Simply Liv

Simply Liv was born on April 26, 2004, in the state of Ohio to Jen and Tim Richardson. She has two brothers, Brody and Wyatt, who often appeared in her videos.

Simply Liv developed a passion for gymnastics very early in her life. When she was only two years old, she began learning the sport and at six, was attending various competitions as a contestant.

Simply Liv began her life as a competitive gymnast at the age of six. She joined the Coral Girls and opened accounts on multiple social media platforms where she uploaded gymnastics tutorials, vlogs, and challenge videos. Her YouTube channel, Musical.ly and Instagram accounts quickly garnered a lot of following due to her natural talent as a gymnast and her close association with the popular Bratayley family. She participated in numerous gymnastics competitions and in 2016, received an offer from Disney Maker Studios, which she happily accepted.

In October 2017, after more than a year away from social media, she returned with a post on her new Instagram account. She currently performs for the Hills Gymnastics.

Simply Liv became the subject of much criticism and online hate following an incident that occurred in the mid-2016. She and Annie LeBlanc of the Bratayley family, who is also a gymnast, had become fast friends during their days in the Coral Girls. In 2015, Annie’s older brother, Caleb, passed away of natural causes at the age of 13. Following this tragic incident, Simply Liv did a live broadcast on musical.ly where she reportedly said that there was an open casket at Caleb’s funeral and she looked into the casket as Annie wanted her to but she fled soon after as she was too scared.

She further added that she didn’t cry at the funeral as she was feeling numb and as she had already cried earlier. The Bratayley family subsequently released statements on social media criticizing Simply Liv and her parents. Billy LeBlanc, Annie and Caleb’s father, wrote that she was lying to gain more followers and hoped that in future her parents would be able to “take the responsibility to monitor her actions better in this very public forum.” Simply Liv’s friendship Annie suffered and in July 2016, she closed all her social media accounts.