"I think people crave authenticity, which, in my opinion, is the easiest thing you can be. I believe they liked seeing someone who has no idea what they're doing, try to do something."

Ashby Florence went from 10,000 TikTok followers to 1 million in ten days. She did it dressed as Alexander Hamilton with a Sharpie-drawn goatee, lip-syncing to Broadway music while sick in bed. No fancy costume. No production team. Just cowboy boots, a letter jacket, and the kind of unhinged commitment that made the internet collectively lose its mind.

But here's what most people don't know: Ashby trained seven days a week as a child to make it in entertainment. She skipped school so her dad could drive her from Virginia to New York for Broadway open calls. She stayed up late filming self-tapes with her mom after dinner. For years, that dream never saw the light of day.

Until a random TikTok in August 2025 changed everything.

What makes someone go from graphic designer at a comic book company to interviewing Lin-Manuel Miranda on the red carpet in a matter of weeks? The answer lies in understanding how Ashby's mind actually works.

TL;DR: Why Ashby is an Enneagram Type 7
  • The Hyperfixation Queen: Ashby has ADHD and openly talks about her rapid hyperfixations—she once worked as a dental hygienist for two weeks because of one. This scattered, variety-seeking energy is textbook Type 7 behavior.
  • All Options Open: When asked about future plans, she lists Broadway, TV, podcasts, judging Drag Race, Dancing with the Stars, AND becoming a pop artist. Type 7s refuse to limit their possibilities.
  • Pain Reframed as Play: Despite describing herself as "very insecure," Ashby transforms everything into comedy. Her Lorax character literally says "Give me money... I'm joking." Type 7s use humor to process what hurts.
  • The Fear Beneath the Fun: Her childhood dream "never saw light of day" until now. Hearing people love her authentic self has been "therapeutic." This reveals the 7's core wound—the fear that their needs won't be met.
  • Shape-Shifting Energy: Hamilton, the Lorax, Megamind, King Julien, Gru—Ashby doesn't just play characters, she becomes them. Type 7s crave variety and novelty to avoid feeling trapped.

What is Ashby's Personality Type?

Ashby is an Enneagram Type 7 (The Enthusiast)

Type 7s are driven by the desire to experience life fully while avoiding pain and limitation. They're the quick-minded, future-focused optimists who always have multiple plans brewing. Their greatest fear? Being trapped, deprived, or missing out on what life has to offer.

Ashby embodies this archetype in everything she does.

Her brain works like a Type 7 on overdrive. She has ADHD and openly discusses her hyperfixations—interests that consume her completely before she moves to the next thing. In one interview, she casually mentioned working as a dental hygienist for two weeks at an actual dentistry because of a hyperfixation. "Pretty sure it was illegal, but fun nonetheless," she joked.

This isn't scattered randomness. It's the Type 7's relentless pursuit of stimulation and variety.

When asked about her future, Ashby doesn't pick one path. She wants Broadway. She wants TV. She wants to judge Drag Race. She wants to compete on Dancing with the Stars. She wants to be a pop artist. She wants podcasts. "You name it, I'm there," she says.

Type 7s keep all doors open because closing one feels like dying a small death.

But here's where it gets deeper. Ashby admits she's "very insecure" despite her outward chaos and confidence. She says hearing people love her authentic self has been "therapeutic" and "reaffirming." This reveals the shadow side of Type 7—the anxiety that hides beneath the fun exterior.

Her 6 wing adds loyalty (she's been with boyfriend Ben Hunt for 8 years, meeting him on a school bus 15 years ago) and an underlying worry that grounds her manic energy. Ben serves as her moderator during livestreams, literally and figuratively keeping her tethered while she spirals into absurdist comedy.

Ashby's Upbringing: The Theater Kid Who Never Gave Up

Ashby Florence was born November 22, 2000, originally from Washington D.C. but raised in Virginia. From an early age, she was consumed by the dream of performing.

This wasn't a casual interest. Ashby trained seven days a week to make it in entertainment.

