Gen Z influencers moved from "nice to have" to the default growth channel
A few years ago, you could buy attention with polished brand ads. Now Gen Z scrolls right past anything that smells like a campaign.
They want people. Faces. Opinions. Messy bedrooms. Real routines. And they reward creators who feel like a friend, not a spokesperson.
The hard part is picking the right collaborator. Not the biggest follower count - the one whose audience actually trusts them. Below is a curated list of Gen Z influencers across lifestyle, activism, comedy, dance, travel, fitness, wellness, music, and beauty, with their platform follower counts included so you can shortlist fast.
If your real goal is performance creative at scale (not just a one-off post), you can also generate UGC style ads with EzUGC - especially when you need 20 variations, not one "hero" video.
1. Kylie Jenner - Lifestyle
Kylie Jenner is one of the biggest social personalities on the planet. She built her influence by putting her lifestyle front and center - fashion, beauty, behind-the-scenes, and the kind of aspirational content that people binge.
She also turned attention into a real business, launching a cosmetics brand and stacking on top of early Instagram momentum. The catch is obvious: with a following this large, she’s not a budget-friendly collaboration. But if you can afford her, you’re buying world-class reach.
2. Greta Thunberg - Environmentalism
- Instagram: 14.2 Million Followers
- X: 5.5 Million Followers
Greta Thunberg is arguably the most successful environmental activist ever. She’s a household name because she’s direct, consistent, and doesn’t soften the message to make it brand-friendly.
That’s also why she’s polarizing. Some brands won’t touch that. But if your customers are activists, sustainability-first buyers, or people who take climate seriously, she’s a rare partner with true credibility. She has millions of niche followers and support from people in positions of power.
3. Khaby Lame - Comedy And Entertainment
Khaby Lame is the opposite of political. His superpower is simple, visual comedy - reactions that work in any country, any language.
That matters for brands. You’re not just buying a creator, you’re buying distribution across cultures. While his core is comedy, he also touches entertainment and lifestyle, which gives brands more angles than you’d expect from a "meme" creator.
4. Charlie D’Amelio - Dancing And Lifestyle
Charlie D’Amelio broke out on TikTok with dance content, then expanded into a broader lifestyle footprint across platforms. She’s one of those rare creators who can move audiences from short-form to longer-form without losing attention.
Brands like her because she isn’t locked into one category. She can credibly show beauty, fashion, personal life, and vlog-style content - which makes it easier to build campaigns with multiple creative concepts instead of repeating the same ad.
5. Jack Morris - Travel
Jack Morris is a travel creator known for high-end destination photography and lifestyle storytelling. His content is built to make places and products look premium - which is exactly what hospitality, fashion, and travel brands want.
He’s also a good reminder that platform matters. He’s huge on Instagram and smaller on TikTok, so you should pick deliverables based on where his influence actually lives, not where you want it to live.
6. Addison Rae - Music And Lifestyle
Addison Rae started on TikTok and expanded into music and broader lifestyle content. She’s playful, high-energy, and experienced with brand partnerships, which makes execution smoother than working with creators who are new to sponsorships.
Her promotions tend to fit naturally in fashion, food, and hospitality. The key is making sure the product fits her taste - she’s not known for random endorsements.
7. Emma Chamberlain - Lifestyle And Comedy
Emma Chamberlain is one of the most influential "feels like a real person" creators. She’s funny, awkward in a relatable way, and her content often looks unscripted - which is the whole point for Gen Z audiences.
She’s hard to categorize because she does a bit of everything: humor, daily life, candid thoughts, and personal experiences. Brands work with her because she can make a product feel like part of a life, not part of an ad.
8. Reagan Yorke - Film And Acting
Reagan Yorke is a TikTok-first creator with a comedic, behind-the-scenes vibe. She shares moments that feel like you’re in the room with her, which is why she’s approachable and why her content tends to land.
Lifestyle brands use her a lot because she can introduce products without breaking the tone of her page. She’s also open to building relationships, but like many high-performing creators, she can command high fees.
9. Kayla Itsines - Fitness And Health
Kayla Itsines is known for Bikini Body Guide and fitness education aimed at helping her audience improve their physique. Her content isn’t just workouts - it’s a full health narrative: training, consistency, and wellness habits.
She also built a real product business with Sweat, a fitness app that connects users to programs. That matters for brand partnerships because she understands customer journeys, not just content. She’s a strong fit for training, wellness, and supplement brands, especially ones tied to real outcomes and routines.
10. Amanda Rocchio - Health And Wellness
Amanda Rocchio is a clean match for health and wellness brands, especially anything tied to nutrition and meal prep. Her content is practical - the kind of advice people actually save and reuse.
She focuses on nutrition, healthy meals for busy schedules, and educational segments like portion control. She also crosses into fitness and lifestyle, but the product needs to connect back to food, nutrition, or prep for it to feel real.
11. Billie Eilish - Music And Culture
Billie Eilish started as a singer-songwriter and turned into a cultural icon. Her influence isn’t just music - it’s style, identity, and how Gen Z talks about mental health.
Her debut album, <em>When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?</em>, helped cement her image, and she’s stayed consistent with edgy, bold fashion choices. She’s also been outspoken on mental health and body image, which makes her partnerships feel more value-driven than transactional.
12. Maddie Ziegler - Dance, Acting, Fashion And Beauty
Maddie Ziegler rose to fame on the reality TV show <em>Dance Moms</em> and turned that into a long-term career across dance, acting, and fashion. Her audience is here for talent, but also for her broader story and projects.
She’s also the author of the memoir The Maddie Diaries and is involved in charity work, which adds depth to her public image. Brands often use her for fashion and beauty, but she can also fit music and film campaigns.
13. Cas Jerome - Fitness And Lifestyle
Cas Jerome is a macro fitness and lifestyle creator known for workout routines, motivation, and daily-life context. She’s the kind of creator who can sell consistency - not just a product.
A lot of her strongest content is personal development and general well-being. She talks about fitness as part of a broader lifestyle, which is useful if your product sits in that "whole person" category (fitness, wellness, routines, recovery).
Brands can use her as a micro - or macro-influencer depending on the platform: she has an extensive presence on some, but not others.
14. Bretman Rock - Fashion And Beauty
Bretman Rock is a major name in fashion and beauty with a huge Gen Z fanbase. The appeal isn’t just looks - it’s personality. He’s funny, sharp, and can make beauty content feel like entertainment.
That blend is why brands like him. He can do product-forward content without it turning into a tutorial that only beauty obsessives watch. And his follower base is big enough to matter for larger launches.
A practical note on execution
Big names are great when you need reach. But most teams don’t fail because they picked the wrong celebrity. They fail because they can’t produce enough good creative fast enough.
If you’re trying to ship weekly ad iterations, test hooks, and rotate creators without burning your budget, that’s where an AI UGC pipeline helps. EzUGC is built for that - generating UGC style videos and ads quickly, then letting you test what actually converts. Pricing is here: EzUGC pricing.