Summary
- The Sims 4 brought Baby Ariel to life in-game, inspired by real-life celebrity Baby Ariel, offering a new level of storytelling and collaboration.
- Baby Ariel's character in the game mirrors her real-life persona, with outfits and traits that reflect her musical talents and online popularity.
- While Baby Ariel remains a popular character in The Sims 4 community, controversy surrounds her real-life counterpart's social media presence.
After being out for almost a decade, The Sims 4 has become a treasure trove of colorful characters. The Sims 4 continues the franchise's legacy of telling interesting stories that expand on certain Sims' lore, ranging from family scandals to unresolved mysteries. So, apart from growing their virtual families, many players are also spending a lot of time digging into the backstories of their neighbors.
One Sims 4 character that caught the attention of players is Baby Ariel, a pre-made townie who debuted in The Sims 4: Get Famous expansion pack. This four-star celebrity was inspired by real-life celebrity Ariel Rebecca Martin, also known as Baby Ariel, who started her career as an online personality.
The Story of The Sims 4's Baby Ariel
The Sims announced in 2018 that it was collaborating with Martin to create a Baby Ariel-inspired character and cosmetics. She was featured in The Sims 4: Get Famous as an NPC performer, who can be seen singing and playing a guitar around the neighborhood. Players can also dress their Sims with sweatshirts, tees, and hoodies inspired by Martin's personal style. The collab was also available on The Sims Mobile and The Sims Freeplay, but only for a limited time.
Martin rose to fame as a teen creator on the now-defunct platform Musical.ly, where she posted entertaining lip-sync videos and gained a massive following. She used her platform to talk about her many advocacies, such as anti-online bullying campaigns. Martin's online popularity led to an acting career, as she starred in a number of Nickelodeon and Disney projects, such as Zombies 2 and Bixler High Private Eye.
The Sims 4 took a lot of inspiration from Martin's celebrity life to create Baby Ariel. She's a teen with a great reputation and an Aspiration to become a World-Famous Celebrity. When players first meet her, she has skill points for piano and guitar, which reference the celebrity's musicality. Baby Ariel also reportedly has a hidden trait that prevents her from aging and dying. Another interesting fact is that she doesn't have any family members in The Sims 4, which may explain why she doesn't have a last name.
Players can give Baby Ariel a last name if they edit her in The Sims 4's Create-A-Sim menu.
The only way players can control Baby Ariel is by letting her move into their Sims' household, which might be challenging because she's a teenager and doesn't have any family members. One solution is to remove her hidden trait that stops her from aging through mods, so she can become an adult who can move in with close friends and/or significant others. Of course, players can also create their own version of Baby Ariel using her outfits in Create-A-Sim, which many The Sims 4 creators have done.
Why Baby Ariel Is Controversial Now
It's been over five years since The Sims 4 released the Baby Ariel collaboration, and many players still interact with the celebrity townie if they have the Get Famous expansion pack installed. Outside The Sims, Martin is still working as an actress, with her most recent project being the coming-of-age film Suncoast, and continues to build a massive following on TikTok. However, she's also become a controversial figure on social media.
Recently, Martin has expressed strong support for Israel on her social media platforms amid the ongoing conflict in Palestine, which drew the ire of many of her followers. Baldur's Gate 3 Frazer Blaxland also came under fire for liking anti-Palestine and LGBTQ+ sentiments on social media. Despite the backlash, Martin continues to be a staunch advocate of Israel, even sharing resources to show her continued support.
The Sims 4
- Released
- September 2, 2014
