From sharing GRWM videos to becoming one of the most popular influencers with over 11 million followers across her social media channels, Nara Smith has undergone a remarkable journey.
Her rise to fame in 2023 from sharing cooking videos and creating recipes from scratch has been nothing short of phenomenal.
Here is everything to know about the social media influencer who has taken the internet by storm.
Her early life
Nara Aziza Smith (nee Pellman) was born on September 27, 2001, in Bloemfontein, South Africa to a German father and a Mosotho mother. Her parents moved to Germany when she was 3 months old where she lived until she turned 18 and moved to Los Angeles in the United States. She is the eldest of 3 siblings, a younger sister who is 18 and a brother who is 20. She also has a half-brother who lives in South Africa. Nara speaks two languages fluently, German and English.
Her love for musical instruments
Nara grew up playing the saxophone, flute, and piano. She also continued playing the piano for about eight years.
Her journey into modelling
At age 14, Nara got scouted by a modelling agency in Germany which kickstarted her modelling career. She is currently signed to IMG Models.
Her personal life
Nara Smith and her husband, Lucky Blue Smith met as models under the same agency. The pair tied the knot at a beachside ceremony in February 2020 after six months of dating.
She has three children with her husband, Rumble, Slim Easy, and Whimsy whom she welcomed in April 2024. Her husband also has a daughter from a previous relationship.
Smith says she doesn’t regret being a young mum at 22 as it’s one of her best decisions because while growing up, her father reiterated his regrets about having children at an older age.
Her faith
There have been various discussions regarding Nara’s faith and her affiliation with the Mormons on social media. However, she revealed that she is not a ‘hardcore Mormon’ but is in the process of figuring things out alongside her husband.
In a video where she shared facts about herself, she said: “I don’t know what I’m doing, I’m still learning and figuring out my own faith,” she said. “I’m not in any way a hardcore Mormon or anything like that. I don’t wear garments. I didn’t get married in the temple.”
How she got into cooking
Nara has admitted that her goal was to study marine biology after high school but her plans changed. While she admits she had always had a thing for cooking, she became more passionate about it in 2023 during her struggle with ‘severe’ eczema. This in turn made her more intentional about her diet, nutrition, and cooking.
Her love for ‘unconventional’ recipes has got followers and onlookers constantly talking. Raking millions of videos per video, some of her most viral recipes on TikTok include her bubble gum and cereal videos.
Controversy
In June 2024, Nara was accused by South African TikToker, Onezwa Mbola of stealing her ideas and using them to amass millions of views. Mbola like Smith also creates recipes from scratch but has a smaller following of about 600k.
She had also been compared to Smith at different times. However, in a now-deleted video, she accused the mother of three of copying her ideas without crediting her. Mbola’s main beef with Smith was based on the fact that she was not getting paid by TikTok in South Africa, unlike Nara who was getting thousands of dollars off her video views.
Mbola claimed her boba tea video which she posted on June 12 was recreated by Smith two days after and said “it was a coincidence that happens too often”.
In her response, Smith claimed not to have seen Mbola’s videos or followed her. Days after, Mbola said she received a mail from Smith threatening to sue her for defamation which a representative of Smith denied.