Lele Pons
Pons in 2019
Born
Eleonora Pons Maronese

(1996-06-25) 25 June 1996 (age 27)
Caracas, Venezuela
Occupations
  • YouTuber
  • actress
  • singer
Years active2013–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2023)​
RelativesChayanne (uncle)
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2013–present
Genres
  • Comedy
  • pranks
  • music
  • vlogs
Subscribers18 million[1]
Total views5.29 billion[1]
100,000 subscribers2016
1,000,000 subscribers2016
10,000,000 subscribers2018
Last updated: August 29, 2023

Eleonora "Lele" Pons Maronese (/ˈlɛlɛ/; born 25 June 1996) is a Venezuelan and American YouTuber, actress and singer.

Pons came to prominence on Vine before the platform was shut down in 2016 where she was the most followed woman and the third most followed viner with 11.5 million followers. She then expanded into creating comedy sketches for YouTube, where she has over 18 million subscribers as of August 2023. She has since acted in film, television, and music videos; released her own music; and co-authored a novel. She currently stars in The Secret Life of Lele Pons, a YouTube Original docuseries providing a look at her personal life, and hosts a podcast on Spotify called Best Kept Secrets with Lele Pons.

Early life

Eleonora Pons Maronese was born in Caracas, the daughter of pediatrician Anna Maronese Pivetta and architect Luis Guillermo Pons Mendoza.[2] When she was a child, her parents separated after her father realized that he was gay.[2] She is of Spanish and Italian descent,[3] and is the niece of Puerto Rican singer Chayanne.[4] She moved to the U.S. at the age of five and was raised in Miami.[5] She graduated from Miami Country Day School in 2015 and moved to Los Angeles. She has said that she had trouble making friends in high school and would thus "get hurt to make them laugh".[6] She has also described being bullied in high school: "I'm not like the cool girls—I'm the other girl. The one that's basically a nerd, but proud of that."[7]

Career

Pons in 2017

Pons began her career on the video platform Vine. She has said she used Vine to showcase the creative things she was already doing. Speaking to Teen Vogue, Pons said, "I started with my friends, and I started becoming bad. At first it was just being really creative - it wasn't even funny stuff." Her follower base continued to grow and Pons has said that it "got to the point where a lot of people depended on me to make them... just so they could get a laugh." She became the first "Viner" to reach one billion loops.[7]

Writing in The Cut, Allie Jones described Pons' comedy as "universal, physical, and complete with a twist ending".[6] Pons' comedic style has also been criticised. For instance, former Viner, Cody Ko, critically viewed one her sketches, saying, "This was written by a four-year-old."[8] Pons cites, among her inspirations, several Latin American female stars such as Sofía Vergara, Gaby Espino, and Shakira.[6] In 2016, she was signed with entertainment company Shots Studios.[6][9]

Pons has used her success in Internet comedy to launch a number of enterprises. In 2015, she launched a jewelry collection called UNO Magnetic.[7] In 2016, Pons co-authored a novel based on her own high school experiences, Surviving High School, co-authored with Melissa de la Cruz.[10] Pons starred as Callie in the 2016 romantic comedy We Love You, released on YouTube Red. In the movie, characters played by Yousef Erakat and Justin Dobies both fall for Pons, who is "cool enough" to date both of them at the same time.[6][11] The movie was produced by YouTube and AwesomenessTV.

Pons appeared in the first episode of MTV's horror TV series, Scream, in which she was the season's first victim of Ghostface.[12] She has starred in a number of music videos, including "Havana" by Camila Cabello, and "Downtown" by Anitta and J Balvin.[13] In May 2018, Pons released her debut single, a Spanish-language duet with Matt Hunter titled "Dicen". The YouTube music video amassed 10 million views in just four days.[14] Pons has also had success in modelling.

In February 2017, she became a brand ambassador for CoverGirl.[15] The same month, Pons walked in a Dolce & Gabbana show in Milan. Babe criticised the move as seeming "a bit hackneyed and past-it".[16] In August, Pons released her first single and music video for her song "Celoso", which was directed by fellow creator Rudy Mancuso. The song was certified 10× Diamond and earned a nomination for the Premios Lo Nuestro nomination for the video.[17]

On March 29, 2019, Lele released her English-language debut, and her first country song with the Jake Owen duet "Señorita" from his album Greetings from... Jake.[18]

Pons took over hosting of La Voz... México on October 14, 2018.[19] She presented the 19th Annual Latin Grammy Awards with Aitana.[20]

