Rife has come a long way considering that, a year ago, he was a road comedian who was fairly unknown outside of the comic stratosphere. Now, his tours are sold out and his name is running in all types of circles with over 5 million followers on Instagram and a whopping 14 million fans on TikTok.

So, who is he and how did he get here?

Matt Rife is from Ohio

Rife was born in Columbus, Ohio, in September 1995. According to his IMDB profile, he first started doing stand-up comedy when he was 15. Although he played some American football at school, Sportskeeda reports that he moved to Los Angeles at 17 to further pursue his career in his current creative field instead.

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His stand-up comedy went viral on TikTok

Rife has had a good year so far, to say the least. Last year, the comic struggled to even sell a few hundred tickets per show despite his hard work, according to Deadline. During the pandemic, he and his comedian friend Paul Elia launched Lowkey Outside, a semi-monthly, socially distanced show, and the two would perform in front of small crowds from the bed of a pickup truck.

Then, some would say luck – and good algorithms – struck. Rife’s TikTok clip titled “The Lazy Hero” earned him over one billion global views on the platform and 16.3 million followers, per the same source. At the time of writing, he has sold 720,000 tickets to 300 shows – and that was just presales.

Rife has also toured the world with some of the biggest names in comedy, according to IMDB, including Dane Cook, Ralphie May, Finesse Mitchell, Mike Epps, Deray Davis and Erik Griffin.

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He’s appeared on various TV shows and films

While Rife is best known for his work in comedy, he’s also starred in a string of films and TV shows over the years.

He’s most recognisable for his multi-season stint on MTV’s Wild ‘N Out, a reality TV series hosted by Nick Cannon. The actor was also in an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Fresh Off the Boat and in films like The Elevator (2021), Death Link (2021) and Wolf Mountain (2022), according to his IMDB.

He told Deadline that acting is something he wants to continue: “I love acting just as much, if not more than stand-up. I just haven’t been doing it as long and I haven’t been able to get my foot in the door as well as I have been with stand-up,” he said.

A-list circles

Living in LA as an up-and-coming actor and comedian means you’re likely to rub shoulders with Hollywood’s elite eventually.

Rife has hung out with celebs from Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis to fellow comedian Dave Chappelle in recent months, showing his growing star power.

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His love life

With his chiselled jawline and athletic build, it’s hardly surprising to hear that Rife has dated some of the industry’s most beautiful women.

He hinted to Elite Daily in an interview what he looks for in a partner: “Had we been on a date and you made a joke about my dead dad, I would’ve been like, ‘You know what? You might be the one, actually.’ To have the balls to actually go for it.”

After a rumoured fling with Pretty Little Liars actress Lucy Hale, a number of publications confirmed that he’s now taken by British actress and dancer Jessica Lord, 25.

He’s compared himself Brendan Fraser

Rife himself seems to favour the Brendan Fraser resemblance. He posted a collage of him and The Mummy actor captioning the post with “I think I may have found my real dad.”