Influencer
Hannah Marie Hines On Finding Freedom And Humor In The Everyday
When the world slowed down in 2021 due to COVID, Los Angeles-based actress and screenwriter Hannah Marie Hines found a new way to keep performing. Known for her roles in “Love at First Like” and “John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in L.A.,” Hannah turned to content creation as an experiment during a quiet moment at home. What began as curiosity has since matured into a defining part of her creative career, a bridge between acting, writing, and the digital audience she never expected to find.
“I approached it more as an experiment,” Hannah says. “It was like, ‘Okay, I’m gonna try making some videos, see if these go anywhere.’ If you had told me that I would be a creative multi-hyphenate – acting, screenwriting, and doing content creation more or less full-time – I would’ve said that’s crazy.”
Before the pandemic, Hannah had already spent a decade pursuing acting full-time. But as social media began shifting toward short-form video, she noticed a change in how visibility and opportunity worked in entertainment.
“It became clear to me that all social media was moving towards video,” she recalls. “And I knew that if I didn’t come on board to create video content, all of the work I put into building on social media would be for nothing.”
Her acting background made the transition smoother than expected. Years of on-camera experience, self-tape auditions, and script reading helped her understand story, tone, and delivery. Still, the technical side felt daunting at first.
“I was just intimidated by the technical aspect; learning to navigate both Instagram and TikTok, editing within those apps,” she says. “But once I figured out how to make videos that didn’t require a ton of editing, I was off to the races.”
That initial hesitation gave way to consistency. Within months, Hannah was posting regularly and studying analytics to understand what resonated. It didn’t take long to notice a clear trend.
“After about a month or two, it was so clear that the millennial content was really resonating with people, far and away, more than anything else,” she says. “I leaned into that.”
Comedy, Nostalgia, and Connection
Hannah’s humor centers on the millennial experience: the transition from carefree nights out to the realities of adulthood. Her sketches often blend dark comedy with a sense of shared melancholy. One viral series shows her crying in the car.
“I was feeling very uninspired recently, and a friend said, ‘Why don’t you channel that millennial ennui into your content?’” she says. “So I started making videos of myself as a forlorn millennial crying to music we used to dance to at the club, and it totally popped off.”
Behind the humor lies relatability. Hannah builds her videos around moments she would share with someone close.
“When I’m creating things, I think to myself, ‘Is this something that I would DM to my husband? Is there a connection point? Is it funny and shareable?’” she shares. “When I started really looking at my content through the lens of ‘Is this something I would send to someone? Is this something people would relate to in the comments?’ That’s when things really started to explode.”
The strategy? Treat content like a conversation. For Hannah, every comment, share, or tag represents an emotional echo of that first moment of recognition.
A Community, Not an Audience
When it comes to her audience, Hannah views them as friends. “I see them as my friends,” she says. “I’ve made real-life friends that I met through social media. It’s very parasocial of me, but it’s true.”
She credits her community with shaping the creative feedback loop that drives her work. Sometimes, a small idea can go unexpectedly viral. “I made a video about how I have this 15-year-old eyeshadow palette in my makeup bag, and it went extremely viral,” she laughs. “It turns out we’re all hanging on to crusty, dusty eyeshadow palettes from 2012.”
She reveals that that kind of response keeps her grounded. The platform is not just about numbers; it’s about a sense of connection. “So much of the joy I get from creating content is the sense of community,” she says. “Through comedy, we can see ourselves in other people … that we’re not alone in whatever we’re going through.”
Balancing Creativity and Career
For Hannah, content creation exists alongside her acting and writing, not in competition with them. Her social media presence has led to opportunities that extend beyond the digital space.
“Both of my screenwriting partners found me through social media. My lit rep [literary representative] found me through my socials,” she notes. “The benefits have not necessarily been quantifiable, but the visibility has been immense.”
While she has worked on brand collaborations, monetization has never been the main motivation. Instead, her online work serves as a living portfolio that showcases her comedic sensibility to casting directors and producers. “There have been times where people vetted my social media and said they liked what they saw, and it made them want to give me a job,” she says. “Particularly in comedy, they saw a sketch that matched the tone they were looking for.”
Still, balancing acting, writing, parenting, and content creation requires flexibility. “There are seasons of my life where I can give it a lot of time and attention, and then there are seasons where I haven’t been able to at all,” she says. “I give as much energy as I have at any given time.”
Protecting Privacy and Practicing Restraint
Despite her openness online, Hannah draws clear boundaries when it comes to her family. Though her early videos included moments of motherhood, she has since deliberately chosen to keep her child out of the spotlight.
“The thought of sharing my child on social media is something I’m wildly uncomfortable with,” she explains. “My hope is that when she’s older and has a presence of her own, she’s seen me use restraint – that I protected her in that way.”
This approach reflects a broader awareness among creators about digital privacy and the permanence of online content. For Hannah, it’s as much a personal decision as a professional one: “If people were to be unkind about my child or my spouse, I would not be okay with that. So I just avoid the whole thing by keeping them private.”
A Creative Outlet Turned Calling
What began as a creative outlet during a difficult time has become one of the most fulfilling chapters of Hannah’s career. “In 2021, I had a toddler, the entertainment industry was shut down, and I needed an outlet desperately, something to chase levity in a dark and uncertain time,” she says. “So yeah, it absolutely started that way for me.”
The outlet gave her the agency she craved as a performer. “As a working actor in Los Angeles, you put a lot of work into things that aren’t necessarily seen: self-tape auditions, scripts that may never get purchased,” she explains. “To have the agency to think of a concept, create it, shoot it, and share it – all in a day. There’s so much freedom and joy that comes from that.”
In the near term, Hannah plans to continue sharing her comedic take on millennial life, experimenting with holiday content, and occasionally collaborating with brands. Beyond that, her ambitions remain rooted in storytelling.
“I enjoy writing and producing my own stuff that I can be in,” she says. “I just worked on a project that I co-wrote and co-produced that I’m co-starring in. Perhaps I’ll do more of that, creating opportunities for myself.”
Whether through a screen, a script, or a scroll, Hannah has learned to merge humor, honesty, and connection in ways that extend far beyond the algorithm. “There’s nothing to be afraid of,” she says, reflecting on her early hesitations. “It feels like a big leap into something new, but it’s actually going to feel fun and joyful.”
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