Share
Meet Paris Gilliam, age 11, aka “Bad Kid Pariss.” Paris was born in Beaumont and moved to Houston six years ago. Paris has always been a hard worker since she was five by helping out at her parents’ restaurant. In 2020, Paris auditioned to be a “bad kid” with another popular social media influencer named Funny Mike. Upon auditioning she was chosen to appear in some music videos. From that point on, her natural talent took off. Paris started with vlogs for Funny Mike and doing skits as well. She eventually started her own YouTube channel doing Q&A videos, cooking videos and sharing personal life videos. She became an overnight sensation with 619K Instagram followers and 143K YouTube subscribers. We caught up with her recently to ask about her journey to fame.
Please explain how your social media popularity began?
I became popular when I auditioned to become a “Bad Kid” with Funny Mike. Funny Mike is another social media influencer who has millions of YouTube subscribers. I think it’s over 7 million. I auditioned to be a “Bad Kid” for some music videos and made it! Funny Mike is known as a celebrity YouTuber. That’s how I got the name Bad Kid Pariss.
(“Bad Kids” are a group of web stars who made some rap music together as seen in videos on the YouTube channel of Young 22 titled Funny Mike. Members of the group had three songs published to the Funny Mike channel between Christmas day 2017 and New Years 2018. The videos were viewed three million times within two weeks.)
Which of your social media outlets do you like best and why?
I love my TikTok best because it entertains me, and I learn so much from it.
What do you hope the future has in store for you?
To be the most successful child actor and music artist. Music is my passion, and I love rapping and dancing.
What causes do you support or community events do you participate in and why?
I raised money for an anti-bullying foundation to make others aware of the effect that bullying has on kids – whether bullying is done online or at school. I also gave back to my hometown community of Beaumont, TX, turkeys for Thanksgiving.
Name one fun thing most people would not know about you.
I wear my skates to the grocery store.
What sort of advice would you give other kids who want to use their social media for good – to do something similar to what you’re doing?
Stay consistent, focused, and dedicated. It may be hard at times, but it’s not impossible and it’s very rewarding. You may have good days but you also may have bad days; push through and you will be happy you did.
What do you like about living in Texas?
The food in Texas is the best, there are always so many different things to try out. I also love that Houston has so many options to shop.
How do you balance school and your social media outreach?
As far as balancing school, it is hard because my mom has to pull me out of school for a lot of auditions, photographs, modeling jobs, recording and many other reasons. I will be starting homeschool soon to make it a little easier for me. But I’ll miss my friends and teachers at school
What three words best describe your personality?
Funny, Giving, Smart
What do you like doing in your spare time?
Playing roblox, shopping and riding my scooter
SOCIAL MEDIA
Website: Badkidparis.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/imbadkidpariss?utm_medium=copy_link
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/imbadkidPariss
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDuhuDr0OhYeUtW8S7gwimA?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Cover Photo courtesy Paris Gilliam
Bob Valleau is a freelance writer living in McKinney, Texas.
