Social media star from Charlotte hits lottery jackpot. Mom thought it was a prank.
Hadleigh Painter, a 21-year-old college student, actress, model and social media star from Charlotte, just added another credential to her name: lottery jackpot winner.
Painter won $25,000 a year for life in the March 26 Lucky for Life drawing, North Carolina Education Lottery officials said this week. She beat odds of 1 in 1.8 million.
Painter forgot she’d plunked down the $2 to play the online game, and her mom thought she made the whole thing up, Painter told The Charlotte Observer Thursday.
“Honestly, I had forgotten that I had even played it,” the senior at East Carolina University said. “But I woke up to check my messages like I always do and saw the email saying I had won. I couldn’t believe it.”
She ran from her bedroom and told her mom.
“I was feeling so many emotions I could hardly stand,” she said. “I couldn’t hardly speak, and she thought something was wrong and got worried. But I said it was good news. Really good news.”
When her mom, Pam, told her she was pranking her, Painter pulled up the email she’d received from the lottery, as well as the lottery website.
“I started thanking God and told her right away that it was His money and the first thing I wanted to do was give back to Elevation Church,” Painter said.
“The only thing I am buying for myself is a new PC for school and Twitch, which my friend Chris Tyson from the MrBeast YouTube channel is helping me build,” Painter said.
“Besides that, and tithing to Elevation Church, everything else is going into a trust,” she said.
She always said she’d win the lottery
Painter told the Observer that while she doesn’t play the lottery often, “I have always said I will win the lottery. And anyone that knows me can attest to that.”
The day after she won, she told her younger sister, Nicole, something to the effect of “when I win the lottery.”
Nicole “rolled her eyes and said, ‘Hadleigh, get real, you know you’re never going to win,’” Painter said.
Painter said she laughed. She’d only told her mom at that point.
Her winning ticket
Painter bought the ticket using Online Play on the lottery’s website, NCLottery.com.
Although guaranteed $25,000 a year for life, winners can take a lump sum instead. Painter chose the lump sum of $390,000. After taxes, she took home $275,926, lottery officials said in a news release.
Players have 10 ways to win a prize in Lucky for Life drawings on Monday and Thursday nights.
Painter won the second-place prize, according to the lottery. The top prize is $1,000 a day for life.
Through Online Play, players can buy tickets for the Carolina Cash 5, Lucky For Life, Mega Millions and Powerball draw games.
Charlotte is home
Painter was born in Anderson, S.C., and has lived in Charlotte since she was 5.
She graduated from Ardrey Kell after attending part of middle school at Marvin Ridge and said she has always considered Charlotte home.
Painter, whose parents are divorced, lives with her mom and sister. Her dad, Derek, and his family also live in the area. Her kitten, Yuki, and her mom’s dog, Chloe, also are a part of the family.
At ECU, she double majors in religious and Hispanic studies with a minor in communications. She is a member of the Religious Studies and AMEXICAN Clubs, the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and the Sigma Delta Pi Honor Society.
As a career, she’s interested in the fields of transhumanism and human enhancement technologies.
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How she became a social media star
Last August, before the start of her senior year at ECU, Painter jokingly asked on Twitter if anyone knew how she could win the lottery, “so I don’t have to go back.”
Painter, who has a whopping 138,000 Twitter followers, included the crying-from-laughter emoji with her post.
“It’s an amazing blessing that it actually happened,” she said.
The same could be said for her status on social media.
With her mom’s help, she said, she got established on Twitter early on.
She also credits being named a top 3 finalist in a worldwide modeling contest. She’s been with Carolina Talent, a local modeling and talent agency, since she was 10.
In 2014, she appeared on the cover of U.K.-based “Endeavour Magazine,” one of various magazines in which she’s appeared. “Endeavour” also featured her anti-bullying and other efforts.
And joining the national Jam Tour for social media stars such as Sam & Colby and rising musicians the likes of Jonah Marais — “Why Don’t We” — “helped give me exposure and build connections,” she said.
Joining the MrBeast craze only grew her social media numbers.
“It helps when you’re in YouTube videos with 50 million-plus views,” she said of MrBeast. In one video, she takes a cake to a jail.
“Above all else,” she said, “it helps to post regularly and interact with your followers.”
As to whether she’ll try the lottery again:
She’s always enjoyed playing Mega Millions, PowerBall and Lucky for Life, and occasionally scratch-offs, she said.
On Friday, she’s “definitely playing Mega Millions” again.
This story was originally published May 15, 2020 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Social media star from Charlotte hits lottery jackpot. Mom thought it was a prank.."