On December 6, 2019, Pons released her new single and music video "Vete Pa La". The music video was self-directed and edited by Pons and produced by Shots Studios.[21]

In December 2019, Pons was a co-host on the red carpet alongside Chelsea Briggs for the 2019 Billboard Women in Music.[22]

Pons was a guest speaker at the 2020 CES conference held in Las Vegas. As a digital media mogul and global entertainer, Pons was asked to be a speaker on the Spotify panel alongside Spotify's Chief Content Officer Dawn Ostroff. She talked about how Spotify revolutionized music and impacted her career and how she plans on using that same model for her upcoming podcast with Spotify.[23]

On August 19, 2020, Pons released the first episode of Best Kept Secrets with Lele Pons, a podcast on Spotify in which anonymous callers share "eyebrow raising experiences they don't dare share with friends and family".[24][25]

Pons received the Women's Entrepreneurship Day Organization's Influencer Pioneer Award at the United Nations in 2022, celebrating her as a trailblazer and innovator in her field. The prestigious award, also recognized by the US Congress, highlights women entrepreneurs and the meaningful impact they are having on the world.[26] Also in 2022, Pons competed in season four of ¿Quién es la máscara? as "Pulpo" (which is Spanish for "Octopus"). She was the first to be eliminated.

In 2023, Pons competed in season nine of The Masked Singer as "Jackalope". She was eliminated on "Sesame Street Night" alongside Malin Akerman as "Squirrel".

Later in 2023, Pons was announced as a contestant on the 32nd season of Dancing with the Stars, partnered with professional dancer Brandon Armstrong.

Personal life

Although Pons was raised in Miami from the age of five, she remained solely a Venezuelan citizen until acquiring US citizenship at the age of 23.[27]

Pons began dating Puerto Rican rapper Guaynaa in December 2020,[28] they got engaged in July 2022 and married on March 4, 2023.[29]

Pons has attention deficit hyperactive disorder, Tourette syndrome and severe obsessive-compulsive disorder.[30][31]

Filmography

Films

Year Title Role Note
2016 My Big Fat Hispanic Family Lele Short film
Insane Kids Lele
2017 The Walking Dead: No Man's Land Lele
The Space Between Us Tulsa's classmates Cameo
Caught the Series Clean up man Guest star
Scooby Doo Is Back Daphne Short film
Latino Hunger Games Herself
2019 Airplane Mode Herself Main role

Television

Year Title Role Note
2016 We Love You Callie TV film
Scream Leah Episode: "I Know What You Did Last Summer"
Escape the Night The Hustler Main role (season 1)
2018 La Voz México Leading FOX EST
2020 The Secret Life of Lele Pons Herself Docu-series produced by herself
2021 Nickelodeon's Unfiltered —
Cooking with Paris Guest
2022 ¿Quién es la máscara? Pulpo 1st unmasked (season 4)
2023 The Masked Singer Jackalope 8th unmasked (season 9)
Dancing with the Stars Herself/Contestant Season 32

Music videos

Year Title Artist(s) Role
2016 "She's Out of Her Mind" Blink-182 Mark Hoppus
2017 "Summer" Marshmello Dorky girl
"Havana" Camila Cabello Bella
"Downtown" (lyric video) Anitta and J Balvin Dancer
2018 "The Middle" Zedd, Maren Morris, and Grey
"Dicen" Lele Pons Singer/Lead
"Celoso"
"Teléfono (Remix)" Aitana and Lele Pons
2019 "Bloqueo" Lele Pons and Fuego
2020 "Se te Nota" Lele Pons and Guaynaa
2021 "Hit It" Black Eyed Peas, Saweetie, and Lele Pons
"Let it Snow (Navidad, Navidad, Navidad)" Lele Pons

Discography

Albums

Collaborative studio albums

Title Details
Capitulaciones
(with Guaynaa)

