| Tyler Oakley | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Oakley atVidCon 2014 | ||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||
| Born | Mathew Tyler Oakley (1989-03-22)March 22, 1989 (age 35) Jackson, Michigan, U.S. | |||||||||
| Education | Michigan State University (BA) | |||||||||
| YouTube information | ||||||||||
| Channel | ||||||||||
| Years active | 2007–present | |||||||||
| Subscribers | 6.82 million[1] | |||||||||
| Total views | 682 million[1] | |||||||||
| Network | Studio71 | |||||||||
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Last updated: May 1, 2023 | ||||||||||
Mathew Tyler Oakley (born March 22, 1989) is an American YouTuber, actor, activist, author, television personality and Twitch streamer. Much of Oakley's activism has been dedicated toLGBTQ youth,LGBT rights, as well as social issues including health care, education, and the prevention ofsuicide among LGBT youth.[2][3] Oakley regularly posts material on various topics, including pop culture and humor.[4][5][6]
Since uploading his first video in 2007[7] while a freshman atMichigan State University, his YouTube channel[8] has garnered over 683 million views, and, at its peak, had over 8 million subscribers.[9] He was featured in the 2014Frontline investigative report "Generation Like", a follow-up on how teenagers are "directly interacting withpop culture" to the 2001 report, "The Merchants of Cool".[10][11] SocialBlade, a website that rates YouTube and Instagram accounts, ranks his YouTube channel, As of February 1, 2021[update], with a grade "B", subscriber rank of 1,434th, video view rank at 7,022nd, and a SocialBlade rating of 345,254th.[8] As of February 1, 2021[update] he also had more than 5.6 million followers on Twitter and 5.6 million on Instagram.[12][13]
From March to October 2013, Oakley co-hosted a weekly pop-culture news update – "Top That!" – with Becca Frucht forPopSugar.[14] From 2013 to 2014, he performed the voice of Mr. McNeely in five episodes of the comedy web seriesThe Most Popular Girls in School.[15] He has hundreds of thousands of followers on Facebook andTumblr.[16][11][17][18][non-primary source needed] In 2015, he released his first collection of humorous personal essays under the titleBinge, via publishersSimon & Schuster.[19]
Oakley was the host ofThe Tyler Oakley Show, which aired weekly onEllen DeGeneres'ellentube platform.[20][21] In 2017, he was named inForbes "30 Under 30".[22]
Mathew Tyler Oakley[23] was born on March 22, 1989, inJackson, Michigan. He has twelve siblings. When he was an infant, his parents divorced.[24] When he was in the sixth grade, Oakley moved toOkemos, and became involved in choir and drama. As a teenager, he hadbulimia nervosa.[25] Oakley came out as gay in high school.[26]
Oakley graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in communication, marketing and social media fromMichigan State University. While in college, he fell into a short depression after a breakup with a long-term boyfriend. Oakley admits he considered suicide at this time.[25] His college years were also when he first became involved with YouTube, using the video sharing website to communicate with his high school friends, who were attending different schools.[27]
Oakley is an active user of many social media platforms.[2] A self-proclaimed "professionalfangirl", he is a fan ofDarren Criss fromGlee,[5] along withJulie Chen of CBS's daytime talk showThe Talk. He also sang Christmas carols on stage with English-Irish boy bandOne Direction and television presenterJerry Springer.[28]
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Oakley is known for receiving attention from major celebrities and organizations, such asLiam Payne from One Direction,Chris Colfer from the television seriesGlee and therestaurant chain storeTaco Bell, namely on the social network Twitter after commenting on a previous tweet of theirs or tweeting about them. Due to Oakley's prominence among many social media platforms (particularly YouTube), he was given the opportunity to meet U.S. PresidentBarack Obama at theWhite House.[29] He did a video with First LadyMichelle Obama talking about education issues.[30]
Oakley attributes his success only in part to his accessibility as a younggay man. "It's not all about me being gay. It's kind of like an underlying theme for me [with gay life] sprinkled throughout the videos."[2] He seesEllen DeGeneres as arole model: "She embodies what I want my experience to be and my influence to be, where it's a positive one, it's a happy one, it's not something about the bad parts of life or the downsides of a lot of things. She's using her influence for good, and everyone knows who she is, what she stands for, and that she is a lesbian."[2]
The Advocate in their 2014 "40 under 40: Emerging voices" says that, due to Oakley's presence on YouTube, he is the first openly gay person that many people have met.[2] Oakley is considered one of the world's leadingCelebrity influencers, having an Influencer Score of 99 from the influencer marketing software Klear.
In December 2020, Oakley announced he was taking an indefinite hiatus from making YouTube videos.[31] He is currently actively streaming on Twitch, and sporadically uploads on YouTube.
Oakley appeared on theYouTube Premium showEscape the Night, appearing as "The Thespian" for 10 episodes in Season 2.
