Millie Ford says being internet famous is everything she always wanted, and nothing like she thought it’d be

Even if you don’t know her by name, you’re more than likely familiar with the comic genius of Sydney girl-next-door Millie Ford. Can you still be relatable after you get TikTok famous? We asked her.

Millie Ford’s mum — the inspiration behind one of her most popular sketch characters — has come around to being impersonated.

The world-famous Sydneysider garnered more than 1.5 million TikTok followers by charming the internet with satirical videos in which she impersonates various iconic Australian personas. Those have racked up more than 83 million likes.

“I grew up on the North Shore,” Ford said when asked where she got her (in)famous ‘Aussie mum’ or ‘Aussie teacher’ voices from.

“Then I moved to Paddington, and recently to Bondi. My mum hates me saying she’s an inspiration, but she’s come around.”

The Aussie comic, who previously worked in social media marketing, rose to fame during the pandemic when her purpose was making videos “to bring joy to people’s lives when they were struggling”.

TikTok and social media star Millie Ford pictured in The Rocks. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about whether people will wake up one day and stop liking what I make,” she told The Daily Telegraph.

“It’s my Roman Empire,” she said, which is a Gen Z term for something one thinks about all the time.

Since then, Ford has established herself as one of the most promising young multihyphenates, bringing her talents to presenting, acting (she appeared in Home and Away and Bump) and music (in March, she released her debut single Lovestruck.)

Ford has more than 1.5 million followers on TikTok.

And another 248,999 fans on Instagram.

“The thing I’ve learned is it’s so important to have goals and dreams, but to accept that things don’t always turn out exactly how you think they will,” the comic said. “TikTok wasn’t around when I was a kid. I wanted to be a YouTuber.”

“But that impostor syndrome really kills creativity. If you start to believe it then it’ll destroy you. I’m still battling getting my head around feeling like I deserve to be here, and it doesn’t go away. I have to decide not to listen to that little voice.”

The social media talent will MC the ELLE Australia and MG Next Gen event on Wednesday night at the Overseas Passenger Terminal, which will see more than 300 young creatives gather to celebrate six rising stars.

She added that she’s always loved public speaking, and that meeting people IRL (in real life) is a balm. “I just enjoy speaking in general, in public or private,” she said. “This is such a pinch me moment.”

“I love being in a room full of creatives, it makes this feel real.”

“When you’re talking to everyone through the screen, you gaslight yourself into thinking they’re probably bots and fake accounts,” Ford explained.

“Then people come up to you in the street and share their stories. Anytime someone says they don’t want to bother me, it’s like, you’re not annoying me at all — you’ve made my day.”

Millie Ford will MC the ELLE Australia and MG Next Gen event on June 12 in Sydney.

Ford built her online following being the Aussie girl next door, on relatability. Then, she got famous.

“I struggled with it a lot at first,” she admitted. “I felt really uncomfortable sharing big events and glitzy parties like this online. I told myself I was showing off. Instead, people were actually wanting to see what I was doing.”

It’s something she’s “turning a corner on,” after realising that while she’s grown up a lot in the last three years, so have her audience.

“A lot of what I can offer is to show that it’s so OK and normal to be a bit of a mess. Truly. It doesn’t mean that you’re doomed,” Ford said of her next chapter.

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