Samyra Miller, a New Orleans native turned social media sensation, has built a career on unwavering self-confidence. From a childhood of quiet observation to her status as a powerful advocate for size inclusivity, her journey is a testament to staying true to oneself.
She describes herself as “unapologetically confident, knowing what I want and doing it.” When she was a child, her family recognized her strong will. “My grandfather said, ‘Ain’t nothing wrong with that girl. Once she starts talking, she’s not gonna stop,’” she recounts with a laugh.
Music and football, passions ignited by her father—a coach and singer—shaped her early life. “He would always sing Luther Vandross around the house,” she recalls. “‘A House Is Not a Home,’ anything—you name it. The person people see online today is the same person I’ve always been.”
Hurricane Katrina led to her family’s pivotal move to Deer Park, Texas, where a school talent show sparked her own love for performing. “The first song I ever sang for an audience was ‘Start of Something New,’ from High School Musical. It really was the start of something new,” Miller says. “That was my first time performing, and I haven’t stopped since.”
Her path to Harvard was unexpected. “I had a friend a year ahead of me in school who applied and got in,” she says. Her friend encouraged her to apply, too. “He told me, ‘You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take,’” she recalls. Her acceptance was a surprise; but at Harvard, she thrived, becoming a leader and earning the respect of peers and faculty. “I ran Harvard,” she says with a grin. “I showed up in such a unique way on campus.”
In 2024, she released music, including a bounce-genre track titled “Plus-Size Freestyle,” where she raps about size exclusivity. “It was easy to write, because it was expressing all my frustrations,” she says. “The viral line online is, ‘They said big-back b–h to the back.’ If you’re gonna sell this, then put the clothes on a rack where it’s visible, so I can spend my money.”
Miller’s entry into content creation was just as unplanned as her music blowing up online. “A friend told me to post a TikTok,” she says. Initially she shared singing covers—but negative comments prompted her to shift her focus to plus-size advocacy. “People would say, ‘Tiana isn’t plus-size. You’ll never be Tiana,’” she recalls. Her videos exposing the fashion industry’s shortcomings struck a chord. “If I can be in the mission statement, then I can be in the size chart,” she declares. “Either fix your marketing or fix your sizes.”
She takes a deliberate approach to her advocacy on behalf of plus-size consumers. “Anything I do, I do on purpose,” she says. “I know what will happen if I go into a store and document my experience.” She’s quick to call out brands for performative inclusivity. “It infuriates me when brands only pretend to care,” she explains.
New Orleans, Miller emphasizes, has a unique soul. “It’s a magical, powerful city,” she says. “I owe so much of my confidence to the free spirit that is New Orleans.” The city’s celebratory culture instilled in her a deep sense of self-worth. “You got out of bed today? We’re gonna second line down the street,” she jokes. “That celebration I felt growing up made me realize I don’t need validation to belong. I can show up as I am. I know that I’m more than enough, because I have a whole city behind me.”
Miller’s eventual path was foreshadowed in many ways, including by her first job: at a retail store in Lakeside Mall. Feeling purposefully hidden in the back, she had an insight: “I hated being in the back. It made me realize that I want to be seen. I want to be out there. Why can’t I be out there?” Today, with 2.3 million TikTok followers and counting, Miller is way out front, where she belongs.
Samyra’s Must-Have Beauty Favorites
Stay hydrated, glossed and scented with Miller’s essentials—and beat the New Orleans heat.