In 2014, Oakley premiered a live show tour, "Tyler Oakley's Slumber Party", featuring him in pyjamas and doing skits, and interactive segments with the audience. His two initial shows in Chicago and inRoyal Oak, Michigan in early October both sold out in 72 hours. In December 2014, seven dates, all on the East Coast, made up the next leg of the tour, which was expected to eventually go to 40 cities.Variety noted that the trend of "digital-native stars hitting the road for 'in-real-life' shows" had been increasing. Oakley had been a part of DigiTour's 2014 US Summer tour of YouTube andVine personalities.[32]
Oakley has a podcast calledPsychobabble with his best friend, Korey Kuhl. It launched in 2014 and as of 2022 has had over 400 episodes.
On screen, Oakley has done appearances on broadcasting platforms, with some airing on national TV. He was seen onInsider Tonight, featuring co-hostsKevin Frazier andThea Andrews. He has interviewed live from the 2014Kids Choice Awards red carpet, along with many other events that have him meeting and speaking to celebrities.[33]
Oakley, alongside best friend Korey Kuhl, competed in the28th season ofThe Amazing Race, which aired in 2016.[34] They finished in 3rd place.[35] The two also participated in the31st season of the show, which began airing on April 17, 2019.[36] They finished in 2nd place.
In 2018, Oakley also appeared on thetenth episode of thetenth season ofRuPaul's Drag Race, where he was paired withMonét X Change for a makeover challenge.[37][38][39]
Oakley supportsThe Trevor Project, an organization for the prevention ofsuicide among LGBT youth.[2] He interned with them in 2009, and since 2011 has co-hosted TrevorLIVE, the charity's annual red carpet event. In 2013 he raised $29,000 for his birthday in support of the Trevor Project having aimed to raise $24,000 (because it was his 24th birthday). In 2014, he raised $525,704 in a similar event, and in 2015 he raised $532,224.[40]
| Year | Nominated | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Himself | The Queerties: YouTube Idol | Won |
| Tyler Oakley Chats with Straight British Twins | The Queerties: LOL Of The Year | Won | |
| 2014 | Himself | YouTube Star | Nominated |
| Video Blogger | Nominated | ||
| Blogger | Nominated | ||
| Activism | Nominated | ||
| Petty Category | Nominated | ||
| First Person | Nominated | ||
| Trevor Youth Innovator Award | Won | ||
| OUT100 Readers' Choice | Won | ||
| Young Hollywood Awards: Viral Superstar | Nominated | ||
| Teen Choice Award for Choice Web Star: Male | Won | ||
| "The Boyfriend Tag" withTroye Sivan | Teen Choice Award for Choice Web Collaboration | Won | |
| Himself | 2014 Streamy Entertainer of the Year[41] | Won | |
| 2014 Streamy Activist Icon of the Year | Won | ||
| First Person[42] | Nominated | ||
| The Queerties: Twitter Account You Should Be Following | Nominated | ||
| 2015 | Psychobabble with Tyler Oakley & Korey Kuhl | 10th Annual Podcast Awards: Best LGBTQ+ Podcast | Won |
| Himself | First Person[43] | Nominated | |
| Podcast[44] | Nominated | ||
| TIME Magazine's The 30 Most Influential People on the Internet[45] | Won | ||
| GLAAD Davidson/Valentini Award[46] | Won | ||
| The Hollywood Reporter's Top 25 Digital Stars[47] | Won | ||
| Entertainer of the Year[48] | Nominated | ||
| MTV Fandom Awards: Social Superstar of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Teen Choice Award for Choice Web Star: Male | Nominated | ||
| Teen Choice Award for Choice YouTuber | Nominated | ||
| Streamy Awards: First Person Series | Nominated | ||
| Streamy Awards: Social Good Campaign | Nominated | ||
| 2016 | Web Personality | Nominated | |
| Best Web Personality/Host | Won | ||
| YouTuber of the Year[49] | Nominated | ||
| OUT Magazine's Power 50 | Won | ||
| Teen Choice Award 2016 for Choice Web Star: Male | Nominated | ||
| The Hollywood Reporter's Top 25 Digital Stars[50] | Won | ||
| Variety Famechangers[51] | Won | ||
| 2017 | People's Choice Awards for Favorite YouTube Star | Nominated | |
| Out Web Fest: Vanguard Award | Won | ||
| 2018 | Streamy Awards: 2018 Streamy Legacy Award | Won | |
| HRC Awards: 2018 Visibility Award | Won | ||
| Out Power 50 Awards: Power of Originality 2018 Award | Won | ||
| 2018 Teen Choice Awards: Choice Male Web Star | Nominated | ||
| 2021 | Psychobabble with Tyler Oakley & Korey Kuhl | The Queerties - Best Podcast | Nominated |
| 2022 | Psychobabble with Tyler Oakley & Korey Kuhl | The Queerties - Best Podcast | Nominated |
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