Who Is Madeline Argy? All About the Influencer and TikTok Star

British social media star Madeline Argy has nearly 5 million TikTok followers and recently launched her own podcast

Madeline Argy has been taking the internet by storm since she started making TikTok videos in 2021.

The British social media star has over 4.8 million followers on TikTok and 1.8 million followers on Instagram — and has a legion of celebrity fans, including Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper and singer Sabrina Carpenter. Her social media success has led to sponsorships with some of the biggest brands in beauty and fashion, as well as a podcast deal with Cooper’s Unwell Network. Her podcast, Pretty Lonesome with Madeline Argy, debuted on Oct. 2, 2023.

But before Argy posted her first clip in 2021, she wasn't quite sold on the social media app. “I remember thinking: ​‘This is so annoying, it’s never going to be me,’ ” she told The Face in September 2023, adding, "If you’d told me TikTok was something I’d become connected to, I’d have probably been horrified!”

However, when Argy did join TikTok, she tapped into her own niche of tongue-in-cheek videos and intimate confessions, differentiating her from the dance videos and lip-syncing trends that dominated the platform in its early days. Her first viral video came in 2022 when she candidly spoke about a worm that had found its way into her sister's leg, paving the way for internet stardom.

But who exactly is the British social media influencer? Here’s everything to know about Madeline Argy.

She studied forensic linguistics at the University of Kent

When Argy rejoined TikTok in 2021, she was also studying forensic linguistics at the University of Kent. She settled on the degree subject after feeling inspired by an episode of Criminal Minds, Argy told The Face. And while Argy later intended to pursue a master's degree at the University of York, her plans changed thanks to her budding social media career.

She also admitted to The Face that she wasn’t a big fan of university life. (Argy was a college student during Britain’s COVID-19 lockdowns.) “There’s not a house on the market in Canterbury that isn’t damp,” she said of her living situation. “I lived in squalor and, over lockdown, I think I lost my mind.”

Her first viral video was about a worm

Argy’s TikTok account catapulted to new heights after she posted her first viral video in July 2022. In the two-minute clip, which has garnered over 5.7 million likes, Argy detailed a time when her sister found a worm trapped in her leg. The video thrust Argy into internet fame, and people began to recognize her in the street.

“Things changed with the worm video,” Argy told Dazed in a September 2023 interview. “Someone came up to me in public to say hi. That was the first time something from inside my phone entered the real world. It’s all kind of hit me in the face since then.”

She posts intimate, tongue-in-cheek videos

The social media star's TikTok style is all about getting personal. From recounting embarrassing moments to Tinder dates gone wrong, Argy tells her stories like she’s on a FaceTime call with an old friend.

She opened up about her content with Elite Daily in 2023, saying she has few regrets about the intimate anecdotes she's shared. “Maybe I regret sharing some of the TMI stuff, but nothing I've ever done in my personal life has made me a bad person. Some of it's embarrassing and overly personal, but none of it was ever wrong. So what's the worst that can happen?”

She previously dated rapper Central Cee

Argy dated British rapper Central Cee for about two years, though they kept the details of their relationship private during their time together.

In September 2022, Argy referred to their romance on TikTok, jokingly saying, “Why does everyone keep asking if I’m dating Central Cee? I don’t even know who he is," all while the rapper moved around behind her. She also wore a T-shirt that read “I <3 Lying."

The following September, Argy discussed her relationship for the first time on Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast. Argy revealed she and Central Cee had split two months prior after the relationship became “toxic.”

“It was a lot of back and forth and like, kind of in a fun, toxic way when you’re like, oh God, this needs to end, but f--- it, let’s go on one more trip together or let’s have one more night,” she told Cooper.

She noted that the breakup was “hard because we both were a little bit obsessed with each other," but it was ultimately Argy who “made the final call.”

She hosts her own podcast

In August 2023, Argy became one of the first creators to sign onto Cooper’s company, The Unwell Network, which aims to bring lifestyle, pop culture, fashion and beauty content to a Gen Z audience, according to Deadline and Variety.

"i am @unwell," Argy captioned a post to announce the partnership, as Alix Earle, another TikTok creator who is part of the Unwell Network, replied in the comments section, "we’re all unwell."

Argy's podcast, Pretty Lonesome with Madeline Argy, touches on topics such as anxiety, imposter syndrome, sexuality and mental health.

"Madeline is wildly popular in the UK and is one of the few creators who can keep an audience engaged for hours with her captivating storytelling," Cooper said, according to Deadline.

The first episode of the Pretty Lonesome podcast launched on Oct. 2, 2023.

She doesn’t label her sexuality

During her 2023 interview on Call Her Daddy, the TikToker spoke about navigating her sexuality and why she doesn’t want to put a label on things.

“There was a time in my life where, like, the label ‘lesbian’ was the best fit for me,” she explained. “But how can I commit to ... I’m definitely never going to find a man I click with ... and I’m definitely this, and I’m definitely that."

She added that she spent “so much time thinking about it” to try and put herself in the “correct box” and it was “so draining."

“Why am I tormenting myself with this bulls--- of ‘what am I?’ "

She has several pets, including a dog and rabbits

Argy is the proud owner of a French Bulldog named Bugs and two rescue rabbits. In 2023, her pets joined her on the set of her Dazed cover shoot, which took place at her home in Sussex.

For one shot, Argy posed in her rabbits' outdoor hutch, holding one of her bunnies, Daisy.

“We’re shooting a Dior look,” Argy told the camera. “This is her first shoot, too, so she’s nervous."

She grew up watching beauty gurus on YouTube

While Argy didn’t have much interest in creating her own social media content when she was younger, she grew up consuming beauty content on YouTube. One of her favorite creators was beauty influencer, actress and fashion designer Amanda Steele.

“[Steele] would do the all-American girl morning routine at 13,” she told Elite Daily. “I was literally gagged. I was so obsessed that I made my mum buy me the same bed sheets as her. I switched my double bed out for a single bed because that’s what she had.”

Argy launched her own YouTube channel in 2022 and now has over 400,000 subscribers. Her channel, which she describes as "the place where i run my mouth for extended periods of time," consists of longer, podcast-style videos taken from the front seat of her car.

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