How Fernanda Gimenez Became One of Miami's Biggest TikTok Stars

If you consider yourself to be chronically online, you may have scrolled past videos of Fernanda Gimenez dancing alongside her significant other or discussing her up-and-down relationship with acne — and you'd be one of several million.

The 22-year-old Uruguayan content creator moved to Miami just a little over a year ago to grow her social media career and live out her dreams. Today, she boasts nearly 10 million followers on TikTok alone. New Times sat down with Gimenez to discuss her viral fame and the continuous threats to the app she uses to make her livelihood.

"I'm really grateful for everything that's happened in my career. I remember when I only had ten thousand followers, and that felt incredible," says Gimenez. "Everything about social media was insane to me, and then coming here, it felt like it all took off."

Just barely above the legal drinking age, Gimenez has built a larger-than-life presence online. These days, she's popping up at high-profile events like the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show or the Latin Grammys. But the improbable nature of her meteoric rise isn't lost on the content creator, who speaks humbly about the opportunities she's gotten in recent years.

"I grew up watching and loving so many of the people and brands I've met and collaborated with," she says, "and I love that I have my parents there to watch me. I really do it for them. I feel so grateful getting to bring them to events or showing them all of the new things I'm doing because we never thought back in Uruguay that my life would turn out like this."

The fragility of those opportunities has become apparent in recent months, given the national back and forth about a TikTok ban. Its potential demise has put the careers of local creators like Gimenez under a microscope. She tells New Times the solution is much more difficult than simply pivoting to Instagram or other social media apps. She's built a community on TikTok by getting personal about her struggles with acne and moving to a new country, and she argues the app has brought young people like her a significant outlet unlike any other.

"What started as a way to simply express my struggles and self-discovery has turned into a space where so many of us come together to support, uplift, and remind each other that acne will never make us less beautiful," Gimenez says. "The potential ban of TikTok hits close to home because it's not just about losing a platform — it's about losing a safe space where I and so many others have found confidence and a community that celebrates authenticity. For me, TikTok isn't just an app; it's where I learned to feel comfortable in my skin and helped others feel the same."

In a recent video, Gimenez opened up about how she really felt about picking up and relocating to a big American city. In it, she described how the first year of her new life felt like "living in a bubble" — she realized she hadn't made very many connections with new people and was more homesick than she realized. She tells New Times Miami's vast Latino community helped cushion the blow.

"I really do think that it's amazing how you can find someone from every Latin country here, so it has made it easier as a home away from home," she says. "I moved here at a young age because I wanted to try something new, and being alone can be tough. But I've never really felt alone here. I also really do see myself staying in this city for a while — I've really never thought about moving to any other city in the U.S. other than Miami."

The experience has also placed her alongside other Latinas making big moves in the online beauty space. She's collaborated with beauty brands Bobbi Brown and MAC Cosmetics,  appeared alongside Michael Kors, and scored high-profile invites to events including Coachella, F1, and, most recently, Art Basel.

Gimenez admits that many young people, especially young women, tend to ask her for advice on how to start their own content creation careers. She understands that she represents many firsts for women from Uruguay in particular.

Her advice? "For the young people who want to get into this — you have to be dedicated. Make content every day and post it even if you don't love it, even if you don't think you look perfect," Gimenez explains.

"But I think there's also something to be said about Miami," she adds. "Miami is really the place to be right now if you want to grow your social media. Something new is happening every day, and it's such a beautiful city. And I'm so glad I can say I'm a part of this city now."