Get to Know the TikTok sensation, Janelle Zharmenova

Whitty, electric and full of charisma. Get to know the TikTok sensation behind the infamous “the face”…

Janelle Zharmenova, popularly known as @janelthebear, is a talented Kazakh TikToker celebrated for her humorous and clever videos. Some may recognise the social media star for her iconic “the face”.

Since posting on the platform in 2021, Janelle has continually drawn in her audience with ingeniously satirical videos, sporting her eyebrows raised and lips puckered, exuding an endearing charm reminiscent of a duck face. Her videos quickly amassed substantial popularity, amassing 2.2 million followers and 300 million likes under her belt, only motivating Janelle to persist in creating more uplifting content.

Her talent in delivering humorous yet ambiguous content, leaving views pleasantly puzzled, adds to her allure as a creator and sets her aside from others on the platform.

Born in Kazakhstan and raised in Texas and Germany, Janelle has had a substantial journey to her influencer career. We sat down with the social sensation to really get to know the person behind “the face”, how she built her impressive following and where she wishes to take her influence…

Read the exclusive interview…

What’s the first thing you did when you woke up this morning?
I called my mom, love her.

Who and what inspires you in your everyday life?
My friends. I have a tendency to compare myself to people around me, knowing this, I choose my friends carefully so that I can surround myself with people who challenge me to be a better version of myself. All of my friends are extremely talented, creative, and charismatic and I feel as though I can really grow and thrive in this environment.

Who do you consider to be an idol of yours?
I love Freddie Mercury because he was never afraid to be unique and different from others, he had a “larger than life” ambience around him that I have always admired and wish to be more like.

How did you first immerse yourself into the social media world?
I’ve always loved social media from a very young age, you can still find videos of me on youtube at age 10, but please don’t; save yourself from the second hand embarrassment. But it was when I was on vacation with my family in Nice, France in the summer of 2020, that I decided I wanted to pursue a career in social media. I met an influencer and asked to take a picture. Afterwards, I looked through her social media page and was jealous of how exciting and seemingly easy her life was, so I told myself I would become an influencer by next year, same time. I started gaining traction in April 2021 and by August 2021, I hit 1 million followers on TikTok.

What are your key tips for building a following?
You need to find something that makes you stand out from everyone else on tiktok, try everything and anything you can think of and just keep posting, never stop. Make sure you show your personality as much as you can because you want to attract people to you, as an individual, so that if you ever want to switch your content, you are free to do so because people stay for you and not for the type of content you make.

What does the word influencer mean to you?
That’s a really good question. When I first started, I just wanted to make people laugh and have someone they felt they could connect with to a certain degree. However, the more you grow in this career, the less relatable you become, making it harder to build a connection with your followers. I think this is when influencers should start thinking of other ways to positively influence their followers, whether it be to inspire them to also achieve great things, or think of ways to change the lives of their followers for the better. Mr. Beast is someone who embodies the term influencer for me because on one hand, his content always gets better, but on the other hand, he also thinks of ways to truly change the lives of his supporters and inspire them to achieve bigger.

You spent a lot of time at Coachella, what did you get up to there?
I arrived super late the first day so ended up just going to an after party at Zenyara, that was probably the coolest house I have ever been to, the pool was the size of the ground floor of my apartment complex. The next day I went to Revolve fest where I met a lot of my influencer friends for the first time, and then headed over to coachella where I saw Labrynth and BlackPink. We had to leave early because my friend got food poisoning from one of the food stands haha. If I were to go again, I would prioritise going with the right group of people and seeing more shows.

You’ve had an eclectic upbringing, how does that impact your mindset and approach to your career?
It has definitely impacted my outlook on this entire career. I didn’t grow up with a lot of money, but my parents did travel a lot for work so I was able to experience many different cultures from a young age; this taught me to be more open minded and grateful for everything I had. I definitely had to step out of my comfort zone every single time I moved to a new place, so I am now uncomfortable to be stagnant, and am always looking for a new challenge. Before I had a following on tiktok, I was working various jobs with long hours and pretty tough working conditions, the job of an influencer is the complete opposite of this. I am extremely grateful for this career and I challenge myself everyday to make the most out of this career while I am still able to.

What are your career goals?
Ever since I can remember, I always dreamed of becoming an actress. I think the reason I loved filming videos from a young age was because of the excitement I felt whenever I was in front of a camera. I am currently working on writing a show, and making this dream into a reality. I’m using my social media to propel me into the world of film and tv and I am extremely blessed to have these opportunities open up to me now.

What have you got on for the rest of the year?
Finish writing the show, travel a bit to New York and LA, work with some of my dream brands, and continue growing my social media following