You have probably stumbled upon Hailey Welch — better known as the “Hawk Tuah Girl” — at least once while scrolling on your social media. The 22-year-old earned her way into success with the now-famous one-liner: “Hawk Tuah.”
Podcast and online personality Welch rose to insane levels of virality after appearing in a man-on-the-street interview with Tim & Dee TV. When asked, “What’s one move in bed that makes a man go crazy every time?” she deliberately offered her best spicy tip that would later blow the internet: “You gotta give ’em that ‘Hawk Tuah’ and spit on that thang!”.
The Tennessee native had amassed some serious money thanks to her unfiltered, X-rated response. Not only did she become an instantly recognizable face in the meme community, but she rode the wave of her monumental success and built a solid social media presence.
She launched “Hawk-Tuah”-themed merch and meme coin, started her own podcast, raked in $30K for just socializing with devoted fans, and stole the spotlight while appearing alongside an NBA legend and a country superstar.
It must feel like winning the lottery for Welch, who became an internet sensation in the summer of 2024. Now, the sassy country girl gets to reap the benefits of her overnight success in the form of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
What is Hailey Welch’s Net Worth in 2025?
Image credits: @hay_welch
Hailey Welch boasts a net worth of about $500,000 as of the time of publishing (per Celebrity Net Worth). It isn't every day we see a small-town girl suddenly becoming one of the top viral memes of the year. Beyond Welch’s popularity among regular social media scrollers, her humor genius also received celebrity stamps of approval. Notably, comedian and actor Jack Whitehall embraced the viral catchphrase on live TV during the BRIT Awards 2025.
Welch unloaded her thoughts to PEOPLE about the unexpected life events she went through in the last three months following the first appearance on Tim & Dee TV. “It's been hella hectic,” she told the outlet.
As soon as the video was uploaded, only a couple of days after recording downtown on the night Welch attended the CMA Music Festival with one of her friends, she saw her group chats “blowing up” when she woke up to report to her job the following morning.
Before becoming the internet’s favorite meme, Welch had a regular day job in a spring factory. “You know, like a spring. Boing!” she clarified. “I was over in shipping ... so I've just put however many in a box a customer orders and then we ship them out.”
She decided to quit her job and say goodbye to her 3 a.m. wake-up routine soon after she skyrocketed to global fame — but she did not actually hate her spring factory job.
“We talked about doing a lot of traveling and I couldn't take off work for it,” she shared. “That's the only reason I quit, because I enjoyed my job.”
Welch grew up in the small town of Belfast, Tennessee, with a low population of only 844 residents and “cow fields everywhere.” One can only imagine the shock of the country girl when she woke up to find out that she earned the “Hawk Tuah Girl” moniker overnight.
“In Belfast, there's not a single red light,” Welch proudly said. “You have maybe a few stop signs, but you don't have a red light. We have a gas station, a dollar store — and let's see, what else do we got? Oh, a post office!”
Welch had all the odds stacked against her, but she was lucky enough to make piles of cash off the two men who filmed the viral moment.
In an interview with The New York Times, Tim Dickerson and DeArius Marlow expressed their disappointment at the fact that the “Hawk Tuah Girl” overshadowed their own efforts to film and post the original video. “At the end of the day, nobody would know who she was if we didn’t bring it to light and post it,” Marlow pointed out to the Times outlet.
Regardless, a win is a win for Welch, who has since become one of the funniest meme materials on the internet.
While her spontaneous advice had many in shatters, she still received a fare share of hateful comments that come with fame. However, some negative remarks about Welch come from a place of truth, as American artist Andy Warhol famously said, "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes."
The meme queen, who managed to amass decent wealth without trying too hard, shook off these comments as “hateful” and set her sights on making money — lots of it!
The Infamous “Queen of Memes” Takes Social Media By Storm
Self-defined as the “Queen of Memes” on TikTok, Welch has a strong social media presence across multiple platforms, where she shares with her millions of followers her life updates, personal opinions, business ventures, and naturally, a fair share of hilarious “Hawk Tuah” content.
Since she became the internet’s viral meme, Welch has built a massive social media empire in a short period of time. On Instagram alone, she has a devoted fanbase of 2.5 million followers as of March 2025. The TikTok phenomenon also boasts 1.8 million followers on the platform and another 419.7 thousand followers on X.
