knows exactly what.

By early 2025, fans noticed the two weren't appearing on each other's content. Alix skipped an Unwell Super Bowl party in New Orleans despite being in town. The social media sleuthing intensified.

In February 2025, reports confirmed: "Hot Mess" had been dropped from the Unwell Network.

"This week has been like, meh. Obviously, there's been a lot of chatter online this week about me and work. And I also have no idea what's going on."

Alex Cooper denied any connection to Alix's subsequent podcasting hiatus, stating "Alix not being able to podcast has nothing to do with Unwell." The actual details remain unclear. Contract disputes, creative differences, business decisions, or something else entirely.

Alix announced she was taking a break from podcasting "for the foreseeable future" to focus on her YouTube channel.

But by late 2025, she was signaling a return: "We have plans to bring things back, elevate things. It might look a little different, but I'm excited to see what we do with it."

The Headlines Keep Coming

Just weeks after announcing her breakup from Braxton Berrios, Alix Earle rang in 2026 on the island of St. Barths with Tom Brady.

Video footage showed them at a Palm Tree Crew party. Sources told media outlets they were "together the entire night" and "had a lot of chemistry." The 23-year age gap became tabloid fodder within hours.

Whether this becomes anything or remains a New Year's Eve moment is beside the point. What matters is what it reveals: a decade ago, she was learning about public attention when paparazzi chased her family's scandal. Now she generates headlines just by appearing at a party.

She learned early how media narratives work. Now she's the one making them.

The Mind Behind the Content

When asked what fictional universe she'd want to live in, Alix immediately named "Gossip Girl" and identified with Serena van der Woodsen.

"A lot of people always call me Serena van der Woodsen. She's very fun, besides the part where she's just not a good friend."

That caveat is revealing. Serena is the It Girl: glamorous, magnetic, always at the center of drama she doesn't quite control. But Alix's self-awareness about the friendship part suggests she's thinking about her own patterns. Achievers can struggle with deep relationships when success takes precedence. She knows this about herself.

The Mental Health She Actually Talks About

On her podcast, she didn't just mention her mental health struggles. She dedicated full episodes to them.

She talked about her history with eating disorders and body dysmorphia in detail. Not a social media caption. A deep exploration of how she thought about her body, the behaviors she developed, how it affected her daily life. That's unusual for influencers who often reference mental health without getting specific.

She's disclosed using Lexapro for anxiety she's had since high school. She explained what anxiety actually feels like for her: the racing thoughts, the physical symptoms, how it intersects with a career built on constant public attention.

"No matter what you do, not everyone is going to agree with you, or people may have something negative to say. You just have to stay true to yourself and not let little comments get to you."

This sounds simple. It's not. For someone whose core drive involves external validation, every negative comment hits differently. Alix has had to build genuine internal walls while appearing completely open. She shows you the anxiety; she doesn't show you how hard it is to manage millions of opinions about your body, face, and choices.

That's real psychological work, done in public.

TIME100 and the Empire She's Building

In July 2025, Alix was named to the inaugural TIME100 Creators list. Recognition as one of the 100 most influential digital creators in the world.

She joined names like Kai Cenat, Jay Shetty, and her former collaborator Alex Cooper on a list celebrating the new landscape of media influence.

Forbes had already recognized her in their 30 Under 30 list in 2023. Their 2025 Top Creators ranking revealed she earned $8 million in the lifestyle and beauty space alone.

Beyond content creation, she's diversified. Invested in the beverage brand SipMargs. Launched her scholarship at Miami. Built business infrastructure around her personal brand.

"Consistency and staying true to yourself are key."

That's her advice to aspiring creators. It sounds simple. But consistency while navigating breakups, controversies, and business drama? That requires discipline most people don't see behind the chaotic persona.

What Alix Earle Figured Out

She didn't invent the influencer playbook. She perfected a version the previous generation couldn't have imagined.

What she teaches:

  • Your mess isn't disqualifying. It's connecting. Don't hide your flaws. Share them when you're comfortable.
  • Chaos is relatable. The things you want to hide might be exactly what makes you human.
  • Achievement can look easy. Success doesn't have to seem painful or polished.
  • Adaptation is survival. Pivot when you need to, without losing yourself.

At 25, she's navigated family scandal, a public breakup, business drama with powerful partners, and controversies that could have ended other careers. She keeps showing up. Keeps posting. Keeps winning.

"Where I go, my audience goes."

That's not arrogance. That's hard-won confidence in her ability to connect with people who feel like they know her.

Her real advantage? Not strategy. Not luck. She treats her audience like friends, and she figured out that the things most people hide are exactly what make relationships feel real.

What would it feel like to let people see your real struggles? To discover that the things you want to hide are actually what make you relatable? To build something on being exactly who you are?

Alix Earle figured it out. And she's just getting started.

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