“Look at you not needing measurements and things. Cooking by the spirit is the only way, honey.” ― Tabitha Brown, Feeding the Soul
Ask anyone who watches Tabitha Brown's videos, and they won't stop gushing about her infectious personality. Originally from North Carolina, this 42-year-old content creator rose to roaring fame particularly through TikTok during the pandemic. In one of her interviews, Tabitha recollects how skeptical she was about getting on TikTok, but her daughter nudged her to get on it. But there's more to Tabitha that we'll discover now. 👇🏼
Who Is Tabitha Brown Really?
An actress, a vegan food influencer, and a New York Times bestselling author — Tabitha Brown calls herself the world's favorite mom. With over 4 million followers on TikTok, Tabitha is known for her vegan recipes and upbeat screen presence that has won her audience spanning diverse age groups across the globe. Tabitha is vocal, and when she’s not writing or making cooking videos, she’s actively making content with nuggets of wisdom and things worth looking forward to in life. To a casual viewer, Tabitha’s life may appear sorted, but what did she endure to get here? Let’s find out. 🧗🏼♀️
In pursuit of becoming an actress, Tabitha dropped out of her fashion design degree at International Fine Arts College in Miami and moved to California. She did bag some roles, but not everything was panning out as per her expectations.
Tabitha's Early Life
She dabbled in different jobs before savoring sensation on the internet. Staying two hours away from Hollywood, she juggled between seeking acting opportunities and making a living. However, when things were somewhat bleak, she moved back to North Carolina and eventually, married her boyfriend and had kids. One thing led to another and Tabitha became a late-night television host for a program, which kept her close to her acting dream.
But, here's how the story goes, kids: while working as an Uber driver, she dropped off a customer at Whole Foods and grabbed a vegan sandwich (TTLA for tempeh, tomato, lettuce, and avocado) for lunch. She loved it so much that she posted a quick review on YouTube that fetched 50,000 views towards the end of the day; as of today, it has about 195,305 views (and counting). The virality of the video explains why Whole Foods included its TTLA sandwich in 150 locations across the USA and Canada.
Growing up, Tabitha stayed miles away from the kitchen — she was a tomboy who preferred the outdoors, what ignited the culinary spark, then?
Life Took a U-turn
She suffered from chronic autoimmune pain, tormenting her to no end — in fact, she assumed she wouldn't make it alive till 40. Despite medical help, there was no relief, and all her reports displayed no ailment. Dealing with the excruciating pain and constant bouts of depression took a toll on her mental and physical health. In one of her videos, she shares her mother's illness — ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), which took her life and also recollects her family's history of cardiovascular diseases, which urged her towards healthy eating. While Tabitha understood not all diseases are hereditary, she realized eating clean is the cornerstone of a wholesome lifestyle.
A conversation where she talks about her health condition and why she chose to go vegan. 👇🏼
One day, her daughter suggested they watch What The Health on Netflix, which inspired Tabitha to try a vegan diet for 30 days. During those 30 days, she began to witness an improvement in her health, including the regular headaches she was facing.
Tabitha has been vegan ever since.
TikTok Glory
Have a good day but if you can’t, don’t you dare go messing up nobody else’s. - Tabitha Brown
Tabitha has been whipping a storm in her kitchen and social media ever since she turned vegan; but with TikTok, she amassed over 4 million followers — both vegans and non-vegans try her recipes out. During her initial TikTok days, she largely posted random content, including videos of their pet. It was a few weeks later that she started to post quick recipe videos; but if you notice Tabitha's videos, you'd know her content also revolves around positivity and hope.
Whole Foods also got Tabitha on board as a Brand Ambassador and she toured widely to discuss the vegan diet.
Today is my 4 year vegan anniversary 🙌🏾. pic.twitter.com/cGAD4g503P
— Tabitha Brown (@IamTabithaBrown) August 2, 2021
From earning features on vogue, The Today Show, and Bustle to landing a show on Ellen's Network (All Love), Tabitha's story exemplifies her growth from within and externally. In 2020, she was also nominated as TikTok's Top Creator, just months after she joined TikTok.
In 2020, Sabra Dipping Company (Pepsi co-owns it) collaborated with Tabitha to launch their very first shoppable video series that offers quick and seamless recipes for working parents. She also has a comprehensive Pinterest profile with hundreds of recipes.
Feeding the Soul: NYT Bestseller
“Despite what anybody may have to say to you or about you today, you are enough. Yesterday, you were enough. Today, you are enough. Tomorrow, you’ll be enough. Forever, you’re enough. Change the way you think, baby. Don’t give control over your life, your self-perception, to people who have no business having that kind of power.”
Tabitha's debut book, Feeding the Soul, may have helped her ace NYT's bestselling books list, but she has won thousands of hearts. Authentic and unabashedly honest and vulnerable — Tabitha lays her life bare open for the readers to understand her struggles and how she overcame them. Packed with plenty of advice, Feeding the Soul has become a de facto book for anyone seeking a positive outlook on life.
Apart from scoring a number-one bestselling title, it has also won Amazon’s Editors’ Best Books of October (2021).
And Finally...
Today, apart from landing shows and awards, Tabitha is scoring diverse brand deals too. Recently, she has launched Donna’s Recipe, a haircare brand specifically formulated for hair growth. Along with international leading spice brand, McCormick, she has also launched a limited-edition Sunshine All-Purpose Seasoning.
Tabitha's journey is more than inspiring in many ways — but, we think it's spectacular because every once in a while, someone like Tabitha reminds us how you can pivot and start your journey at any phase of our life.