It was the perfect time for Welch to ride the wave of her monumental fame. On Sep. 2024, Welch announced that she would be launching her personal podcast, Talk Tuah (per Billboard).
“Y’all kept asking ‘What’s next?’ Well this is it!” she said of her show at the time. “I’m so thankful to have my own podcast where you’ll discover the real Haliey Welch.”
The now-popular podcast has garnered over 200 thousand subscribers in only several months. It is hosted by fans’ favorite “Hawk Tuah Girl” and welcomed other known faces as guests, including Whitney Cumming, Jake Paul, and Josh Richards.
“My show will have a little of everything – great guests, laughs, relationship pointers, and, of course, some down home southern charm,” she teased.
Welch’s Lucrative Business Ventures and Rewarding Gigs
The infamous “Hawk Tuah Girl” wasted no time in launching her own merch. Fathead Threads, a Tennessee-based clothing store, announced on June 20, 2024, that they are officially selling authorized “Hawk Tuah” merchandise.
Although the company’s social media post received lots of laugh react emojis, Welch had the last laugh after selling over $65,000 worth of merchandise (per New York Post).
The meme community phenomenon reportedly felt “overwhelmed” by her sudden virality. She asked Poteete — a Marshall County native who runs the brand and has known Welch for years — not to reveal any info about her or even showcase her face on the products.
Welch is in the process of trademarking the quip that made her famous. In the meantime, she can enjoy the fruits of her global notoriety and sell as many hats and shirts as she wishes — only if the family-owned company can keep up with it.
“Our largest orders are usually 100 hats, maybe 150 to 250 shirts. This is way out of the normal for us,” Poteete noted. “This is a small, family-owned shop. We’re all-hands-on-deck right now.”
Poteete believes that despite her quick success, Welch hasn’t reached her full potential yet. “She’s probably one of the most well-known people in the world at this point,” he raved. “But I don’t know if she’s embraced it.”
Capitalizing on her sweeping success, Welch also boldly ventured into the fast-growing crypto market with the introduction of her Hawk Tuah coin. The memecoin, trading under $HAWK, rapidly hit a market capitalization of around $500 million before it instantly plummeted 95% to $25 million (per DexScreener).
While her first foray into crypto proved unsuccessful, Welch can brag about other profitable, off-social-media ventures. Last year, the viral sensation reportedly booked an appearance at the Memory Motel’s pop-up in NYC, as well as two other spots, for over $30K (per Page Six).
“The world’s gone crazy for Haliey!” The Penthouse founder Jonnie Forster raved in a Hollywood Reporter statement.
Welch supposedly hosted a daytime event on July 13 at the iconic Memory Motel’s East Village spot. The fans’ tickets were priced at around between $45-$55 a pop. What did they get in return? Unforgettable snaps with Tuah and autographed Memory merch.
“Haliey has risen to fame with her cheeky humor — known to her friends as the female Theo Vonn, but after getting to know her on a greater level,” said Christian Barker of Christian Barker & Co. in a statement. “I think her small-town, grassroots story and how a chance encounter on Broadway took her on this unexpected path to stardom will resonate with millions.”
Welch Parties with Shaq and Joins Zach Bryan Onstage
The bona fide meme queen enjoyed a couple of high-profile moments since her viral spit. Notably, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal was spotted hanging out with Welch in 2024 (per Page Six).
They were both having fun together on a Sunday night behind the DJ booth at Jon Bon Jovi’s rooftop bar and restaurant, JBJ’s Nashville.
A short fan clip featured Shaq, aka DIESEL, standing beside the “Hawk Tuah Girl” and cranking up the music. The then-21-year-old partied hard that night; she “treated” the crowd with a roaring “Hawk Tuah!” and spit on the microphone amidst loud cheers.
Welch is indeed making the most out of her newfound fame. She even got on stage during country star Zach Bryan’s concert on June 29, 2024 (per Billboard). The 28-year-old happily welcomed Welch onstage at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium in her native state, Tennessee.
Decked out for the occasion, the country girl attended the concert in a cowboy hat, the coolest cut-off shorts, and an all-important pair of boots. She held her drink and sang Revival along with Bryan before giving the audience a full-throated “Hawk Tuah!”.