Dubbed as an influencer, American YouTuber Emma Chamberlain quickly gained fame through her vlogs. At age 17, she moved out of her mother’s house.
Born in San Bruno, California in 2001 to Michael and Sophia Chamberlain, Emma is an only child. Her parents divorced when she was five years old. Raised by her mother in San Mateo County in the Bay Area, Emma Chamberlain moved to Los Angeles at 17 and lived on her own in an apartment until she very recently brought her own house.
In just two years, Emma conquered the 13-18-year-old audience with almost 10 million YouTube subscribers and about an equal number of Instagram followers. But life was not always this good to her.
Normal Childhood
In an interview with W Magazine, Emma recounts her love of dolls, Polly Pockets, Legos, building fairy houses, and swimming in the ocean.
Emma’s father, Michael, is an artist and photographer who worked as an oil painter when Emma was a young child. The family struggled financially when he fell ill.
“There were times when we couldn’t even go to the movies… because there wasn’t enough money,” she told Forbes.
Her parents divorced when she was only five years old, but they have remained friends and supportive parents.
Teen Depression
Hannah Meloche’s YouTube channel features a video where Emma Chamberlain shares that she was a participant in All-Star competitive cheerleading for five years and high school cheer for one year.
Chamberlain filmed some of her competitions and posted them on YouTube. However, those videos did not create a stir in the video community then.
In high school, Chamberlain went through a bout of depression. Her attendance was intermittent, and she would often break down in tears in class.
Through a 2017 vlog, she admitted to becoming severely depressed by the end of her sophomore year. She found it extremely difficult to go to school, or even spend time with her friends.
The YouTube channel she started helped ease her depression for a short time, but not long enough to pull her through high school.
Emma’s depression turned for the worse in her junior year. She tried to cope by recording vlogs in class, which the school administrators eventually disallowed.
Finally, her parents granted her wish to leave school. In a collaborative video with YouTuber friends Ethan and Grayson Dolan, Chamberlain disclosed that she took the California High School Exit Exam to earn her diploma.
Knowing that creating videos for YouTube was her one source of happiness, Emma decided it was the only way to improve her mental health.
One year after posting her first video City Inspired Summer Look book 2017, filmed by her father, Chamberlain reposted excerpts of her earlier cheerleading videos. A Twitter post about her experience as a cheerleader thrilled fans.
Meteoric Rise
Through hard work, Emma Chamberlain is now rich and famous, though she remains hands-on with every aspect of her YouTube business.
While Emma’s celebrity is built on sarcastic product reviews, cheeky car vlogs and funny collaborations with other YouTubers, her subscribers find her an inspiring role model.
Advocating a no-makeup look, the vegetarian Chamberlain encourages teens to feel good about themselves, just as they are. It also helps that she doesn’t consume alcohol or do drugs.
In 2018, Emma Chamberlain won the Streamy Award for Breakout Creator and was nominated for Favorite Social Star at the Kids’ Choice Awards.
And in April 2019, she launched Stupid Genius, a weekly podcast series. It reached Number 1 in 50 countries and is now renamed Anything Goes.
That same year, TIME included Chamberlain in its 100 Next list, Hollister enlisted her as an endorser, she started her own line of merchandise, and launched her own brand of Chamberlain Coffee.
Living with Fame
Every week, Emma Chamberlain’s fan base is informed and entertained for 30 minutes as she answers baffling questions in her podcast, such as why dogs lick humans.
She has indeed come a long way from her early YouTube days of posting videos on DIY crafts, which she had absolutely no knowledge about. In fact, she was only following the trend.
The end is not yet in sight as far as Chamberlain’s career goes. She still has more goofy videos to produce, products to endorse, and people to inspire.
Through all these, both her parents have been unwavering in their love and support. Her father, in particular, continues to collaborate with her in filming, even as he promotes his own YouTube channel.
Would it matter if Emma Chamberlain were adopted? Perhaps not, but no evidence proves otherwise.