| Valkyrae | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.png) Valkyrae in 2023 | ||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||
| Born | Rachell Marie Hofstetter (1992-01-08)January 8, 1992 (age 33) Moses Lake, Washington, U.S. | |||||||||
| Occupations | ||||||||||
| Organization | 100 Thieves | |||||||||
| YouTube information | ||||||||||
| Channel | ||||||||||
| Years active | 2014–present | |||||||||
| Genres | ||||||||||
| Subscribers | 4.09 million[1] | |||||||||
| Total views | 774 million[1] | |||||||||
| Associated acts | ||||||||||
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Twitch information | ||||||||||
| Channel | ||||||||||
| Years active | 2015–2020 2025–present | |||||||||
| Followers | 1.3 million | |||||||||
Last updated: February 6, 2025 | ||||||||||
Rachell "Rae"Marie Hofstetter (born January 8, 1992), better known asValkyrae, is an Americanonline streamer andYouTuber. She is a co-owner of the gaming organization100 Thieves and founder and CEO of the media company Hihi Studios.
Hofstetter began streaming onTwitch in 2015. She had her breakthrough by playing the competitive online gameFortnite in 2018 and joined 100 Thieves as their first femalecontent 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 gameAmong Us, which led to her winning theGame Award for "Content Creator of the Year" and theStreamy Award for best live streamer. She was also named "Gaming Creator of the Year" byAdweek in 2021 and was included onForbes'30 Under 30 list in 2022.
Rachell Marie Hofstetter was born on January 8, 1992, and grew up inMoses Lake, Washington.[2][3][4][5] She is ofFilipino andGerman descent[6] and has three brothers and one younger sister.[7] 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.[8] She attended community college and worked a job atGameStop to support herself,[9] later graduating with anassociate degree in arts and science.[10]
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While working at GameStop, Hofstetter began sharing her gaming hobby onInstagram, gaining a following. After being encouraged by her followers, she startedlive streaming onTwitch in 2015.[9][11] She later began uploading her gaming content toYouTube and had her breakthrough by playing the competitive online gameFortnite in 2018.[11] That October, she became the first femalecontent creator for the gaming organization100 Thieves.[12][13] In May 2019, she was nominated for the Gaming award at the11th Shorty Awards.[14]
On January 13, 2020, Hofstetter left Twitch for an exclusive streaming contract on YouTube.[15] In her first three months on YouTube, she averaged around 1,500 concurrent viewers.[16] Her stream then experienced significant growth and, in late 2020, regularly peaked at concurrent viewer counts exceeding 100,000.[17] This was driven by her playing the online multiplayer social deduction gameAmong Us and collaborating with popular streamers likeDisguised Toast,Sykkuno,Pokimane,PewDiePie, andCr1TiKaL,[17] in addition to public figures like politicianAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez, musicianLil Nas X, and television personalityJimmy Fallon.[9][18] Hofstetter became the fastest-growing female streamer of 2020 and surpassed Pokimane as the year's most-viewed female streamer.[17] In December 2020, she won Content Creator of the Year award at the2020 Game Awards.[19]
On April 7, 2021, Hofstetter andCouRageJD joined the ownership group of 100 Thieves, alongsideDan Gilbert,Scooter Braun,Drake, and its founder,Nadeshot. As co-owners, they received equity in the company, whichForbes valued at $190 million at the time.[9] In May 2021, she won Gaming Creator of the Year award at the 2021Adweek Creator Visionary Awards.[20] Throughout 2021, she made appearances in music videos for "DayWalker" byMachine Gun Kelly featuringCorpse Husband,[21] as well as "Build a Bitch" and "Inferno" byBella Poarch.[22][23] In December 2021, she won the Livestreamer award at the11th Streamy Awards.[24]
In 2022, she was named toForbes'30 Under 30 list in the games category.[25] In March 2022, she was nominated for Best Variety Streamer at the2022 Streamer Awards.[26] In September 2022, she became anambassador for the fitness apparel brandGymshark.[27] In December 2022, she was nominated for Streamer of the Year and Variety Streamer at the12th Streamy Awards.[28] On March 11, 2023, she co-hosted thesecond annual Streamer Awards alongside the event's creator,QTCinderella; the ceremony averaged 425,000 live concurrent viewers.[29][30][31] Later in August 2023, she was nominated for Streamer of the Year and Variety Streamer at the13th Streamy Awards.[32]
