with photosLittle girls grow up, even if they are eternally young in a famous internet picture. Mia Talerico, who became a meme about a decade ago as a ‘bewildered girl’, is now 14 years old and started high school in the US this week. A new photo is now also going over the internet. This is what they and other meme faces look like now.
Nothing says ‘bewilderment’ as clearly as little Talerico, who holds out her hands in surprise with wide eyes and an open mouth. The picture has been a common meme on the internet in recent years, i.e. an image that people use to respond to something aptly. The photo is also known as theGood luck Charliememe, referring to the Disney series of the same name from which the scene comes.
Nearly a decade after the show ended (2010-2014), Talerico is once again a hit on the internet. This week she experienced her first days at high school in the United States, also known as ‘ninth grade‘ named. That is why the girl, now an adolescent, posed with a chalkboard with the date on Instagram. The photo also appeared on the news account Pop Base on X (formerly Twitter) and in a short time received 240,000 likes, thousands of comments and more than 10 million views.
Check out Mia’s new photo, read below the post
This is what faces of other memes look like now
Many people write that they enjoy seeing Talerico again, but also that they suddenly feel very old. Besides Talerico, there are more people who became ‘famous’ as a meme at a young age:
When: ‘side eyeing Chloe‘
Chloe Clem from the US took to the web as a toddler in 2013 after appearing in a YouTube video of her parents. They surprised Chloe and her older sister Lily with a trip to Disneyland and filmed their reaction. As Lily began to cry with happiness, Chloe put on a look as if she thought that was quite an exaggeration. The moment went down in history as ‘side eyeing Chloe‘, including T-shirts and stickers with the photo.
Now: in first grade, with money
The now 12-year-old Clem started this month seventh grade, or ‘junior high school’, comparable to the first grade in the Netherlands. The family made a nice profit from Clem’s fame: they sold the meme as so-called non fungible token (NFT). That’s one way to own the original digital image. A music production company from Dubai paid about 69,000 euros for it.
Then: reaction to buttocks
The American Michael McGee is the protagonist of a meme that was actually intended very differently. His best friend snapped a photo in 2013 during an algebra class. They wanted to tap into a meme trend that was going around at the time, where people reacted in funny ways after seeing nice buttocks. McGee had the “talent” of making veins in his forehead swell and did it for the photo. Someone else later added the caption, “holding a fart next to a pretty girl in class,” and that’s how the photo became famous.
Now: not rich
McGee celebrated his 25th birthday at the end of last year. As a meme celebrity, he says he is “retired.” That has nothing to do with wealth: McGee would have liked to take his success more seriously in hindsight, so he had made money from the photo. He expressed the wish to also sell his meme as an NFT, but that has not happened as far as is known. He still hangs out with the girl next to him in the picture, Amber, but only as friends.
When: ‘Rollsafe‘
British actor Kayode Ewumi is at the center of the so-called Rollsafememe. In 2016, he played the character Reece Simpson (aka Roll Safe) in an online series. The way he tapped his head with his fingers became the symbol of someone who thinks he’s smart but doesn’t act that smart.
Now: jacket on the willows
Ewumi decided to stop playing Roll Safe a few years ago, which he had done in several productions. He hung up the character’s jacket – in reality his father’s – on the willows. He said he was offered large sums of money to put on the jacket again and to play in commercials. He could use that money, but it didn’t feel right, so he refused. Ewumi is still acting and has his own production house.
When: disaster girl
The American Zoe Roth was 4 years old when her parents took her to look at a house that was (controlled) on fire. Her father took a picture of the girl, who had a devilish grin on her face as if she had started the fire herself. The image went viral in its original form, but was also edited to allow Chloe to look evil at other disasters, such as the sinking of the Titanic.
Now: rich and in control
Zoe, now 23 years old, was not recognized on the street as disaster girl. She loved seeing people get creative with the photo, but also felt a lack of control, wrote The New York Times. After all, Roth continuously went over the internet without being involved himself. For a little bit of control, she sold the photo as NFT in 2021. She raised about 400,000 euros with it and retains the copyright, which means she receives 10 percent if the photo is sold again. The money will go to charities and to pay off her student debt, among other things, she said.
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