Alana Thompson, who you probably know better by her toddler-era nickname Honey Boo Boo, is finally fulfilling her dreams, and it has nothing to do with reality TV.
Thompson rose to fame with her appearance on Toddlers and Tiaras, launching her spinoff show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and later, Mama June: Road to Redemption. In 2021, just before her 16th birthday, Thompson reintroduced herself to the world in a Teen Vogue profile, underscoring that she’s shed the larger-than-life persona and associated nickname. Now, 19 and a rising junior in college, Thompson spoke to People ahead of her new Lifetime biopic, I Was Honey Boo Boo, in which she’ll “shake off the labels that have followed her” and discuss the “darker side” of being a child star.
In her Teen Vogue profile, Thompson said she had loftier dreams than being on TV, indicating that she planned to go to college and become a nurse. Now, she told People that she’s attending Regis University in Colorado, where she’s fulfilling those goals.
“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 said according to People.
But according to People, affording college was a struggle for Thompson, despite her years of work on television. There have been disputes about the money Thompson made from being on television, and how much she should have versus what was deposited into her accounts. Thompson had publicly accused her mother, Mama June Shannon, of taking tens of thousands of dollars from her, which Shannon has addressed. Thompson and Shannon have had a troubled relationship, particularly when Shannon was using drugs — she had a struggle with substance use disorder that deeply impacted her family, but has been sober for more than five years, according to People.
The former beauty queen opened up about Mama June, finding herself, and future plans.
That’s in the rearview for now, Thompson said, as she pursues her future career.
“We’re going pretty good,” Thompson told People. “Hopefully it lasts. I just no longer have any expectations for her.”
In her 2021 Teen Vogue profile, Alana Thompson was making plans, dreaming up who she might become. “I don’t know what future Alana’s like,” she said at the time. “I haven’t met her yet.”
Now, that future picture is starting to become more clear, and Thompson is proud of who she is.
“I love that I’ve persevered,” she told People, “past who people thought I was.”
