Valkyrae facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Valkyrae |
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Valkyrae in 2019
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Personal information | |||||||
Born | Rachell Marie Hofstetter January 8, 1992 Moses Lake, Washington, U.S. |
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Occupation |
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YouTube information | |||||||
Years active | 2014–present | ||||||
Genre |
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Subscribers | 4.09 million | ||||||
Total views | 718.9 million | ||||||
Associated acts |
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Subscriber and view counts updated as of July 26, 2024. |
Rachell "Rae" Marie Hofstetter (born January 8, 1992), better known as Valkyrae, is an American online streamer and YouTuber. She is a co-owner of the gaming organization 100 Thieves and founder, co-owner, and CEO of media company Hihi Studios. She has been YouTube's most-watched female streamer since 2020.
Hofstetter began streaming on Twitch in 2015. She had her breakthrough by playing the competitive online game Fortnite in 2018 and joined 100 Thieves as their first female content creator. In 2020, she switched streaming platforms by signing an exclusive contract with YouTube. Later that year, she saw significant follower growth and reached her peak viewership when playing the online social deduction game Among Us, which led to her winning the Game Award for "Content Creator of the Year" and the Streamy Award for best live streamer. She was also named "Gaming Creator of the Year" by Adweek in 2021 and was included on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list in 2022.
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Early life
Rachell Marie Hofstetter was born on January 8, 1992, and grew up in Moses Lake, Washington. She is of Filipino and German descent and has three brothers and one younger sister. She cites her mother as the reason she became interested in video games, who encouraged her to pursue it as a hobby from a young age. She attended community college and worked a job at GameStop to support herself, later graduating with an associate degree in arts and science.
Career
While working at GameStop, Hofstetter began sharing her gaming hobby on Instagram, gaining a following. After being encouraged by her followers, she started live streaming on Twitch in 2015. She later began uploading her gaming content to YouTube and had her breakthrough by playing the competitive online game Fortnite in 2018. That October, she became the first female content creator for the gaming organization 100 Thieves.
On January 13, 2020, Hofstetter left Twitch for an exclusive streaming contract on YouTube. In her first three months on YouTube, she averaged around 1,500 concurrent viewers. Her stream then experienced significant growth and, in late 2020, regularly peaked at concurrent viewer counts exceeding 100,000. This was driven by her playing the online multiplayer social deduction game Among Us and collaborating with popular streamers like Disguised Toast, Sykkuno, Pokimane, PewDiePie, and Cr1TiKaL, in addition to public figures like politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, musician Lil Nas X, and television personality Jimmy Fallon. Hofstetter became the fastest-growing female streamer of 2020 and surpassed Pokimane as the year's most-viewed female streamer.
On April 7, 2021, Hofstetter and CouRageJD joined the ownership group of 100 Thieves, alongside Dan Gilbert, Scooter Braun, Drake, and its founder, Nadeshot. As co-owners, they received equity in the company, which Forbes valued at $190 million at the time. .....
In September 2022, Hofstetter became an ambassador for the fitness apparel brand Gymshark. On March 11, 2023, Hofstetter co-hosted the second annual Streamer Awards alongside the event's creator, QTCinderella; the ceremony averaged 425,000 live concurrent viewers.
In May 2024, Hofstetter's streaming heavily involved playing a character on the modded Grand Theft Auto V roleplaying server NoPixel. On July 13, 2024, she appeared and participated in a MrBeast video titled "50 YouTubers Fight for $1,000,000". In September 2024, Hofstetter founded her own media company called Hihi Studios, the company is set to "develop and produce IP for graphic novels, TV and film projects with a specific emphasis on anime-inspired content."
Other activities
Philanthropy
On April 6, 2021, Hofstetter participated in an Among Us charity livestream held by The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon with several notable celebrities such as Gaten Matarazzo and Noah Schnapp of Stranger Things, American hip-hop band The Roots members Questlove, Black Thought, and Captain Kirk Douglas, and fellow streamers and YouTubers Sykkuno and Corpse Husband. The event raised over $25,000 for Feeding America.
In June 2022, Hofstetter participated in a Minecraft charity tournament held by the MC Championship with several other creators to raise money for The Trevor Project. Hofstetter also donated $10,000 towards the charity. In late November 2022, Hofstetter donated $15,000 towards No Kid Hungry during Ludwig Ahgren's charity event. In December 2022, Hofstetter participated in "Thankmas", an annual charity livestream event hosted by YouTuber jacksepticeye, to raise money for World Central Kitchen. The event raised over $10 million in donations.
Hofstetter donated $10,000 towards the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria on February 6, 2023.
Personal life
From 2016 to 2021, Hofstetter was in a relationship with fellow streamer Michael "Sonii" Sherman. From April 2023 to July 2024, Hofstetter moved into a house in Los Angeles with fellow streamers Leslie "Fuslie" Fu, Miyoung "Kkatamina" Kim, and Christina "TinaKitten" Kenyan. They were collectively known as "The Roomies". She owns a dog named Mika.
Hofstetter endorsed Kamala Harris in the 2024 United States presidential election.
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
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2023 | The Family Plan | Herself | ||
2025 | A Minecraft Movie | TBA | Post-production |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
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2022 | Tribe Nine | Hannya Squad Member | Voice role; episode: "Chiyoda Tribe Showdown" | |
Sonic Prime | Squad Commander Red | Voice role; episode: "Situation: Grim" |
Music videos
Year | Title | Artist(s) | Ref. |
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2021 | "DayWalker" | Machine Gun Kelly and Corpse Husband | |
"Build a ..." | Bella Poarch | ||
"Inferno" | Bella Poarch and Sub Urban | ||
2022 | "Car Crash" | eaJ | |
"Memories" | Yungblud and Willow Smith | ||
"Dolls" | Bella Poarch | ||
2024 | "Echoes" | Valkyrae, Fuslie and Ylona Garcia | |
"Run Back to You" | Lay Zhang and Lauv | ||
"Girls" | The Kid Laroi | ||
"Drag Me Under" | Blessthefall and Alpha Wolf |
Discography
Singles
As featured artist
Title | Year | Album | Ref. |
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"The Fortnite Rap Battle Round 2" (NerdOut featuring Valkyrae, TimTheTatman, SypherPK, Nate Hill and AvaGG) |
2018 | Non-album single | |
"Last Cup of Coffee" (with Natsumiii, featuring LilyPichu) |
2021 | Non-album single | |
"Echoes" (with Fuslie and Ylona Garcia) |
2024 | Non-album single |
Awards and nominations
Ceremony | Year | Category | Result | Ref. |
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Adweek Creator Visionary Awards | 2021 | Gaming Creator of the Year | Won | |
The Game Awards | 2020 | Content Creator of the Year | Won | |
Shorty Awards | 2019 | Gaming | Nominated | |
The Streamer Awards | 2022 | Best Variety Streamer | Nominated | |
2024 | The Sapphire Award | Won | ||
Streamy Awards | 2021 | Livestreamer | Won | |
2022 | Streamer of the Year | Nominated | ||
Variety Streamer | Nominated | |||
2023 | Streamer of the Year | Nominated | ||
Variety Streamer | Nominated |
Listicles
Publisher | Year | Listicle | Result | Ref. |
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Forbes | 2022 | 30 Under 30: Games | Placed | |
Gold House | 2024 | A100 | Honoree |
See also
In Spanish: Valkyrae para niños
- List of YouTubers