Chamberlain was born on May 22, 2001. She grew up in San Bruno, California, a suburb just south of San Francisco where — coincidentally — YouTube's headquarters are located.
Source: The New York Times
Her parents divorced when Chamberlain, an only child, was 5 years old. She found YouTube at an early age "to connect with other people and see what they were up to," she told The New York Times.
Source: The New York Times, Forbes
Growing up, Chamberlain's family struggled financially. "There were times when we couldn't even go to the movies, when I was a kid, because there wasn't enough money," Chamberlain told Forbes in 2018.
Source: Forbes
But even as a kid, Chamberlain loved making videos for her friends. "I always had an outgoing personality. That was the one thing that I was known for," Chamberlain said. "When I was younger I had a gut feeling that I was going to use my personality in some way, but I didn't know how."
Source: Forbes
Chamberlain taught herself how to edit videos, and started posting to her self-titled YouTube channel in 2017, the summer before her junior year of high school. She filled her channel with vlogs and DIY content, much of which her dad, an artist and photographer, would help her film.
Source: Forbes, Business Insider
After that first viral video, success seemingly happened "overnight," Chamberlain told Forbes. She got an agent, and dropped out of high school right before her junior year to do YouTube full-time.
Source: Forbes, Business Insider
By the next year, Chamberlain and her parents decided that it would be best for her career to move from the San Francisco area to Los Angeles. She moved into her own apartment there in June 2018.
Source: The New York Times
Shortly after moving, Chamberlain teamed up with a group of three other young YouTubers: James Charles, and Ethan and Grayson Dolan. Dubbed the "Sister Squad," the crew often collaborated on videos across their YouTube channels through 2018. However, it seems the group's friendship frayed in early 2019, and they've since stopped recording content together.
Source: Elite Daily
Chamberlain's rapid rise to success has not come without criticism and hate. In mid-2018, Chamberlain almost quit because of the drama and rumors spread about her online. "It's really uninspiring when you post a video and everyone says, 'Go kill yourself,'" she told Forbes.
Source: Forbes
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