Olivia Jade Giannulli | |
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Nationality | American |
Known for | Social media celebrity, 2019 college admissions bribery scandal |
Parents |
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Olivia Jade Giannulli (professionally known as Olivia Jade) is a social media celebrity and spokesperson for Amazon. In 2019, United States government prosecutors alleged she had gained admission to the University of Southern California through a bribery scheme masterminded by her parents. She is the daughter of Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli.
Giannulli was born to actor Lori Loughlin and designer Mossimo Giannulli.[1] According to Giannulli, as a child she was haunted by fears her friends only liked her because of her celebrity parents.[1] While in high school she started a lifestyle YouTube channel that, by February 2018, had more than a million followers.[1] She later started an Instagram account which also accumulated more than a million followers.[2] Both accounts were monetized by Giannulli who used them to make commercial endorsements for Amazon, SmileDirectClub, and other companies.[3]
In 2017, Giannulli crashed her car while singing "Signed Sealed and Delivered" as she filmed herself with her mobile phone.[4]
In 2018, according to the United States Government, Giannulli posed for a photo on an ergometer rowing machine which was subsequently submitted as part of her application to the University of Southern California (USC) with the implication she was a competitive rower, though she was not and had no interest in becoming one.[3] At the same time, it is alleged, her parents bribed a coach at the university to designate her as an athletic prospect, purportedly enabling her to gain admission to the school.[3] Prior to starting classes at USC, Giannulli prompted criticism after she posted a statement to her YouTube channel in which she said, referring to her upcoming attendance at USC "... I do want the experience of like game days, partying ... I don’t really care about school, as you guys all know".[5] In March 2019, according to TMZ, Giannulli dropped out of USC.[6]