Her mom would let her skip school while her dad drove her from Virginia to New York for Broadway open calls. She spent three days every week at a pre-professional program after school and weekends at intensive acting camps. She stayed up late with her mom filming self-tapes after dinner.

"I trained my whole life for performance," she's said. The dedication was absolute.

But the entertainment industry is brutal, and despite all that work, the dream never materialized the way she imagined. She eventually pivoted to graphic design for financial stability, earning a BFA and building a career in the industry she'd always orbited but never quite broken into.

Before her viral moment, Ashby ran a small art business called "That's More Like It" that was recognized by The New York Times and USA Today. She worked as a social media director and graphic designer before landing at Skybound Entertainment in August 2023, where she did print production for The Walking Dead Deluxe, Invincible, and Transformers comics.

The theater kid became a comic book artist. The dream adapted but never died.

Rise to Fame: Ten Days That Changed Everything

On August 1, 2025, Ashby posted a TikTok while sick. She was dressed as a DIY Alexander Hamilton—no elaborate costume, just a letter jacket, cowboy boots, and a Sharpie-drawn goatee. She lip-synced to "It's Quiet Uptown" from the Hamilton soundtrack.

The video exploded. 22.4 million views.

What separated Ashby from everyone else doing the same trend was her energy. While others wore full Hamilton costumes, Ashby sold the character through attitude and facial expressions alone. Her interpretation was unhinged, committed, and somehow more authentic than people in thousand-dollar replicas.

In ten days, she went from 10,000 followers to 1 million.

But Ashby didn't coast on viral luck. She locked in. She started doing daily, hours-long TikTok Lives, sometimes before AND after her graphic design job. She introduced new characters: the Lorax (complete with orange jumpsuit, wiry mustache, and stuffed belly), Megamind, Lord Farquaad, King Julien with boyfriend Ben as Mort, Gru with Ben as a Minion.

Her Lorax character became iconic—a raunchy, self-deprecating, dancing diva who calls for the execution of pigeons and redheads while demanding money from viewers ("I'm joking").

The funny part? She'd never even seen The Lorax movie. "I've never seen the Lorax, I'm just capitalizing off of it," she joked.

Within weeks of going viral, Ashby was chatting with Lin-Manuel Miranda himself. Disney invited her to host a Hamilton premiere screening event where she interviewed the original Broadway cast—including Miranda, Daveed Diggs, Leslie Odom Jr., and Christopher Jackson—while dressed in her signature DIY Hamilton getup.

The theater kid who skipped school for Broadway auditions was finally on a red carpet. It just took 20 years and a Sharpie goatee.

Personality Quirks, Habits, and the Type 7 Mind

The Shape-Shifter

Ashby doesn't just play characters—she becomes them. After her 9-to-7 graphic design job, she comes home and "shape-shifts into whatever character she decides she wants to act as that night."

This constant transformation is pure Type 7. Staying in one mode feels limiting. Variety is oxygen.

Her character selection process is refreshingly simple: "Whatever I think will visually get the biggest laugh." No overthinking. No strategic planning. Just instinct and commitment.

The Signature Moves

Fans recognize Ashby's comedy through specific patterns:

  • The Midwest accent: A vaguely elongated way of saying things ("I'm baaaashful," "I'm jooooking")
  • The tongue-out punchline: A lizard-like tongue stick at the end of jokes
  • Deadpan delivery: Absurdist statements delivered completely straight
  • Odd pronunciations: Elongating words like "squirrels" for comedic effect

Critics compare her style to Tim Robinson—absurdist, unexpected, slightly unhinged. Her comedy feels genuine and reminiscent of early 2000s YouTube before everything became polished and brand-safe.

The Insecurity Beneath the Chaos

Despite the manic confidence on camera, Ashby describes herself as "very insecure."

This tracks for a Type 7 with a 6 wing. The fun exterior masks genuine anxiety. The constant movement and variety-seeking can be a way of avoiding sitting with difficult feelings.

