“Hello, my queen,” GK Barry, real name Grace Keeling, almost sings in greeting at the start of our interview, instantly making me feel like a close personal friend. This ability to draw people in is what made her one of the original stars of TikTok, with a following of 4.2 million.
The 27 year old can make people snigger with ease, whether it’s recounting chaotic situations – such as the time she pulled a thong out of her tote bag instead of keys at university – or making slightly outrageous observations that often end up in fan-created montages titled “GK Barry’s best moments”. “I will never understand why people tell you, ‘We’re trying for a baby.’ You’re shagging then. You’re getting your cheeks clapped,” she says in one.
And she was making people laugh long before TikTok came along. “School was hell,” she says. “It was horror. I didn’t have much talent, I’m not very academic, I didn’t fit in as I was weird and not conventionally pretty, so I taught myself how to be funny. I started watching Miranda Hart, and I would copy her lines. I really hope they didn’t know I was quoting Miranda, because that’s a bit embarrassing,” she remarks. “As soon as I started making people laugh, I knew that was how I was going to get through life.”
