How an American Living in Paris Became a TikTok Sensation

“I like to think of myself as your Paris big sister. If you need help, I’m the go-to person,” says Amanda Rollins. An American living in the City of Light, Rollins is a full-time content creator on TikTok, where her username is @americanfille. Since joining the platform in April 2020, she has built a following of more than 740,000, and she answers all of her DMs. “Or at least I try to,” she says.

@americanfille Replying to @Chels0052 why i like Paris better than the US ? #paris #americaninparis ♬ original sound – Amanda Rollins

Why is Rollins so popular on a platform brimming with ex-pats singing the praises of Paris? Well, like many Americans in the French capital, she is truly in love with the city. Rollins enjoys fresh baguettes, strolls along the Seine and the sight of the Eiffel Tower—everything that makes Paris magical. But her content isn’t precious or art directed. She doesn’t present a picture-perfect postcard world. She tells it like it is, showing her audience what day-to-day life is like and helping them navigate the complexities of the city.

“I don’t need to tell you to go to this one café with hot chocolate that everyone in the world has told you about. To me, that’s boring,” Rollins says. “I don’t care about that. I’d rather give advice. I ask myself, ‘What would someone coming to visit right now actually need to know that they can’t find if they just Google it?’ So, I try to do the real things, the not-so-obvious things, because you’re going to end up in a nice restaurant—I’m not worried about you finding food. I’m worried about you getting scammed on the way to the Metro.”

@americanfille 3 Paris metro rules you need to know to avoid getting fined ? #paris #parismetro ♬ original sound – Amanda Rollins

To that end, Rollins posts practical guidance about avoiding pickpockets in the streets and subway fines. She’ll also tell you where to find convenient, free public lavatories. (Which can come in handy. Oui?)

@americanfille How to use the public toilettes in Paris #parispublictoilette #paris ♬ original sound – Amanda Rollins

She often records posts while prepping for her day, or out on a run, speaking off the cuff. When you watch one of her vids, it feels like you are hearing from a trusted friend. “I put myself in other people’s shoes. I know how hard it is to go to a foreign country when you don’t speak the language,” she says.

There is also another reason for Rollins’ popularity on the platform. She isn’t afraid to dream big. A self-described “queen of manifesting,” Rollins recently shared a post about a vision board she made, which finds her meeting French President Emmanuel Macron and being invited to the next Jacquemus show at Paris Fashion Week.

“I just feel like Jacquemus is going to invite me. Do I dress cool enough for Jacquemus to be like, ‘That girl dresses cool. We should invite her.’ Absolutely the fuck not, but I really believe they’re going to invite me!” she says in the post.

Hey, it could happen. After all, Rollins was brave enough to uproot her life and move to Paris without knowing anyone there. Her interest in Gallic culture stretches back to childhood. Raised in Greenfield, Mass., by a single mom, she began studying French in sixth grade. In high school, she was president of the French Club, and in college, she minored in the language.

Rollins finally visited Paris as an adult and knew she wanted to make her life in the city. She resided in Boston at the time she made the decision to move, selling everything she owned and relocating to work as a nanny at the age of 27. “I was the oldest au pair in all of France,” she cracks. “Most au pairs are like 18.”

That was six years ago. Eventually, Rollins, who arrived in Paris with a background in sales, landed work in her field, most recently at a tech company.

She went viral for the first time in 2021 with a post explaining the differences between French and American healthcare. “That’s when I realized this could be something,” Rollins says.

@americanfille Melasma is hormonal but there are peoducts that can help, like this one from @Typology Paris #melasma #typolog ♬ original sound – Amanda Rollins

As her audience steadily grew, brand deals rolled in, and Rollins was able to quit her job last November to become a full-time creator. In addition to being a fount of knowledge about Paris, she also posts about fashion, beauty and skincare (she has been talking lately about melasma, a condition that causes patches of darker pigmentation), noting, “I’m a girly-girl.”

Her TikTok audience is 83 percent Americans, and 61 percent women aged 18 to 45. “If you are targeting American women, that is my audience,” she says. “The odds are more in your favor to do a promotion with me versus just pushing something on Facebook Ads. I have a track record of getting those people to watch my videos and engaging with those people.”

As a content creator, Rollins has worked with brands such as vegan skincare brand Typology, luxury store Galeries Lafayette, Make Up for Ever, and language app Drops.

Going forward, she would love to collaborate with additional brands that are in line with her interests, which also include travel and music and, more specifically, the XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, which Paris will host next summer.

While Rollins wants to expand her partnerships, she’s also picky. “I’ve been offered some really big contracts for things. But it just didn’t make sense at all. I had this one offer from a crypto company, and they were going to give me $5,000 per video. I was like, ‘Oh man, that’s so much money.’ But I can’t sit here and look at people and pretend to be about crypto.”

@americanfille Ball’s in your court, Ken #kenssteakhouse #kensitaliandressing ♬ original sound – Amanda Rollins

One thing Rollins is all about is Ken’s Italian salad dressing, which, to her dismay, is “impossible to get here.” When she returns to the United States, she always buys some and asks friends who visit to bring a bottle or two.

“It’s so important to me. I’m looking at my shelf right now, and I only have two bottles left, and I’m really stressed out because I had five a few weeks ago. That’s how much I use it.”

Receiving a lifetime supply from the brand is one item on her vision board.