What's striking is how therapeutic viral fame has been for her. Hearing millions of people love her authentic self—the weird, chaotic, character-obsessed theater kid—has been "reaffirming" in a way she clearly needed.

"I think people crave authenticity," she says. "I believe they liked seeing someone who has no idea what they're doing, try to do something."

The Motor Tic and ADHD

Ashby has been open about having both ADHD and a motor tic disorder. She mentions the tic as an "easter egg" viewers can spot in her videos.

Her ADHD manifests in classic Type 7 fashion—rapid hyperfixations that consume her before she moves on. The dental hygienist stint is the most extreme example, but her entire approach to content creation reflects this scattered, all-in-then-moving-on energy.

The Cat Obsession

In a relatable twist, Ashby loves cats and has been "hyper-fixating on scrolling through shelter listings" recently, desperate to add another cat to her household. Even her hobbies have that Type 7 intensity.

Major Accomplishments

Ashby's rise has been remarkably swift:

  • 2.5 million TikTok followers (from 10K in August 2025)
  • 22.4 million views on her viral Hamilton video
  • Met Lin-Manuel Miranda who DM'd her directly ("coolest person in your DMs")
  • Hosted Disney's Hamilton premiere screening and interviewed the original Broadway cast
  • Featured on SiriusXM's comedy channels including "She's So Funny"
  • Collaborated with Zach King and performed with the band AJR at their concert
  • Art business recognized by The New York Times and USA Today before her TikTok fame
  • Production work on major comics including The Walking Dead, Invincible, and Transformers at Skybound Entertainment

Controversies and Criticisms

Here's the remarkable thing about Ashby: there aren't any.

Multiple articles have described her as "too wholesome to be cancelled." Her content, while chaotic and sometimes crude (her Lorax makes "your mother" jokes), never punches down. She's not mean-spirited. She's not problematic. She's just weird in the most endearing way possible.

One Distractify article noted that fans are "intensely protective" of her. Other creators openly celebrate her success rather than resenting it.

The closest thing to controversy is her political engagement—she's written songs about immigrant deportation and civil liberties. But even this is delivered with such sincerity that it endears rather than alienates.

As one fan put it: "The Lorax speaks for the trees. Ashby speaks for the PEOPLE."

Ashby's Legacy and Current Work

At 25, Ashby is just getting started. Her stated goals include Broadway, television, judging Drag Race, competing on Dancing with the Stars, and becoming a pop artist. For a Type 7, this isn't unrealistic ambition—it's the only way to think.

"I plan on exploring, growing, failing, and growing some more," she says. "Whether that includes what I'm doing now, live shows, podcasts, film and TV, Broadway, you name it, I'm there."

What makes Ashby significant beyond the follower count is what she represents. She joins the ranks of fellow Type 7 creators like Emma Chamberlain and Kai Cenat—proof that the weird kids, the theater obsessives, the hyperfixaters, the ones who never quite fit the mold, can find their people. It just might take longer than expected.

Her boyfriend Ben, who works in film and TV (he was on The Last of Us), is positioned to help navigate the industry. But Ashby seems intent on staying authentic rather than polishing her edges for mainstream appeal.

"I think people crave realness in a, frankly, fake world," she says.

The girl who trained seven days a week for a dream that never came true finally got her moment. Not through traditional channels, but through a Sharpie goatee and an unwillingness to be anything other than exactly who she is.

Conclusion

Ashby Florence's story is about more than viral fame. It's about what happens when a Type 7's relentless optimism and variety-seeking finally meets the right moment.

She spent her childhood training for Broadway while her classmates played. She pivoted to graphic design when the entertainment industry didn't open. She built an art business, worked on comic books, and kept the theater kid inside her alive even when no one was watching.

Then one sick day, one Sharpie goatee, and one committed Hamilton impression later—the world finally saw what she'd been preparing for her entire life.

The lesson isn't about going viral. It's about staying ready. About refusing to let circumstances kill the thing inside you that needs to create. About trusting that your authentic weirdness might be exactly what millions of people are waiting for.

What dream have you been keeping alive in the background, waiting for its moment?

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