Emma Chamberlain
Emma Frances Chamberlain (born May 22, 2001)[2] is an American social media personality, YouTuber, podcaster, businesswoman and model. She won the 2018 Streamy Award for Breakout Creator.[3] In 2019, Time magazine included her on its Time 100 Next list,[4] and its list of The 25 Most Influential People On The Internet, writing that "Chamberlain pioneered an approach to vlogging that shook up YouTube's unofficial style guide."[5]
In April 2019, she launched her first weekly podcast series, Anything Goes, formerly known as Stupid Genius.[6][7] Chamberlain subsequently won the award for "Best Podcaster" at the 12th Shorty Awards.[8] She also has been an ambassador for Louis Vuitton since 2019 and Cartier since 2022.
Early life[edit]
Chamberlain was born on May 22, 2001, in San Bruno, California. She is the only child of her parents, who divorced when she was five years old.[2]
In a 2018 interview with Forbes, Chamberlain said her family had struggled with finances during her childhood. The family had depended on commissions for her father's art, and when he was ill and unable to paint they endured "hard times".[9]
She attended Central Middle School in San Carlos, California, and Notre Dame High School, Belmont,[10] an all-girl Catholic preparatory school where she was on the cheerleading and track teams. She was a competitive cheerleader for five years and competed with the California Allstars in Livermore, California, on the team Senior Pink.[11] She left high school during the first semester of her junior year and graduated after passing the California High School Exit Exam.[12]
Career[edit]
YouTube[edit]
Chamberlain became dissatisfied with high school during the end of her sophomore year, and after speaking to her father she was encouraged to find a passion outside of school. On June 14, 2016, she launched her YouTube channel as a way to find that passion. As of August 2023, her YouTube channel had reached 12 million subscribers and gained a total of 1.61 billion video views.[13] Chamberlain's content included cooking videos, fashion hauls, car vlogs, collaborations with fellow Youtubers, among others. She was known for her penchant for coffee, as well as her authentic self-deprecating humor.[14] Chamberlain gained notoriety for her niche editing style defined by zooms, adding text to the screen, and pauses.[2] Her style of editing has gone on to be replicated by many other YouTubers, including Antonio Garza and James Charles. In recent years, Chamberlain has shifted away from that video style to a simpler, more documentary style of editing.[15]
In June 2018, Chamberlain moved alone from the Bay Area to Los Angeles.[2] There, she formed the Sister Squad with fellow teen YouTubers James Charles and comedy duo The Dolan Twins.[16] The four were featured in YouTube Rewind 2018.[17] The Sister Squad was nominated for a 2019 YouTube Ensemble Shorty Award.[18]
In addition to the collaboration videos with the members of the Sister Squad, throughout 2018 Chamberlain and fellow Dote-associated female YouTubers Ellie Thumann and Hannah Meloche posted videos featuring each other on their respective channels, calling their group of three "The Girdies".[19]
In June 2018, Tana Mongeau invited Chamberlain to be a Featured Creator at Tanacon in Anaheim, Mongeau's alternative to VidCon that took place at the same time at a nearby convention center. Chamberlain's one-on-one onstage interview with Mongeau was the last event before the convention was canceled due to overcrowding and security concerns.[20] In July, Chamberlain was signed by United Talent Agency.[21]
At VidCon 2019, Snapchat announced that Chamberlain would be one of several celebrities from various entertainment platforms to premiere a Creator Show later in the year.[22] At the 2019 Teen Choice Awards, Chamberlain won the award for Choice Female Web Star.[23] During the September New York Fashion Week, Chamberlain hosted the Teen Vogue event Generation Next attended by Vogue Editor-In-Chief Anna Wintour.[24] At the 45th People's Choice Awards, she was nominated for the Social Star award.[25] She collaborated with eyewear company Crap Eyewear for a line of sunglasses she helped design.[26]
Public image[edit]
Taylor Lorenz of The Atlantic wrote that Chamberlain was "the most talked about influencer in the world".[64] Time included her in its 2019 list of The 25 Most Influential People on the Internet.[5] In 2019, Jonah Engel Bromwich of The New York Times, in an opinion piece, wrote that Chamberlain was "the funniest person on YouTube", and stated that she "invented the way people talk on YouTube now, particularly the way they communicate authenticity."[65] In 2020, Forbes included Chamberlain in their '30 Under 30' list in the Social Media category.[66]
In May 2022, Chamberlain attended the Met Gala as video host for Vogue. During the interview she spoke with many prominent celebrities, including Jack Harlow whose awkwardly flirtatious interaction went viral online. In addition, controversy arose surrounding Chamberlain's choice of jewelry.[67] Chamberlain worked with Cartier for the event and was loaned the Patiala necklace which was created for, and later was discovered to be missing from, the collection of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, a part of Punjab in North India during the colonial era.[68] Many Indian-Americans expressed their outrage online, referring to the necklace as "stolen".[69] Neither Chamberlain nor Cartier commented.[70]
Personal life[edit]
Chamberlain is a vegetarian.
In 2020, Chamberlain began dating singer-songwriter Tucker Pillsbury, known professionally as Role Model. In October 2023, E! News reported the couple had split after three years of dating.[71] Chamberlain resides in Beverly Hills, California.[72]
Chamberlain practices drumming as a hobby, and she can be seen playing the drums in numerous videos.[73] However, she believes that she is a "terrible" musician, and she does not intend to publicly perform or release music.[72]
