Wall Street Journal: This South Philadelphia Grandma Is a TikTok Star; Her Grandson Is Manager

Philadelphia grandmother Dolores Paolino has achieved TikTok stardom with the help of her grandson, writes Joseph Pisani for The Wall Street Journal.

The 89-year-old grandmother has 2.4 million followers, despite only having a landline phone at her home. Julian Giacobbo, her 20-year-old grandson and manager, is the one who writes the scripts and edits any recorded material into 30-second clips.

“He does it all,” said Paolino.

The South Philadelphia resident shot to fame three years ago. Her grandson took a video of her downing a spiked iced tea while she was chaperoning his Halloween party.

Today, Paolino is being recognized at doctor’s visits and diners while her grandson is dealing with advertisers and responding to fan comments.

Giacobbo, who lives close to his grandmother, records material for the next TikTok videos between college classes and an internship.

Paolino likes to stay feisty in her videos, a reminder of the days when she danced at social clubs. In one video she gyrates against an oxygen tank to announce she is back home from a hospital.

She also enjoys the extra cash she gets from TikTok, which she uses to spoil her five grandkids.

“I just enjoy spending it,” she said.

Read more about Dolores Paolino in The Wall Street Journal.