American entertainer and YouTube personality

Jenna Nicole Mourey (born September 15, 1986[1][2]), better known by her pseudonym Jenna Marbles, is an American YouTube personality, vlogger, comedian and actress. As of January 2019, her channel has had over 2.9 billion video views and 19 million subscribers,[3] making it the 85th most subscribed channel on YouTube and the eighth most popular channel operated by a woman.[4] Marbles is the first social media star to have a wax figure displayed in Madame Tussauds Museum, located in New York City.[5]

Early life

Marbles was born and raised in Rochester, New York, where she graduated from Brighton High School in 2004. Her father is a chemist who holds several patents and she has one older brother.[6] She then moved to Boston, where she attended Suffolk University. At Suffolk she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, and later attended Boston University for a Master of Education in Sport Psychology and Counseling.[7]

In 2015, Marbles became a full-time vegan.[8][9]

Career

Marbles initially started her career with Barstool Sports, where she wrote for their female-oriented site StoolLaLa.[10] In the summer of 2010, Marbles was sharing a three-bedroom apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She paid $800 rent by working various jobs, like bartending, working at a tanning salon, blogging, and go-go dancing at nightclubs.[11]

YouTube

Marbles uploads a new video to her YouTube channel every Wednesday or Thursday. One video, released in 2010 and entitled "How To Trick People Into Thinking You're Good Looking" was viewed over 5.3 million times in its first week.[12][13] Her video "How To Avoid Talking To People You Don't Want To Talk To" was featured in articles by The New York Times and ABC News in August 2011. In the video, she stated, "I'm sick and tired of guys thinking that just because I showed up at a club or a dance or a bar, that I want to have their genitalia touching my backside"; [14][15] the video had approximately 36.2 million views as of March 2018.[16]

The pseudonym "Jenna Marbles" comes from her mother's complaint that "Mourey", their legal surname, pulled up only Jenna's videos on Google. Jenna's mother was unemployed at the time that Jenna's first video went viral, and was concerned that their content might put off potential employers.[7] The name "Marbles" comes from her dog "Mr. Marbles". As of January 2019 , Marbles' YouTube channel had about 19 million subscribers and 2.9 billion video views.[17][18]

Marbles appeared as Eve in season 2 of Epic Rap Battles of History, episode 13, "Adam vs. Eve".[19] She played a banana in The Annoying Orange episode "Fake n' Bacon". She played Miley Cyrus in a "Wrecking Ball"-inspired segment of YouTube Rewind 2013. On January 30, 2014, she appeared in season four of Ridiculousness.

Marbles appeared as herself in Smosh: The Movie.[20]

In 2015, Marbles unveiled a wax figure of herself at Madame Tussauds New York. She was the first ever YouTube star to be immortalized at Madame Tussauds New York and her figure is the first selfie-taking wax figure at this location.[21]

Marbles has also professionalized her business affairs by expanding her business and bringing in people to help, including, a personal assistant, a business manager, and her mother (the chief executive officer).[11]

Marbles does a weekly podcast with her boyfriend Julien Solomita called "The Jenna Julien Podcast" (formerly called "The Jenna and Julien Podcast"). Topics include stories of growing up, conspiracy theories, YouTubers and other general topics. They sometimes feature other YouTubers as guests on their podcast, including Shane Dawson.[22]

Other ventures

Marbles released a brand of dog toys called Kermie Worm & Mr. Marbles. The toys' appearances are based upon her real dogs.[7] She has also created items with some of her most memorable quotes printed on them (e.g. "what are this").

Marbles also hosts a weekly pop countdown on SiriusXM Hits 1 called "YouTube 15".[23][24]

In 2016, Marbles became an executive producer for Maximum Ride, a film based on the series of novels of the same name by James Patterson.[25]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Result Ref. 2014 Young Hollywood Award Viral Superstar Won [26] 2015 Streamy Award Best Comedy Series Nominated 2017 Best First-Person Series Nominated Audience Choice Creator of the Year Nominated