(CNN) -- The set-up is simple. A beautiful woman looks directly at a camera and does short, jokey skits about relationships, pop culture and whatever else is on her mind. The woman is Jessi Smiles, a young Cuban-American from Miami. Smiles was a struggling 20-year-old juggling two jobs when, about a month ago, she started posting videos to Vine, beginning with remakes of popular Vines other people had created. Now she has more than 1.9 million followers on the social-video network, has started and ended a public relationship with an equally "Vine-famous" guy, and has quit jobs as a makeup artist and receptionist to pursue her dream of acting full time.
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Vine stars have gained millions of followers for 6-second videos
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The Twitter-owned Vine is helping some actors launch careers
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They make money through sponsored Vines and even have representatives
Vine itself is not profitable, but posters with big followings can make money by plugging brands on their own channels or appearing in @placeholder for companies.