Céline Dept (Flemish pronunciation:[seːˈlin(ə)ˈdɛpt]; born 8 December 1999) is a Belgian influencer who is active on TikTok and YouTube, and the first Belgian to reach 10 million subscribers on YouTube.[2] She began uploading videos to TikTok in April 2019, and by January 2020, had the highest amount of TikTok followers of any Belgian influencer, with around 2.7 million followers. She additionally hosts the YouTube channel Celine & Michiel [nl] with her partner and fellow influencer Michiel Callebaut, with whom she appeared in a feature-length movie in 2022. Dept is known for her content relating to football, dance, lip syncs, and pranks. She has been sponsored by various brands and started her own clothing line in 2022.
Early life
Céline Dept was born on 8 December 1999,[a] and comes from Ostend, West Flanders.[3] Prior to her career as an influencer, she was a football player for Cercle Brugge K.S.V., among other teams.[4][5] According to an interview with Knack, she began playing in the second national for the second team of the women's division of the club in 2015, before being relegated to first provincial in the summer of 2018.[5]
Social media career
Dept began uploading videos to TikTok in April 2019.[6][7] She stated that she was inspired to make videos by her partner[8] and YouTuber Michiel Callebaut, commenting, "At first, it was all for fun, but suddenly it went super fast and I was busy with it full time."[7] Her videos mainly consist of dances, lip syncs, football, and pranks. Her account received sponsorships from various brands, such as a free car from a Mercedes-Benz dealership.[7][9] In 2019, she also started the YouTube channel "Celine & Michiel [nl]" (CEMI) with Callebaut.[8]
By January 2020, she had over 2.7 million followers on TikTok, becoming the most-followed account in Belgium.[7] A month later, her first meet-and-greet took place near Mechelen at the science museum Technopolis, which gained media attention as nearby highway traffic became congested due to the presence of hundreds of fans.[10][11]
In January 2021, the animal rights organization GAIA [nl] criticized Dept and Callebaut after they released a video in which they purchased a Chow Chow, which the organization stated was acquired from a puppy mill. Dept subsequently apologized for this and said that she was previously unaware of what a puppy mill was.[12][13][14][15]
Video clip of Dept hugging several Dutch influencers during the "Youtube-interland," recorded by Edward van Cuilenborg [nl]
In 2022, she released a clothing line under the CEMI name.[16] In 26 October 2022, she debuted as the lead actress alongside Callebaut in their first feature-length film Rewind, which was released in Belgian cinemas and the Flemish streaming service Streamz [nl].[17][18][19] She started a personal YouTube channel in May 2023.[2][8] Three months later, she became the first Belgian to reach 10 million subscribers on the platform.[2][3][8] Her channel has featured famous footballers such as Gareth Bale, Neymar, Eden Hazard, Kylian Mbappé, and Erling Haaland.[2] Dept and Callebaut were together interviewed in media journalist Jonas Lips' 2023 book Tiktok Academy, where they provided their advice on creating trending content for social media.[20]
In March 2024, the pair led the football team "Creators FC", which consisted of Belgian influencers, in what was known as the first "Youtube-interland" against a team of Dutch influencers, with proceeds from the match funding a charity for children with cancer.[21][22][23] She later appeared in a livestream of American influencer IShowSpeed on 28 June 2024, in which she accompanied him while he toured Brussels.[24]
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