Remember the Girl Behind Flexin’ In My Complexion? She’s Headed to Netflix

Category: Boss Up Monday
Reading Time: 4 minutes

If you were online around 2017 or 2018, there is a good chance you remember Kheris Rogers. She was the little girl whose story went viral after she was bullied because of her dark complexion and responded by helping create a clothing brand called Flexin’ In My Complexion. At only 10 years old, Kheris took something that had been used to make her feel small and turned it into a message about confidence, representation and loving the skin you are in.

Eight years later, the story has become much bigger than the viral photograph many of us remember. Kheris is now an entrepreneur, author and actress, and one of her latest moves will put her in front of a new audience. According to Netflix’s Tudum, Rogers will play Kiana in the upcoming coming-of-age series Sunshine Girls. Netflix lists Rogers as a recurring cast member and says the series is scheduled to premiere in December 2026. That announcement makes this the perfect time to look at what happened after the internet first discovered her.

Flexin’ In My Complexion did not disappear once the viral attention faded. According to the brand’s official website, the company is still operating today, with Kheris identified as its CEO. The site traces the beginning of the company to Kheris coming home from school after being teased about her dark skin. With support from her sister, the phrase “Flexin’ In My Complexion” became something larger than the moment that inspired it, growing into a brand centered on self-love, representation and pride.

What began with a phrase meant to rebuild one child’s confidence grew into a message intended to remind other people that they deserve to show up boldly exactly as they are. Kheris also expanded that mission into publishing. In 2022, HarperCollins published her debut picture book, Shine Bright, illustrated by Mechal Renee Roe. The book follows a young girl named Imani whose confidence is shaken after other children make comments about her dark complexion. With encouragement from her older sister, she begins learning to embrace the beauty of her skin and herself.

The story closely reflects the message Kheris has carried since childhood. What started on a T-shirt eventually found its way into a book created for children who may be facing some of the same struggles with colorism and self-confidence that she experienced.

Now acting is becoming another chapter in that journey. According to Netflix, Sunshine Girls follows Olivia, a teenager who moves from New York City to a California suburb after her parents separate. Suddenly the new student at Valley High, Olivia has to navigate freshman year, changing friendships, first kisses and family drama while finding her place in an unfamiliar world. Rogers joins the cast as Kiana in a recurring role. Netflix also confirms that Brat TV, a division of ZATV, is producing the series.

There is a Boss Up lesson in Kheris Rogers’ story that has very little to do with going viral.

Viral attention can introduce the world to you, but it cannot build a career for you. Millions of people have experienced a moment when the internet suddenly cared about what they were doing, only to watch that attention disappear just as quickly. What separates a moment from a foundation is what you do once everyone stops watching. Kheris kept building.

The little girl associated with one inspirational photograph became the CEO of a brand that is still selling products years later. She turned her experience into a children’s book, continued developing herself creatively and professionally, and now she is moving into a recurring Netflix role. None of those accomplishments happened simply because a post went viral when she was 10.

Her journey is also a reminder that bossing up does not always mean leaving your original idea behind. Sometimes growth means finding new ways to express the same purpose. Clothing allowed Kheris to tell people to flex in their complexion. A children’s book allowed her to speak directly to young readers struggling with confidence. Acting gives her another platform and another opportunity to build a career that is no longer defined solely by the experience that first made her famous.

There is also something meaningful about seeing what became of a child the internet once rallied around. Social media is filled with inspirational stories about talented young people, but we rarely return eight or nine years later to see whether the dream survived childhood.

In Kheris Rogers’ case, it did. At 10, she was learning not to let other people’s opinions determine how she saw herself. Today, she has built a business, published a children’s book and landed a recurring role in a Netflix series arriving later this year. The internet may have introduced us to Kheris Rogers because of what she survived, but the more interesting story is everything she decided to build afterward.

Sources: Netflix Tudum, Flexin’ In My Complexion official website, HarperCollins/Kirkus Reviews.