Today, Charles has 25.7 million subscribers on YouTube, 27.3 million Instagram followers, and 36 million followers on TikTok. His early years of internet fame led him to become the first male CoverGirl model and garnered him an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The teenager in the photo was James Charles, YouTube’s now-megafamous makeup artist and vlogger. The images quickly went viral as fans admired his incredible makeup skills and popping highlight.
Back in 2016, a New York high-school student casually shared his senior yearbook photos on Twitter.