WILLIAMSBURG — An 85-year-old Williamsburg grandmother and TikTok star has become an integral part of the new KFC Chizza campaign.
Marie, who chooses not to disclose her last name, is known on TikTok as Bad Granny. She rocketed to TikTok stardom after videos of her daily antics were posted by family members.
“Granny has always been funny, but I worked 24/7. My daughter said ‘you need to start an Instagram for her’ because people do funny videos. I just didn’t have the time. When we moved to Virginia, I didn’t work as much. My cousin would send me viral videos for my mom to do. I recorded her doing these different viral video trends and it just took off,” daughter Nanci said.
With more than 1.3 million followers, KFC reached out to Marie and informed her that they wanted her for their new product, Chizza (pronounced cheet-za).
Chizza is two white meat extra crispy fried chicken filets topped with marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. Debuting in the Philippines in 2015 and sold internationally by the chain, KFC is bringing the product to U.S. menus for a limited time.
Marie had to send some demo reels to the team at KFC. The next thing she knew, she and her daughter were on a plane to Los Angeles.
“Before you know it, we’re flying to California. It felt great. Flying first class, I had my hair done, I had my makeup done, I felt like I was 35 again,” Marie said.
Filming took two days. Marie and her daughter were put up in a hotel and chauffeured around Los Angeles in a limousine. Overall, Marie loved the experience.
“The film crew was so nice to me, and my daughter as well. Everybody was just wonderful. The director was great, she was unbelievably talented,” Marie recalled.
Nanci has noticed that her new-found TikTok fame has given her mother a new lease on life.
“At 82, when we started, what else would she be doing? She’d be sitting on the couch, playing her games, ignoring life. Seriously, this gave her pep. Once we started the videos, she loves talking to her friends on TikTok. She knows she is talking to her friends directly on social media. She likes to make everybody laugh and it’s truly given her her life back,” Nanci shared.
Marie has hopes to film more commercials and says she would love the opportunity to work with George Lopez. She enjoys making her TikTok content every day.
“I get to be my normal self on TikTok. To my followers, thank you so much for still following me. I feel like you are my family. If it wasn’t for you, I’d be a nobody. I’d be an old lady, just sitting on my chair, crocheting blankets. Creating TikTok content is so much fun,” Marie says.
Marie shared the following piece of advice for life.
“As the old saying goes, I say ‘you are never too old to follow your dreams’, just be yourself, and don’t change your life for anyone,” Marie shared.
To view Marie’s commercial, click here. Follow Marie on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to stay up to date on her newest content.