In February 2024, she won The Sapphire Award at thethird annual Streamer Awards.[33] In May 2024, Hofstetter's streaming heavily involved playing a character on the moddedGrand Theft Auto V roleplaying serverNoPixel.[2] Later that month, she was named amongGold House A100 honorees.[34] In July 2024, she participated in theMrBeast video "50 YouTubers Fight for $1,000,000".[35] In September 2024, Hofstetter founded the media company Hihi Studios to "develop and produce IP for graphic novels, TV and film projects with a specific emphasis on anime-inspired content."[36] In October 2024, Hofstetter launched her podcastPress Esc with artist Alyssa "Alythuh" Dios as her co-host.[37][38] In December 2024, she was nominated for The Sapphire Award at thefourth annual Streamer Awards.[39]
By January 2025, Hofstetter's exclusive streaming contract with YouTube had expired.[40] She returned to Twitch on January 8, while celebrating her 10th streaming anniversary and her 33rd birthday.[41] During her first week, she was the most-watched female streamer on Twitch, based on hours watched.[42][43]
On February 24, 2025, Hofstetter began a week-long IRL streaming marathon in Los Angeles with fellow streamer Brittany "Cinna" Watts titledSis-A-Thon. Hoffstetter and Watts had planned on holding the marathon in January, but it was postponed due to theJanuary 2025 Southern California wildfires.[44] On March 2, the final night of the marathon, Hoffstetter, Watts, and their guest Emily "Emiru" Schunk, were targeted by astalker atPacific Park on theSanta Monica Pier.[45][46] A man, who introduced himself as "Russell", had approached the live streamers and asked Emiru for her phone number, who declined but offered to take a photo with him.[45] The man would change clothes and reapproach the women again over a half hour later, asking Emiru for her number after they got off the Ferris wheel. The man became aggressive after they told him no again, threatening to kill the streamers and requiring to be held back by Cinna's cameraman Rosii as they called for park security.[45][47] The streamers ended the marathon early and contacted the police, Hofstetter tweeting the following morning: "We are all ok and have been with police. We decided we are done with the marathon and need time to process! Thank you for all the love and support this past week, we had so much fun and hope you all enjoyed. That end of marathon brunch stream we had planned tomorrow with friends will be rescheduled for sometime in the far future :’) Please send love to emiru, Cinna, Rosie [sic] and Emily! Everybody is in shock but I’m so glad were [sic] together".[45][48] Later that day, Hofstetter and Watts went live to address the incident and officially conclude the marathon.[49]
On April 6, 2021, Hofstetter participated in anAmong Us charity livestream held byThe Tonight Show hostJimmy Fallon with several notable celebrities such asGaten Matarazzo andNoah Schnapp ofStranger Things, American hip-hop bandThe Roots membersQuestlove,Black Thought, andCaptain Kirk Douglas, and fellow streamers and YouTubersSykkuno andCorpse Husband. The event raised over $25,000 forFeeding America.[50]
In June 2022, Hofstetter participated in aMinecraft charity tournament held by theMC Championship with several other creators to raise money forThe Trevor Project. Hofstetter also donated $10,000 towards the charity.[51] In late November 2022, Hofstetter donated $15,000 towardsNo Kid Hungry duringLudwig Ahgren's charity event.[52][53] In December 2022, Hofstetter participated in "Thankmas", an annual charity livestream event hosted by YouTuberjacksepticeye, to raise money forWorld Central Kitchen. The event raised over $10 million in donations.[54]
Hofstetter donated $10,000 towards the victims of theearthquake in Turkey and Syria on February 6, 2023.[55]
On October 19, 2021, Hofstetter announced the launch of her skincare brand, RFLCT. The brand, primarily geared towards gamers and those who put in heavyscreen time, claimed that users are susceptible to skin damage caused byprolonged exposure to blue light and that their products protect against it.
