It seems hard to remember life before Instagram, but the platform is still relatively young. Instagram launched in 2010, during a time of transition in the social media space. MySpace was dying, Facebook was king, and Twitter was just starting to take off. It was hard to predict how popular Instagram would become, especially for celebrities. Having an active Instagram account is a big deal for famous people and people who are trying to get more famous. (Would we have influencers if we didn't have Instagram? That's a question for the ages.)
And while the most popular accounts on Instagram (based on the number of followers) are all adults, the next generation of big Instagram stars is already out there. Celebrity kids — who often have accounts run by their parents or their parents' PR people — are some of the most highly followed accounts around.
While some of the accounts are worth following just to see what a toddler looks like in a Balenciaga outfit that cost more than most of us spent on our first car (is it considered shade if we are fully acknowledging that we are side-eyeing the Kardashians here?), some of the accounts are genuinely delightful thanks to the big personalities of these tiny humans.
Kaavia Union-Wade
Kaavia Union-Wade, the 3-year-old daughter of Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade, has a big personality and an even bigger follower count. Nearly 2 million people follow "The Shady Baby," and her account is genuinely LOL funny. The captions, people, the captions!
Alexia Olympia Ohanian
We're not sure if 4-year-old Olympia Ohanian (daughter of Serena Williams) and Kaavia James Union-Wade are friends IRL yet, but they both bring a lot of funny energy to Instagram. Olympia, who has more than 600,000 followers, is a must-follow for any tennis fan, as she appears to be following in her mother's athletic footsteps.
Alabama Barker
Alabama Barker, daughter of Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and stepdaughter of Kourtney Kardashian, currently has 1.5 million followers. Her account is mostly selfies, some of which critics deem to be uncomfortably sexy or mature for a 16-year-old. Others like her because she's been known to spill some Kardashian-related tea or to air out her issues with her mom, Shanna Moakler.
Boomer Phelps
Another Instagram famous kid with a super athlete for a parent is 6-year-old Boomer Phelps. Boomer, son of the swimming GOAT Michael Phelps, doesn't post updates often, but still has more than half a million followers. Interestingly, he has more followers than both of his brothers combined and more than his own mom, so maybe there is only room for one Insta star in the family.
Kenzo Hart
In terms of Instagram, having nearly 70,000 followers doesn't make a person super famous. But in terms of being a 4-year-old? Well, we think that is still pretty noteworthy! Kenzo Hart, son of comedian Kevin Hart, is super cute, and his "Kenzo's World" account is a lot of fun to scroll.
Asahd Khaled
DJ Khaled has never been accused of being subtle or understated, so it isn't a huge surprise that his 5-year-old son's Instagram account (followed by more than 1.5 million people) is filled with lots of pictures of designer things, luxe trips, and, oh yeah, a kindergarten graduation picture or two. Little Asahd will make anyone jealous of his fun life.
Giovanna LaValle
Whoa! Who knew that Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi (of Jersey Shore fame) had a daughter this flexible and this Instagram famous? Seven-year-old Giovanna is an aspiring cheerleader with more than 320,000 followers and lots of posts proving that she is a very athletic little kid.
Chanel Marrow
Chanel Marrow, the 6-year-old daughter of Ice-T and Coco Austin, has more than 400,000 followers. Are they following for the pictures of her twinning with her mom? For the chance to judge Coco and Ice-T's parenting choices? Or just curious what fake nails and lipstick look like on a first grader? Who can say?
Milania Giudice
Reality TV fans have watched Milania Giudice grow up in front of their eyes on The Real Housewives of New Jersey, and more than 240,000 of those fans are watching her grow up on Instagram, too. Milania recently posted pictures from her sweet 16 party and got more than 20,000 likes. Dang. We didn't even get a card from our grandma, let alone that many likes!
Zaya Wade
Zaya Wade may not have as many followers as her little sister, Kaavia, but she's doing OK. This super fashionable 15-year-old currently has about 547,000 followers. We love that she is carving out her own space on Instagram to show us exactly how much cooler and better dressed she is at 15 than we ever were!
Bronny James
OK, is someone an Instagram star if they have only posted 16 times in a three-year period? We'd normally say no, but we can't deny that Bronny James (son of a basketball player, some guy named LeBron? Ring any bells?) has more than 6 million followers. This 17-year-old is considered one of the top 60 high school basketball players in the country, so his followers will be closely watching to see where he goes to college in 2023.
Coco Arquette
Do we detect some Monica Geller energy in this picture? Maybe! Coco Arquette, daughter of Courteney Cox and David Arquette, was largely raised out of the public eye, but the just turned 18-year-old has still managed to rack up more than 325,000 Instagram followers.
Deacon Phillippe
Many of us just wanted a date for the prom. Deacon Phillippe got more than 40,000 likes from his nearly 400,000 Instagram followers when he posted his recent prom photo. Though it is pretty obvious from looking at him, he is the son of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe and is rumored to be considering a career in music. He'd better hope all those followers also download his tunes.
Gunner Pratt
Given that his parents, Heidi and Spencer Pratt, are some of the most fame-hungry people ever produced by reality TV, it isn't too surprising that 3-year-old Gunner Pratt had an Instagram account before he had teeth. He currently has around 73,000 followers, and it will be interesting to see if that number jumps at all when Gunner becomes a big brother later this year.
Brooklyn Daly
Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kenya Moore's daughter, Brooklyn Daly, is only 3 years old, but she has already learned to pose, takes karate lessons, and has more than 300 posts on her Instagram account. The account, run by her mom, currently boasts upwards of 238,000 followers.
