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10 Lucky Kids Ellen DeGeneres Made Famous

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Ellen DeGeneres turned toddlers reciting the periodic table into television stars.

Most talk shows book actors promoting their next movie. Ellen DeGeneres built a chunk of her daytime empire on three-year-olds who could name every U.S. president and ten-year-olds who move like malfunctioning robots. TheThings Celebrity’s rundown of “10 Lucky Kids Ellen DeGeneres Made Famous” pulls together the child performers who went from home videos to studio audiences, and in several cases, into recurring correspondent gigs on the show.

• Brielle Milla, a 3-year-old memory prodigy, went viral in early 2016 for reciting all 118 elements of the periodic table, every U.S. president, and every state capital before Ellen booked her.
• Heaven King first broke through at age two with choreographed hip-hop routines to artists like Beyoncé, while 10-year-old Merrick Hanna became a viral sensation for his popping and animation dance style.
• British singing cousins Sophia Grace and Rosie parlayed a YouTube cover of Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass” into repeat appearances as regular show correspondents.

The Toddler Who Knew the Periodic Table

Ellen has built a career on discovering internet clips before most of the country has seen them, and Brielle Milla’s 2016 appearance is a textbook example. The toddler recited all 118 elements of the periodic table on command, then rattled off every U.S. state, its capital, and every American president without missing a beat. It’s the kind of stunt that plays great as a viral clip, but Ellen’s stage turned Milla from a curiosity into a recognizable name.

The Dancers Who Stole the Spotlight

Not every kid on Ellen’s couch was a memory savant. Heaven King was already dancing choreographed routines to Beyoncé at age two when her clips started circulating online, and her energy on stage matched the hype. Merrick Hanna took a different lane entirely — at 10 years old, his popping and animation routines were sharp enough that the show’s own DJ couldn’t resist joining him mid-performance. The Filipino dancer known as Balang rounded out the show’s roster of young movement talent that Ellen kept bringing back.

A 3-year-old reciting all 118 elements of the periodic table is the kind of clip that turns a toddler into a talk-show regular overnight.

From YouTube Covers to Regular Correspondents

Sophia Grace and Rosie remain the clearest case of Ellen turning a viral clip into an actual career. The British cousins first caught fire with their cover of Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass,” and Ellen’s decision to keep inviting them back turned two kids with a webcam into recurring on-air personalities rather than a one-off novelty. Noah Ritter, better known as the “Apparently Kid” after his unscripted fair interview went viral, got the same treatment — one appearance became a running bit. Piano prodigy Elias Phoenix also found a stage there, adding a musical talent to a lineup that otherwise leaned heavily on dance and memory feats.

For readers who enjoy tracking how viral kids and internet personalities get pulled into the mainstream celebrity machine, the same dynamic shows up across late-night and daytime TV — see how performers get caught out on live television when the spotlight gets too big, or how quickly a platform like Ellen’s can turn a clip into a full-blown media career, the same way it’s done for unlikely viral internet personalities in other corners of pop culture.

Sophia Grace, in particular, kept coming back well past her first “Super Bass” cover, eventually landing a book deal off the strength of those recurring Ellen segments — proof that for a handful of these kids, the couch wasn’t a one-time stop but a launching pad.