Brown, Tabitha

Impact on the world

While driving for Uber to make ends meet as a part-time actress in October 2017, Brown recorded an unscripted video reviewing a vegan BLT sandwich that went viral, leading Whole Foods to hire her as a brand ambassador; when she created a TikTok account in March 2020, she gained 2 million followers within five weeks through vegan recipes and warm, motivational content, quickly earning the nickname “America's Mom” from HuffPost. She signed with Creative Artists Agency in 2020, hosted Ellen DeGeneres's All Love digital series, won a 2023 Children's and Family Emmy for hosting the YouTube children's show Tab Time, and published the #1 New York Times bestseller Feeding the Soul (2021) — turning social media virality into a durable, multi-platform career spanning television, publishing, and consumer products with retailers including Target.

Life & background

Born Tabitha Bonita Thomas on February 4, 1979, in Eden, North Carolina, and raised in nearby Stoneville, Brown studied fashion design at Miami International University of Art & Design before dropping out at 19 to pursue acting, moving to Los Angeles in 2004 to try stand-up comedy while working retail jobs and caring for her mother, who died in 2007. After years of small acting roles and health problems including chronic pain and depression, she adopted a vegan diet in 2017 at her daughter's suggestion, which she credits with resolving her health issues and which soon became central to her viral fame. She is married to Chance Brown, a former police officer, with whom she has two children and a stepdaughter, and has since launched the haircare line Donna's Recipe, the cookbook Cooking from the Spirit (a New York Times bestseller), and a partnership line with Target spanning clothing, home goods, and food products.

Sources

1. VegNews; National Today; BioGlance