Singles

As lead artist

List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released
Title Year Peaks Certifications Album
US
Latin
[32] 		ARG
[33] 		COL
[34] 		ECU
[35] 		ITA
[36] 		SPA
[37] 		VEN
[38]
"Dicen"
(with Matt Hunter) 		2018 29 — — — — 84 — Non-album singles
"Celoso" 11 32 — 77 — 7 13
"Teléfono (Remix)"
(with Aitana) 		— — 46 — — — 75 Tráiler
"Bloqueo"
(with Fuego) 		2019 42 — 84 11 — — 56 Non-album singles
"Los Puti (Shorts)"
(with Favian Lovo and Lyanno) 		— — — — — — —
"Vete Pa La" — — — — — — —
"Volar"
(featuring Susan Díaz and Victor Cardenas) 		2020 — — — — — — —
"Se Te Nota"
(with Guaynaa) 		33 18 24 7 62 17 —[a]
"Sucio y Lento"
(with Mariah Angeliq) 		— — — — — — —
"Bubble Gum"
(with Yandel) 		2021 — — — — — — —
"Al Lau" — — — — — — —
"Abajo y Arriba"
(with Juhn) 		— — — — — — —
"Let It Snow (Navidad, Navidad, Navidad)" — — — — — — —
"Restart"
(with Vf7 and Ninow y Candy) 		2022 — — — — — — — 15
"Piketona"
(with Kim Loaiza) 		— — — — — — — Non-album single
"Abajito"
(with Guaynaa) 		2023 — — — — — — — Capitulaciones
"De Party En Party"
(with Guaynaa) 		— — — — — — —
"Las Burbujas del Jacuzzi"
(with India Martínez and Greeicy) 		2024 — — — — — — — Non-album single
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

As featured artist

List of singles as featured artist, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released
Title Year Peaks Certifications Album
US
Latin 		ARG COL ECU ITA SPA VEN
"Hit It"
(Black Eyed Peas featuring Saweetie and Lele Pons) 		2021 — — — — — — — Non-album single
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Guest appearances

List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name
Title Year Other artist(s) Album
"Señorita" 2019 Jake Owen Greetings from... Jake
"Rendezvous" 2022 Florida Georgia Line Greatest Hits

Awards and nominations

Award Year Nominated work Category Result Ref.
Eres Awards Mexico 2019 Herself Queen of Instagram Nominated —
iHeartRadio Music Awards 2019 Social Star Award Nominated [45]
Best New Latin Artist Nominated
Lo Nuestro Awards 2019 "Celoso" Video of the Year Nominated [46]
MTV Millennial Awards 2017 Herself Worldwide Instagrammer of the Year Nominated [47]
Herself (with Juanpa Zurita, Anwar Jibawi) Best YouTube Collaboration (Supercollab) Nominated
2018 Herself Worldwide Instagrammer of the Year Won —
Instastories of the Year Nominated
Dance Cover Nominated
2021 Global Creator Nominated [48]
Nickelodeon Mexico Kids' Choice Awards 2018 Favorite YouTuber Nominated [49]
People's Choice Awards 2016 Favorite Social Media Star Nominated [50]
2018 The Social Star of 2018 Nominated [51]
Premios Juventud 2016 6 Segundos de Fama Nominated [52]
2019 Triple Threat Won [53]
Shorty Awards 2015 Choice Viner Nominated [54]
2018 YouTuber of the Year Nominated
Streamy Awards 2015 Best Viner Nominated [55]
2016 Escape the Night Best Ensemble Cast Won [56]
Teen Choice Awards 2014 Herself Choice Viner Nominated [57]
2015 Nominated [58]
Choice Web Star: Female Nominated
2016 Choice Viner Won [59]
2017 Choice Web Star: Comedy Nominated [60]
2018 Nominated [61]
Choice Female Web Star Nominated
Choice YouTuber Nominated
Tu Awards Mexico 2018 Queen of Instagram Nominated —
Women's Entrepreneurship Day 2022 Herself Influencer Pioneer Award Won [26]

Notes

  1. ^ "Se Te Nota" did not enter the Monitor Latino Venezuelan Airplay chart, but peaked at number six on the Venezuelan Pop Airplay chart.[42]

