Where Are They Now? Here's What Allison Harvard, AKA 'Creepy Chan,' Has Been Up To Since Her Early Internet Fame And 'America's Next Top Model'

A lot of people might know Allison Harvard from her stint on Tyra Banks' reality TV series America's Next Top Model (ANTM), but she actually got her start by being one of the internet's favorite creepy friends from back when she was posting self-styled shoots for her own MySpace and DeviantArt pages at age 14.

Her wide-eyed stare and spooky aesthetics pierced through her haunting self-portraits, which were designed to evoke an eerie and unsettling vibe.

Creepy Chan earned her moniker through her devoted following on 4chan (similar to "Boxxy"), but just a few years after becoming a niche internet cult legend, she broke through to the mainstream in a massive way.

Allison Harvard's striking features and quirky interests didn't just earn her a stint on America's Next Top Model, they also made her an instant fan favorite among many viewers of the show.

But Harvard has largely stepped back from the limelight she enjoyed during her rapid rise to fame in the late 2000s and 2010s. These days, she goes by Allison Harvard Burke, works as a casting agent hunting grassroots talent and posts photos with her husband and her newborn baby.

Here's your chance to catch up with Allison Harvard, also known as "Creepy Chan," if you're curious to see what she's been up to almost 20 years since her initial rise to internet fame.

Who Is Allison Harvard And How Did She Earn The Nickname "Creepy Chan"?

Allison Harvard's self-portraits were first posted to her MySpace page and reshared by her fans on 4chan and DeviantArt as early as 2005.

Harvard was just 14 when she first began photographing herself, but she already displayed her fascination with all things eerie and macabre. These photos often showed her pale face staring hauntingly into the camera, her wide eyes framed with dark makeup that stood in contrast to the appearance of her pale, doll-like skin.

She clearly drew inspiration from gothic aesthetics and the surreal, setting her photos apart from the fare you would often see on MySpace at the time. She quickly gathered a following of people obsessed with her dark and vaguely supernatural aura.

By 2006, her photos had been reposted across the internet, but her most ardent fanbases resided on 4chan and DeviantArt. She went by many names at first, "Tussin Chan," "Cute Chan," "Allicat" and "Queen of /x/" (4chan's paranormal board).

Ultimately, Creepy Chan is the name that stuck, with thousands of pieces of fan art appearing all over DeviantArt, even as 4chan users made thread after thread dissecting everything from her photos to her unique, otherworldly vibe.

In her 2021 interview with Know Your Meme, Allison Harvard told us about some of her early internet influences that shaped her online presence back in the day.

I was a big fan of Spice Girls fan pages that were on GeoCities … In the early days, I dabbled in Neopets, and then I kinda soon moved on to LiveJournal and things like Rotten.com, unfortunately. Horrible, horrible, horrible.

This was what Harvard had to say when asked about how she earned the name "Creepy Chan," and how she learned about her growing reputation as the internet's "creepy little friend" on 4chan.

I honestly have no idea. As I said before, I could guess why I was called “Creepy Chan.” I was definitely leaning into being super creepy, and just being a super creepy kid in general. Those photos were not […] alluring. I wasn't trying to get any kind of attention other than putting my weird self-portraits out there.

Harvard also talked about her inspirations for some of her early internet photography, saying that she "really liked the idea of being a ghost" when she was a kid and that she became "obsessed with recreating crime scene photos."

How Did Allison Harvard Start Modeling, And What Is She Best Known For Today?

Allison Harvard got her big break in 2009 when she auditioned for Cycle 12 of America's Next Top Model. Her unconventional approach to beauty set her apart from her fellow contestants, instantly catching the attention of host Tyra Banks and the show’s fans.

But the reality television show definitely hammed up Harvard's fascination with the weird and creepy. In her interview with KYM, Harvard also discussed with us how the one downside of the show was that they played "creepy circus music" every time she walked into the frame.

However, Allison Harvard’s quiet, reserved demeanor only added to her mystique and reinforced her “Creepy Chan” persona in a new, high-profile setting. Harvard's confidence grew throughout the season, and she actually advanced to the final two contestants, though she ultimately fell just short of winning the competition.

Harvard's ardent fanbase, however, had already crowned her as one of their favorites. Her shy nature never interfered with how she embraced her own eccentricities, and she made sure to put the "weird" front and center when her fans voted her back on the show's "All-Stars" season in 2011.

She once again enchanted audiences with her distinct look, relatable awkwardness and creative spirit that never seemed forced, but she placed as the runner-up yet again. Still, her success in the "All-Stars" season solidified her as one of the show’s most iconic contestants with a legacy that extended beyond Top Model and into the broader fashion and art world.

What Has Allison Harvard Been Up To Since She Stopped Modeling Full-Time, And What Does She Think About Her Fame?

Allison Harvard continued to work as a model after ANTM, leveraging her newfound mainstream fame to build a storied career.

Interestingly enough, after a brief stint with the agency Nouse Models, Harvard made waves in the Philippines where people fell in love with her doll-like look. She notably became a muse for Filipino designer Michael Cinco and made the covers of Harper's Bazaar Bulgaria and Vietnam.

By the late 2010s, however, Harvard transitioned into a career working behind the scenes as an art director and casting agent, currently working for Wyldside Media, a group that highlights its "grassroots" approach to casting. There's no doubt that Harvard's own experience with being a modeling outsider likely benefits her ability to cast unusual and looked-over models.

In 2021, Allison Harvard even launched her first NFT collection, repurposing two classic Creepy Chan photos in digital artworks that sold for over 40 and 35 ETH, well over $175,000 at the time.

When asked about her unique rise to fame, from her "weird" internet cult following to her breakout on mainstream TV, Harvard would say she is lucky to be on a career path where it mostly rounds out to a net positive.

I would say that I definitely did overall enjoy the experience, and it definitely prepared me for a lot of other obstacles that I was gonna face in life later on with […] a career where it didn't so much affect it negatively, only positively. Some people who are more recent memes or maybe even memes from before, it's tough when it does follow you throughout your life and you can't ever escape that, I'm sure that's gotta be really, really tough for some people.

What Does Allison Harvard Do Now, And Where Can You Find Her Online?

Outside of her professional life, Allison Harvard has more recently entered a new chapter in her personal life, finding love and starting a family. She married Jeremy Burke, an LA-based event planner and career creative in 2021, and in 2023, the couple welcomed their first child together.

She pared down her social media presence after her NFT drop, posting updates to her Instagram a few times a year to show off her adorable baby.

Still, you can keep up with her on the 'gram, as well as her Twitter account if you're interested.

For the full history of Allison Harvard, AKA "Creepy Chan," be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.