She was a competitive dancer for over a decade before starting her social media career in 2019, when she began posting dance videos on the video-sharing platform TikTok.

D'Amelio quickly amassed a large following and subsequently became the most-followed creator on the platform in March 2020 until she was surpassed by Khaby Lame in June 2022.

[14] D'Amelio has expressed confusion regarding her rise to popularity, telling Variety, "I consider myself a normal teenager that a lot of people watch, for some reason.

[26][27] That same month, she partnered with Procter & Gamble to create the #DistanceDance challenge campaign on TikTok with the goal of encouraging social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, which garnered praise from Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.

[30] D'Amelio appeared in the ABC television special The Disney Family Singalong during the performance of "We're All In This Together" from High School Musical in April 2020.

[36] Charli and Dixie also launched a nail polish collection called Coastal Craze with Orosa Beauty in August 2020.

[37] Later that month, D'Amelio announced her debut book, titled Essentially Charli: The Ultimate Guide to Keeping It Real, which was released on December 1, 2020.

[38] It covered topics of identity, cyberbullying, social media, and body image as well as D'Amelio's childhood and family life.

[40] Dunkin' Donuts offered a limited-time drink on their menu dedicated to D'Amelio and based on her "go-to" order called "The Charli" in September 2020.

[65] Later that year, she starred with her sister in the Snap Original web reality competition show Charli vs. Dixie, which premiered on November 13, 2021.

[66][67] The series follows the sisters compete against each other in various challenges and tasks, in order to win a cash prize of US$50,000 that goes to a charity of the winner's choice.

[70][71] In January 2022, D'Amelio made a guest appearance in the second episode of Netflix's Hype House, a reality series based on the TikTok collective of the same name.

[74][75] In April, it was announced that she would star as the lead in Village Roadshow Pictures and Ryan Kavanaugh's upcoming supernatural thriller film Home School, eyed as the first installment of a potential eight-film franchise.

[78][79] Marcus Gibson of Bubbleblabber stated that D'Amelio's role "felt forced for the sake of introducing newcomers to [TikTok]".

[80] The following month, D'Amelio released a fragrance named "Born Dreamer", exclusively via Ulta Beauty.

[90] D'Amelio performed on select dates of the Dancing with the Stars Live 2023 concert tour, which spanned from January to March 2023.

[95] In September, along with other celebrities, D'Amelio partnered with Meta Platforms to introduce an AI chatbot named Coco, a "dance enthusiast", modeled after her.

She is currently playing Charmian, a "dance-heavy ensemble [role]", for a three-month run at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, from October 29 through January 19, 2025.

[14][103] Marc Faddoul, an artificial intelligence researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, credited her status as a "median user" and a "safe recommendation choice that can generate engagement across the board" as reasons for her fame.

[19] Mel Magazine's Joseph Longo called her "one of the first polarizing figures on the video app—the embodiment of the strange, precarious and unpredictable new world of Gen Z online fame", noting that social media users criticized her as being "basic", "cringeworthy", and "overhyped".

[110][111] Other TikTok users, including Lisa Beverly and Ellie Zeiler, became notable on the platform for their resemblance to D'Amelio.

"[121] Charles similarly tweeted out in their defense, further comparing the controversy to the conflict which broke out between him and Tati Westbrook a year prior.

[122] Rebecca Jennings of Vox called the controversy "cruel and unnecessary", while Alice Ophelia and Faye Maidment of Dazed attributed it to misogyny.

[30][120][123] D'Amelio faced backlash in December 2020 after it was revealed that she and a number of other social media personalities, including Hudson, had been vacationing at Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas during the COVID-19 pandemic while cases in her and her family's residence of Los Angeles surged, shortly after having publicly suggested that not staying home during the pandemic was "inconsiderate".

[128] As co-founders, D'Amelio, her mother, and her sister Dixie "share creative input for the [company's] marketing and product development".

[133][134] The flavored popcorn range, Be Happy Snacks, was released to Walmart's retail stores and webstore in late October.

[135] Unlike D'Amelio Footwear, which is sold direct-to-consumer, the company partnered with Walmart for the snack brand as "[it] just seemed to be something that would not be as successful going exclusively [DTC]".

[140] Following D'Amelio's meet-and-greet in November 2019, she and her family donated the money earned from ticket sales to a special needs fundraiser.