Whether it was on TikTok, on instagram, on your podcast app or on ITV, chances are, you've already come across GK Barry.
The podcaster and social media star recently joined the cast of I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here? But who exactly is she?
Who is GK Barry?
GK Barry is the professional name of Grace Eleanor Keeling. The podcaster, TV personality and social media media got her start on TikTok in 2020 and, since then, has launched a successful podcast, Saving Grace, joined the panel on Loose Women and appeared on I'm a Celebrity as a contestant.
Barry, born in 1999, grew up in Cambridge before enrolling in Nottingham Trent University's film studies program.
“I remember being seriously scared before I went to uni; I was really shy! As soon as I came to Nottingham, I don’t know what happened, but I was just so social,” Barry said to the student magazine Leftlion in 2021. “Uni really boosted my confidence. I loved it.”
GK Barry took off on TikTok
While completing her degree, the pandemic hit. Barry joined TikTok and it quickly took off.
“It was all very quick," she said. "I started TikTok in the first lockdown and by that August I’d reached 100k followers. By the time I’d had the app for around a year, I’d reached a million. I’d say the only thing that’s changed is that a lot more people recognise me on nights out, which is really fun. It’s like having an extra group of mates on your night out! ”
As of November 2024, she has 3.7 million followers.
The content creator's controversial podcast appearances have sparked a lot of discourse.
GK Barry began her podcast Saving Grace
GK Barry joined the world of podcasting in 2022 with her podcast Saving Grace.
Over the last two years, she has dropped over 100 episodes and interviewed everyone from Love Island's Chloe Burrows to television presenter Alison Hammond to the controversial Bonnie Blue.
GK Barry is dating England footballer Ella Rutherford
Rutherford seemingly confirmed the relationship in August when she wrote ""Happy Birthday babe, I love you more and more every day" next to a photo of Barry.
Last week, Rutherford wished Barry well as she set off for the I'm a Celebrity jungle, writing, “My little jungle babe.”
Instagram content
GK Barry joined Loose Women
In 2024, Barry became a regular panellist on ITV's Loose Women.
“It’s iconic that I’m the youngest one there,” she told Pink News. “I feel like I’ve actually done something. I can give my two cents, and everyone has to listen to it.
She added: “I feel like [our generation] is all overlooked, because we’re ‘young’, you know? And when we have our meetings, that always sparks a new conversation. I like to bring a different perspective to the show.”
“There is a part of myself that is just for me, and I don’t want that taken away from me.”
GK Barry appeared on I'm a Celebrity
GK Barry's profile continued to grow this year when she joined the cast of reality show I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here.
“I haven’t slept in a month,” she said to ITV before entering the jungle. "I am scared of the trials and I am genuinely scared of everything. The eating trial to me is the worst thing you can do to a human being."
Her first trial saw her forced to take on the “Vile Volcano” — aka, she had to put her hand into a hole in the ground absolutely teeming with giant bugs. Barry later posted. video of her screeching her way through the challenge on Instagram, writing, “When I say “I’m fine”, this is what I really mean #ImACeleb.”
