--- description: Find out why Taryn Delanie Smith is one of the 100 most influential digital voices of 2026. title: Taryn Delanie Smith: TIME100 Creators 2026 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta83b1c0dae6d9f93/6a5024b61575366bef9b2286/TIME100-Creators-2026-Taryn-Delanie-Smith.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9%2Coffset-x100.00%2Coffset-y0.00 --- Jul 14, 2026 # Taryn Delanie Smith @taryndelaniesmith by [Shannon Carlin](/author/shannon-carlin/) ## Shannon Carlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Carlin is a contributor for TIME.  Elizabeth Renstrom for TIME Taryn Delanie Smith is a former pageant queen, but on [TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@taryndelaniesmith?lang=en "undefined") and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/taryndelaniesmith/?hl=en "undefined"), where she has a combined following of 3 million, she’s better known as “Denise, Heaven’s Receptionist.”The idea for her viral alter ego, who handles all of the afterlife’s administrative business, came to Smith in 2023 while she was in the shower. “I was just thinking, ‘Oh my God, if I died in a chicken suit, do I have to be a ghost in a chicken suit forever?’” she says. The question of whether someone could get a new outfit in heaven and, if so, who would handle that, led to the creation of Denise, a character the 29-year-old modeled after “every New Yorker I’ve met,” she says.“They're not nice—they're kind. And that’s the difference.” Denise tells it like it is, whether that be the good news that your ex-husband was turned away at the pearly gates or the disappointing verdict that you didn’t do enough good deeds to earn a coveted pair of angel wings. Smith’s favorite Denise videos are the tributes she makes for families that have just lost a loved one, welcoming that person to heaven. “They mean a lot to me,” she says. This fall, Smith, who also stars in a YouTube home-renovation series, _The Unlikely Countrywoman_, will release her debut book, _Welcome to the Afterlife: A No-Nonsense Tour for Those in Mourning or the Merely Curious with Denise, Heaven's Receptionist,_ written from the POV of her online persona. “It’s been such a blessing to be able to pay my bills writing and making people laugh,” she says. _Powered by Whalar Group_ Taryn Delanie Smith on How to Be a Gracious Winner ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-creators/2026/taryn-delanie-smith/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-creators/2026/taryn-delanie-smith/"},"headline":"Taryn Delanie Smith","datePublished":"2026-07-14T11:30:33.914Z","dateModified":"2026-07-14T11:30:34.046Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collection/time100-creators/2026/taryn-delanie-smith/","keywords":["TIME100 Creators","list"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta83b1c0dae6d9f93/6a5024b61575366bef9b2286/TIME100-Creators-2026-Taryn-Delanie-Smith.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675%2Coffset-x100.00%2Coffset-y0.00&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Shannon Carlin","jobTitle":"Carlin is a contributor for TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/shannon-carlin/"}],"creator":"Shannon Carlin","articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta83b1c0dae6d9f93/6a5024b61575366bef9b2286/TIME100-Creators-2026-Taryn-Delanie-Smith.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675%2Coffset-x100.00%2Coffset-y0.00&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time100-creators/","name":"TIME100 Creators"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-creators/2026/taryn-delanie-smith/","name":"Taryn Delanie Smith"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME100 Creators | Taryn Delanie Smith on How to Be a Gracious Winner","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/TW6yzLkl/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2026-07-14T11:00:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/TW6yzLkl.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collection/time100-creators/2026/taryn-delanie-smith/","duration":"PT38S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collection/time100-creators/2026/taryn-delanie-smith/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```