References

  1. ^ a b "About LelePons". YouTube.
  2. ^ a b "Lele Pons recalls the day her father made a grand revelation: 'it was a surprise, but I didn't judge him'". HOLA! USA. May 26, 2020. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  3. ^ "Social media machine: Lele Pons made millions by turning herself into a perfectly generic YouTube star". Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  4. ^ "Bet You Didn't Know Lele Pons Is Related to Chayanne". Remezcla. May 18, 2018. Archived from the original on July 8, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  5. ^ Diaz, Johnny (August 15, 2018). "Who is Lele Pons? 5 things to know about the YouTube star from Miami". Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d e Jones, Allie (April 18, 2017). "Lele Pons Is One Fart Joke Away From World Domination". The Cut. Archived from the original on May 3, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  7. ^ a b c Firman, Tehrene (February 19, 2015). "Exclusive! Get to Know Lele Pons, the Girl Behind Those Vines You Can't Stop Watching". Teen Vogue. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  8. ^ Bartleet, Larry (March 23, 2018). "How the internet community is turning on Lele Pons, formerly the world's #1 Viner". NME. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  9. ^ Armstrong, Megan (January 11, 2017). "How Shots Studios Plans to Take Over the Music Industry". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  10. ^ Pons, Lele; Cruz, Melissa de la (February 14, 2017). Surviving High School. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781501120541. Archived from the original on June 16, 2018. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  11. ^ Spangler, Todd (March 23, 2016). "YouTube, AwesomenessTV 'We Love You' Movie to Star FouseyTube, Lele Pons". Variety. Archived from the original on March 23, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  12. ^ Debler, Lance (May 13, 2016). "The First 7 Minutes of Scream's Season Two Premiere Is Here". MTV. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
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  16. ^ Lanigan, Róisín (March 1, 2017). "Does anyone know what's happened to Dolce & Gabbana?". Babe. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  17. ^ Diaz, Johnny (August 17, 2018). "Youtube star Lele Pons debuts solo music video 'Celoso'". Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on August 18, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  18. ^ Parton, Chris (March 15, 2019). "Hear Jake Owen's Sun Kissed New Track 'Drink All Day'". Sounds Like Nashville. Archived from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  19. ^ Gutelle, Sam (May 16, 2018). "Social Star Lele Pons Will Host The Mexican Version Of 'The Voice'". TubeFilter. Archived from the original on March 6, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  20. ^ Hernández, Laura (November 14, 2018). "¿Qué posibilidad hay de que Aitana y Lele Pons actúen en los Latin Grammy 2018?". Hapy FM. Archived from the original on November 17, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  21. ^ "The MixtapE! Presents Harry Styles, Camila Cabello and More New Music". E! Online. December 6, 2019. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  22. ^ "Meet Your 2019 Billboard Women in Music Hosts". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  23. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (January 9, 2020). "Lele Pons, Paul Feig and Spotify's Dawn Ostroff Talk Comedic Potential of Podcasts". Variety. Archived from the original on January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  24. ^ "Lele Pons Asks Listeners to Spill Secrets in Spotify Podcast". Billboard. August 12, 2020. Archived from the original on August 22, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  25. ^ "Lele Pons to Chat 'Best Kept Secrets' with Anonymous Callers in New Spotify Podcast (Trailer)". www.tubefilter.com. August 14, 2020. Archived from the original on August 17, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  26. ^ a b Grace Meng (NY). "WOMEN'S ENTREPRENEURSHIP DAY 2022". Congressional Record 117: 178 (November 17, 2022). p. E1163. https://www.congress.gov/117/crec/2022/11/17/168/178/CREC-2022-11-17-pt1-PgE1163-4.pdf Archived February 10, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
  27. ^ "Lele Pons on Instagram: "Happy 4,000,000th of July💥🇺🇸 Guess who became an American citizen ?? Now I'm both a citizen in Venezuela and in the United States!! ❤️❤️❤️"". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  28. ^ Coca, Laura (August 1, 2022). "L¡BODA A LA VISTA! GUAYNAA PIDE MATRIMONIO A LELE PONS EN DIRECTO SOBRE EL ESCENARIO (in Spanish)". Los 40. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  29. ^ "YouTuber Lele Pons Is Engaged to Rapper Guaynaa: See Her Ring - E! Online". www.eonline.com. August 2022. Archived from the original on August 18, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  30. ^ Pineda, Dorany (May 20, 2020). "YouTube star Lele Pons opens up about her battle with severe OCD". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  31. ^ Spangler, Todd (April 22, 2020). "Lele Pons Opens Up About Mental Health Struggles in YouTube Original Series (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on May 10, 2020. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  32. ^ "Hot Latin Songs: The Week of May 19, 2018". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 13, 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  33. ^ Peak positions in Argentina:
  34. ^ Peaks in Colombia:
  35. ^ Peak positions in Ecuador:
  36. ^ "Discography Lele Pons". Italian Charts Portal. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  37. ^ "Search: Lele Pons (Songs)". El Portal de Música. PROMUSICAE. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  38. ^ Peak positions in Venezuela:
  39. ^ a b c "Gold & Platinum - RIAA (Lele Pons)". Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on June 28, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  40. ^ "Certificados Musicales Amprofon (Febrero 2019)" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original on October 2, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  41. ^ a b "El Portal de Música – Lele Pons (Canciones)". Productores de Música de España. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
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  44. ^ "Certificazioni" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.To see certifications, type "Lele Pons" on the "Filtra" box and select "Tutti gli anni" on the "Anno" box.
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External links

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