Daryl-Ann Denner (Fletcher, B.S. ’11) wears a lot of hats in her daily life. Not only is she a fashion guru, lifestyle guide, brand ambassador and social media influencer (@darylanndenner), but she’s also a woman who’s dedicated to her family and faith.
The first thing to know about Denner is that she does not mind sharing her daily life with her 1 million Instagram followers. In fact, she loves it.
“If I find something good, the whole world is going to know about it,” said Denner, who earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration degree while also majoring in pre-med biological science. “I am an oversharer, and it is a platform for me to be exactly who I am, just on a bigger scale. The person I am on there is very much who I am. It doesn’t feel like there’s a million people, it feels like there is one. And so when I meet people, it feels like they know me, and I feel like I know them back.” She’s become accustomed to people recognizing and approach- ing her in public. Recently, she had a young woman share that af- ter following her and seeing her content, she wanted to try going to a Christian church. Now, that woman is a paid staff member at her church.
Denner is open about her faith on her Instagram account, and hopes that people see a difference in her life and family because of her faith.
“I get asked about my faith often,” she said. “I want Jesus to be the most attractive thing in me. I want [my followers] to see love in my family, and Jesus as a person hopefully lived out through me and my family.”
Family is an important aspect of her life, and she frequently shares photos and videos of her two children and her husband — fellow Biola alumnus Daniel Denner (B.S. ’11) — as well as her parents and extended family.
But people don’t follow her simply for the family photos, of course. She’s looked to as a tastemaker and tip-giver, alerting her followers to deals and advice on fashion, cosmetics, home decor, food and much more. She takes the influencer role seriously, only promoting products and partnering with brands in which she herself finds value.
“At the end of the day, I always put whoever’s following me first,” she said. “I turn down dream stuff all the time… because I didn’t like how it was for my followers. Putting the people on the other side of the screen first has always been my number one motive, and that’s a lot of why [working with brands] has been successful.” While her education in Biola’s Crowell School of Business helped with her understanding of business strategy, she certainly did not see herself where she is now when she was in college, she said.
“I didn’t know what I wanted to do, and I just put one foot in front of the other,” she said. “My mom always taught us to give 100% to whatever you do, like it’s what you’ve dreamed of doing, and the right people will notice and God will direct your steps.”
Denner said she’s grateful that she gets to make a living by sharing her life, family and beliefs with the world through social media. “I love what I do,” she said. “I feel blessed beyond belief that I get to wake up every day and do this for a job. It is not a job to me, and the fact that I get to do it with my family every day is super cool. I’ve been able to relate to people on lots of levels and positively impact their lives.”