From Honey Boo Boo to Nursing Student: Alana Thompsons Journey of Self-Discovery and Growth

In 2012, TLC captured the hyperactive 6-year-old girl with curly blond hair as she flailed about in an interview chair, declaring herself a "beauty queen" and a "superstar." She dissed her fellow child beauty pageant contestants, calling them "honey boo boo child" and introducing her mother, "Mama June" Shannon, as the "Coupon Queen." This was the beginning of Alana Thompson's journey from reality TV star to a young woman with a new identity beyond the caricature of a redneck reality star.

Now 19 years old, Thompson is studying nursing at Regis University in Denver. She's featured on the latest iteration of her family's long-running reality show, Mama June: Family Crisis, and is doing her best to separate herself from the chaos of her upbringing. To help accomplish this, she's starring in a new Lifetime biopic, I Was Honey Boo Boo, which re-creates scenes from her past and is interspersed with statements from Thompson in the present.

In the film, Thompson talks extensively and candidly about her mom and sisters, but she didn't run any of her plans or statements by them beforehand. "Everything that was said, I just said it," she explained to Yahoo Entertainment. "I knew that I wanted to share my story and be the most authentic — I did not want to lie about anything, so I literally told them that I'm filming a documentary series. Just know that nothing is left untold."

Nearly every child star who maintains an audience into adulthood has to reckon with the same thing: How do I confront my past but continue forging a present that's both satisfying and separate from what made me famous? For Thompson, the solution is simple: She's just going to keep telling the truth.

The reality of the emotional abuse that Thompson endured both onscreen and off is addressed in I Was Honey Boo Boo. Present day Thompson says, "It was always the same thing. I wanted Mama, but her love was only transactional." After being crowned queen of the Toddlers and Tiaras universe, Thompson got her own show: Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, which ran for two seasons before being canceled in 2014 due to Shannon's association with a registered sex offender. The show was reborn on WeTV in 2017 as Mama June: From Not to Hot; then rebranded to Mama June: Road to Redemption in 2021 when Shannon began trying to get sober after an arrest for drug possession; and once again retitled Mama June: Family Crisis in 2023.

Despite the franchise's criticism for poking fun at its subjects, Thompson remains determined to tell her story authentically and honestly. Her new nursing career and her upcoming biopic are just the beginning of her journey towards becoming a more independent and self-aware individual.