RFLCT received backlash due to insufficient evidence supporting the claim;[56][57] according to Kathleen Suozzi, the director of the aesthetic dermatology program atYale University, unless someone was already prone tomelasma orhyperpigmentation, they were unlikely to suffer any consequence of sitting in front of a screen for long periods of time.[58] Hofstetter responded by stating that "all of the hate, doubt, concerns, and criticisms are all warranted and valid" and that she was "very upset and confused" with the lack of information on its website, promising additional information supporting the products would be made available.[58][59] She was later informed that the research conducted by RFLCT supporting the products—which she had been given access to during development—could not be released to the public.[60]
Hofstetter then expressed a desire to part ways with RFLCT but was contractually bound.[61] On October 30, 2021, RFLCT ceased operation of its website and online store. A statement on the website read: "While we believe in the formulations created, after further reflection, have decided to move forward on new paths, effectively terminating the RFLCT brand."[62][63]
Hofstetter resides inLos Angeles.[64] From 2016 to 2021, she was in a relationship with fellow streamer Michael "Sonii" Sherman.[31] From April 2023 to July 2024, she lived with fellow streamersLeslie "Fuslie" Fu, Miyoung "Kkatamina" Kim, and Christina "TinaKitten" Kenyan, collectively known as "The Roomies".[64]
Hofstetter endorsedKamala Harris in the2024 United States presidential election.[65]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | The Family Plan | Herself | [66] | |
| 2025 | Goldbeak | Ratchet | Voice role (English dub);direct-to-video | [67] |
| A Minecraft Movie | TBA | Post-production | [68] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Tribe Nine | Hannya Squad Member | Voice role (English dub); episode: "Chiyoda Tribe Showdown" | [69] |
| Sonic Prime | Squad Commander Red | Voice role; episode: "Situation: Grim" | [70] |
| Year | Title | Artist(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | "DayWalker" | Machine Gun Kelly andCorpse Husband | [21] |
| "Build a Bitch" | Bella Poarch | [22] | |
| "Inferno" | Bella Poarch andSub Urban | [23] | |
| 2022 | "Car Crash" | eaJ | [71] |
| "Memories" | Yungblud andWillow Smith | [72] | |
| "Dolls" | Bella Poarch | [73] | |
| 2024 | "Echoes" | Valkyrae,Fuslie andYlona Garcia | [74] |
| "Run Back to You" | Lay Zhang andLauv | [75] | |
| "Girls" | The Kid Laroi | [76] | |
| "Drag Me Under" | Blessthefall andAlpha Wolf | [77] |
| Title | Year | Album | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| "The Fortnite Rap Battle Round 2" (NerdOut featuring Valkyrae,TimTheTatman,SypherPK, Nate Hill and AvaGG) | 2018 | Non-album single | [78] |
| "Last Cup of Coffee" (with Natsumiii, featuringLilyPichu) | 2021 | Non-album single | [79] |
| "Echoes" (withFuslie andYlona Garcia) | 2024 | Non-album single | [74] |
| Ceremony | Year | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adweek Creator Visionary Awards | 2021 | Gaming Creator of the Year | Won | [20] |
| The Game Awards | 2020 | Content Creator of the Year | Won | [19] |
| Shorty Awards | 2019 | Gaming | Nominated | [14] |
| The Streamer Awards | 2021 | Best Variety Streamer | Nominated | [26] |
| 2023 | The Sapphire Award | Won | [33] | |
| 2024 | Nominated | [39] | ||
| Streamy Awards | 2021 | Livestreamer | Won | [24] |
| 2022 | Streamer of the Year | Nominated | [28] | |
| Variety Streamer | Nominated | |||
| 2023 | Streamer of the Year | Nominated | [32] | |
| Variety Streamer | Nominated |
| Publisher | Year | Listicle | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forbes | 2022 | 30 Under 30: Games | Placed | [25] |
| Gold House | 2024 | A100 | Honoree | [34] |
The trio quickly ran off and called security for help while repeatedly asking the stalker to stop the harassment.
