Elmhurst Teen Has Over 4 Million TikTok Followers

ELMHURST — Sofie SanFilippo’s online following just keeps on growing.

Sofie, who graduated from York High School in 2021, originally wanted to attend Columbia College in Chicago. Instead, the 18-year-old Elmhurst resident is dedicating full time to online content creation.

The former competitive dancer is known for her relatable videos. Her short skits are often based on things that happened while she was in school and people she knows.

When Sofie spoke to Patch in September 2020, she had 1.9 million TikTok followers. That has since increased to 4.3 million.

She has also seen a dramatic increase in her followings on Instagram (354,000) and YouTube (224,000). Sofie recently received her Silver Creator Award from YouTube for hitting 100,000 subscribers.

Sofie believes these videos have gained a following because her audience can relate to them.

“They’re fun to watch,” she said. “Even I like watching those (videos) if other people make different versions of those (videos).”

And while Sofie is trying to get more into lip-syncing and expanding her content in areas such as fashion and make-up, she is checking daily on what her followers want.

“I’ll be like ‘hey what do you want to see?’ And I kind of bounce off of their ideas.” Sofie said.

A typical day for the teenager sees her working six to eight hours a day as she researches topics for her videos, collaborates with other creators and is on Zoom meetings with brands.

“She works hard,” her mother, Martha SanFilippo, said. “Some people might think, ‘Oh my gosh these influencers, I can’t believe it. They do nothing and they get all this money.’”

Martha said her daughter earns $10,000 to $15,000 a month.

At least once a month, Sofie will fly to Los Angeles for photo shoots, collaborations with other creators and charity events. She plans to move there.

On top of creating videos, Sofie has also released a few songs. She says her love for poetry influenced her to produce her own music.

“Even when I was younger I would always write songs,” Sofie said.

Sofie said she would like to do more singing as well as get into acting and start her own management company in the future to manage newer creators.

“From doing this the past three years," Sofie said, "I definitely have a sense of how brand deals work (and) how the algorithm works.”

This summer, Sofie will join nearly 30 artists and creators for the Boys of Summer Tour. She is set to appear in 15 different cities, including Chicago on July 30, where she plans to perform two of her songs and do meet and greets.