Australia has an overwhelming amount of talented creators but no one lights up the zeitgeist more than the internet’s darling Anna Paul. With her lovable bubbly personality and legions of dedicated superfans, it’s no surprise that the 24-year-old multi-hyphenate bagged the people’s choice award for Content Creator Of The Year Award at the inaugural PEDESTRIAN TELEVISION awards, presented by Uber Pool, on Wednesday night.
Despite being one of the country’s biggest creators — with more than 9.6 million followers on TikTok and Instagram combined — she admitted that she was a teeny bit nervous running on stage to accept her award in front of 156 people.
“Hi everyone, oh my god I’m so nervous there are so many people. You guys look very beautiful walking around everyone looks so pretty, I’m intimidated but that’s fine,” she said with a grin.
“This is so cool. Thank you so much, thank you to everyone who voted for me that’s crazy. And thank you for PEDESTRIAN for having me. I’ve never been to something like this before. This is very cool, thank you so much!”
Before Anna found out that she’d bagged the big prize, we had a ‘lil chat on the black carpet. And let me tell you, it was chaotic from start to finish. From spilling on her most chaotic moment of the year, to her weirdest celeb crush to some tea about her worst date with her ex-boyfriend Glen Thomson, it was a doozy.
But first, on the off chance you’re not familiar with Miss Thing, let me introduce you. Anna is a 24-year-old Australian influencer who has amassed more than 7.2 million followers on TikTok, 2.4 million on Instagram.
She got her start by vlogging every single day and very, very quickly, people fell for her bubbly personality and wholesome, positive outlook on life. Most recently, she’s stepped into the entrepreneurial space, launching her own skincare brand called Paullie Skin in September 2023.
Now for the juicy stuff.
For the last eight years, Anna was in a relationship. However, in August 2023, she revealed that she had an amicable break-up with her ex.
When I asked her if she had a bad date story, she could only think of one instance with Glen when they first started dating when they were 16 years old.
“Firstly, I need someone to take me on a date,” she laughed.
“I’ve never really been on a date. I was in an eight-year relationship and then not really anything after that.
“Maybe when I first met my ex, and he just played some video games on a date and I was like, ‘What are you doing?’ But we were already together so that doesn’t really count.”
Relatable, no? I don’t know about you, but watching a boy you like play video games is peak high school dating girlhood, if you ask me. The only thing that comes second to that is the amount of untalented boys I’ve had play and sing songs for me on acoustic guitar.
GIRLHOOD!!!!!
But that wasn’t all. When asked about her weirdest celebrity crush, Anna was flummoxed. So much so, that I offered up my own for inspo — Gordon Ramsay.
“I just think he comes across all harsh but would secretly be a very attentive lover,” I actually, for some fucked reason, told Anna Paul.
“That’s giving daddy vibes,” she replied with a giggle. “He’d be nice. Like, harsh but really sweet.”
Although Anna said my weird celeb crush was “giving chaos”, hers were not fkn weird at all.
“I can’t think of any weird ones. I can just think of Zayn Malik and everybody loves him” she exclaimed.
“I don’t really have any weird celeb crushes like that but also I’m really bad with names.”
Anyway, my own slight embarrassment aside, I’m stoked to report that Anna is truly as kind as she seems online and I love that she’s receiving her flowers for being a creator who promotes such positivity amongst her fans.
