Honey Boo Boo has come a long way from her pageant days.

The reality TV child star, whose real name is Alana Thompson, rose to fame at age 5 when her appearance on Toddlers and Tiaras went viral. “A dollar made me holler, honey boo boo!” she said in an interview for the show, and the phrase stuck as a nickname. From age 6 to 8, she starred in the TLC series Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, which chronicled her and her family’s life in their hometown of McIntyre, Ga.

In 2025, she narrated the Lifetime biopic I Was Honey Boo Boo, speaking out for the first time about her family’s highs and lows in the spotlight. Today, she is studying nursing at Regis University in Colorado.

“When I graduate I’ll be the only one in my family with a degree,” she told PEOPLE in a 2025 cover story. “I love that I’ve persevered past who people thought I was.”

As she celebrates her 21st birthday, see photos of Thompson’s journey from child celebrity to aspiring nurse.
01of 11
Think Pink

Alana ‘Honey Boo Boo’ Thompson.Noel Vasquez/Getty
After her viral moment on Toddlers and Tiaras, Thompson wore her sparkly pink pageant dress to an appearance on Extra in January 2012.

02of 11
Toddler in Tiara

June Shannon and Alana Thompson.JB Lacroix/WireImage
Later that year, the Thompsons became small-screen stars with the August 2012 premiere of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, starring a 6-year-old Alana, her mom June Shannon and their family.

03of 11
Good Morning Gals

Honey Boo Boo and Mama June.Fred Lee/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
Ahead of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo’s final season, “Mama June” and “Honey Boo Boo” sat down with Good Morning America in February 2014.

04of 11
A Parent-ly

Mike Thompson and Alana Thompson.David Livingston/Getty
Her father, Mike “Sugar Bear” Thompson, also appeared on the series, but today, the father and daughter remain estranged. “He wasn’t even at Alana’s graduation,” Alana’s sister and legal guardian at the time, Lauryn Efird, told PEOPLE in 2023. “She hasn’t spoken to him in a year now.”

05of 11
Frills and Thrills

Alana Thompson aka “Honey Boo Boo” on ‘Dancing with the Stars: Juniors’.Eric McCandless via Getty
Alana took to the dance floor in 2018 to participate in Dancing with the Stars: Juniors, partnering with Tristan Ianeiro and mentored by Artem Chigvintsev. The duo was eliminated in eighth place.

06of 11
Sofa, So Good

Honey Boo Boo. June Shannon, and Lauryn Efird.June Shannon Instagram
In May 2021, Alana, Mama June and Efird sat down with Entertainment Tonight for their first interview together in two years.

07of 11
Unmasked Singers

Mamma June, host Nick Cannon and Honey Boo Boo on ‘The Masked Singer’.FOX via Getty
Mama June and Honey Boo Boo appeared for one episode on season 6 of The Masked Singer, performing “Party in the U.S.A.” by Miley Cyrus as “Beach Ball.”

08of 11
Senior Year Smiles

Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson with her nephew.Lauryn Efird/Instagram
Efird celebrated her baby sister’s final year of high school in 2022, telling Alana (pictured with Efird’s son Bentley), “I’m so proud of how far you’ve come against all odds that have been thrown at you.”

09of 11
Sweet Hearts

Dralin Carswell and Alana Thompson.Alana Thompson/Instagram
Thompson’s boyfriend, Dralin Carswell, moved to Colorado with her as she enrolled in Regis University’s undergraduate nursing program.

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Cover Girl

Alana Thompson.Ari & Louise
“I just always told myself you know that you want to do something better with your life and bigger with your life than just being on TV, so you’ve got to get up and go, you’ve got to graduate so you can make it to college and be the nurse that you want to be,” she told PEOPLE in her 2025 cover story ahead of the biopic I Was Honey Boo Boo.

11of 11
Staying Present

Alana Thompson in 2026.Alana Thompson/Instagram
Set to graduate in the next year, Thompson currently works at a hospital in Denver and plans to pursue her dream of being a pediatric intensive care unit nurse.

Her mom, June Shannon, told PEOPLE in April 2026, “We have nothing planned for graduation, but Alana turns 21 in August. So we have Vegas.”