Olivia Jade Giannulli
NationalityAmerican
Known forSocial media celebrity, 2019 college admissions bribery scandal
Parents

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]

References

  1. ^ a b c Lou, Shane (February 17, 2018). "Lori Loughlin's daughter shares the downside of growing up with 2 famous parents". Today. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  2. ^ Eckardt, Stephanie (January 11, 2018). "Lori Loughlin's Teen Daughters Have Nearly a Million Instagram Followers". W Magazine. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Alexander, Bryan (March 14, 2019). "What we know about Olivia Jade, Lori Loughlin's daughter caught up in admissions scandal". USA Today. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  4. ^ "Lori Loughlin's YouTube star daughter sparks major controversy for car crash video". AOL. AOL. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  5. ^ Justich, Kerry (August 17, 2018). "Celebrity kid called 'spoiled' and 'privileged brat' after saying she's going to college for 'game days' and 'partying'". Yahoo. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  6. ^ Bailey, Alyssa (March 14, 2019). "Lori Loughlin's Daughters Olivia Jade and Isabella Giannulli Are Reportedly Withdrawing From USC". Elle. Retrieved March 14, 2019.