Charlie McDonnell (born 1 October 1990) is a British filmmaker, screenwriter, musician, former
vlog
A video blog or video log, sometimes shortened to vlog (), is a form of blog for which the medium is video. Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link) with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded i ...
ger, author and
Twitch streamer from
Bath, Somerset
Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...
.
On 15 June 2011, her
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
channel charlieissocoollike became the first in the
UK to reach one million subscribers.
As a musician, McDonnell was a member of ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...
''-themed rock band
Chameleon Circuit
This is a list of notable or recurring items from the BBC television series ''Doctor Who''.
C
Celery
The Fifth Doctor wears a sprig of celery in his lapel. He claims that he is allergic to certain gases in the praxis range; if those gases w ...
and was also a member of the short-lived project
Sons of Admirals until it was disbanded in May 2011. In 2010, McDonnell released a solo album titled ''This Is Me''. McDonnell directed a series of short films from 2013 to 2014, and co-hosted the weekday morning
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
breakfast show ''
Cereal Time'' with
Capital FM presenter and fellow YouTube vlogger
Jimmy Hill
James William Thomas Hill, OBE (22 July 1928 – 19 December 2015) was an English footballer and later a television personality. His career included almost every role in the sport, including player, trade union leader, coach, manager, director, ...
from 2015 to 2016. In 2016, she published a book, ''Fun Science''.
After over a decade of regular uploads, McDonnell ended her YouTube career in December 2018 and moved on to screenwriting and television production duties. Her first series, the science fiction drama ''
Don't Look Deeper
Don't, Dont, or DONT may refer to:
Films
* ''Don't'' (1925 film), a 1925 silent comedy film
* ''Don't'' (1974 film), a 1974 film about the monarch butterfly
* ''Don't'', a fake trailer from the film '' Grindhouse'' (2007)
Songs
* "Don't" (Bil ...
'', was released on the streaming platform
Quibi
Quibi ( ) was a short-lived American short-form streaming platform that generated content for viewing on mobile devices. It was founded in Los Angeles in August 2018 as NewTV by Jeffrey Katzenberg and was led by Meg Whitman, its CEO. The serv ...
in July 2020.
McDonnell currently creates content on
Twitch, where she plays different games while interacting with her chat.
Early life
McDonnell was born and raised in
Bath, Somerset
Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...
to parents Lindsey and Mark.
She has two younger siblings: her brother, William, and her sister, Bridie. She was educated at
Beechen Cliff School, a local state comprehensive
foundation school
In England and Wales, a foundation school is a state-funded school in which the governing body has greater freedom in the running of the school than in community schools.
Foundation schools were set up under the School Standards and Framework ...
.
YouTube career
After setting up the YouTube channel, ''charlieissocoollike'' on 3 April 2007, McDonnell started posting
video blog
A video blog or video log, sometimes shortened to vlog (), is a form of blog for which the medium is video. Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link) with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded in ...
s (or ''vlogs'') to a small audience. She first came to prominence when her video titled ''How To Get Featured on YouTube'' became popular after it was featured on YouTube's UK homepage. Her audience jumped from just under 150 subscribers to over 4,000 in two days.
In January 2008, in celebration of gaining 25,000 subscribers, McDonnell asked for 25 challenge suggestions from subscribers, which sparked her series of ''Challenge Charlie'' videos. She completed all of these challenges by March 2013, one of which was suggested by TV presenter
Phillip Schofield
Phillip Bryan Schofield (born 1 April 1962) is an English television presenter who works for ITV. He is currently the co-presenter of ITV's '' This Morning'' (2002–present) and ''Dancing on Ice'' (2006–2014, 2018–present) alongside Holl ...
and his daughter Molly, challenging McDonnell to perform the dance that accompanies the song '
Hoedown Throwdown' from ''
Hannah Montana: The Movie''.
In June 2011, McDonnell became the first YouTuber in the United Kingdom to reach 1 million subscribers, and in May 2013, her channel reached 2 million subscribers. Most of McDonnell's videos end with an
outro by
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...
. In 2014, McDonnell's YouTube Channel, charlieissocoollike, was listed on
New Media Rockstars
''NewMediaRockstars'' (''NMR'') is an online magazine which was launched in December 2011 and primarily covers YouTube performers, entrepreneurs, and artists with videos and interviews. In 2013, ''NewMediaRockstars'' closed because of lack of fun ...
Top 100 Channels, ranked at #63.
On 6 March 2019, McDonnell announced on Twitter that she had quit YouTube to focus on screenwriting instead. She currently streams on
Twitch.
Short films and screenwriting career
On 8 March 2013, McDonnell announced that she would be making five short films. In a video published on 27 October 2014, she announced her last two films would actually be one film, split into two parts.
On 27 July 2020, ''Don't Look Deeper'', a 14-episode series co-created by McDonnell and
Jeffrey Lieber
Jeffrey Michael Lieber is an American screenwriter for both television and film. He is credited as a co-creator of the television series '' Lost''. In addition to writing for television and film, Lieber also blogs at the website dailykos. His b ...
, premiered on
Quibi
Quibi ( ) was a short-lived American short-form streaming platform that generated content for viewing on mobile devices. It was founded in Los Angeles in August 2018 as NewTV by Jeffrey Katzenberg and was led by Meg Whitman, its CEO. The serv ...
. McDonnell wrote several episodes of the series.
Music career
Chameleon Circuit
McDonnell was one of the founding members of Chameleon Circuit, a band known for creating music inspired by the British television series ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...
''. Along with fellow vloggers
Alex Day (''Nerimon'' on YouTube), Liam Dryden (''Littleradge''), and former member Chris Beattie (''CowInParachute''), Chameleon Circuit released their self-titled debut album on 1 June 2009. In July 2010, their song ''Count the Shadows'' also appeared on ''DFTBA Records, Volume Two'', a compilation sampler that was given for free in the grab bags at
VidCon
VidCon is an annual convention for fans, creators, executives, and online brands. The event primarily features prominent video stars from across the internet. In October 2020, VidCon Now relaunched as an ongoing, free digital offering. Vetera ...
2010. At the beginning of 2011, Chameleon Circuit, in their new line-up following the departure of Beattie and the addition of Ed Blann and Michael Aranda, began work on their second album ''
Still Got Legs
''Still Got Legs'' is the second and final studio album by British rock band Chameleon Circuit. The album was released through DFTBA Records on 12 July 2011. It charted at No. 23 on the ''Billboard Heatseekers'' album chart. The title is deri ...
''. It was released on 12 July 2011.
In 2014, McDonnell and Dryden publicly denounced members Blann and Day, who both suspended their online presence following separate reported incidents of sexual abuse. McDonnell, Dryden and Aranda appeared together at VidCon 2014 for photo signings. In 2017, Aranda wrote in a Reddit AMA that "it's safe to say that Chameleon Circuit is dead for now. I know that the last time Charlie and I spoke about it,
hedidn't feel interested in writing new music in general."
Sons of Admirals
In 2010, McDonnell, along with three other YouTubers, Alex Day, Ed Blann and Tom Milsom ("Hexachordal") formed a new project titled "Sons of Admirals". Sons of Admirals was not a band in the traditional sense; they were all solo artists, but as well as having their solo careers, they came together to form one group. The idea and nominal inspiration for the band came from the
Admiral's Men
The Admiral's Men (also called the Admiral's company, more strictly, the Earl of Nottingham's Men; after 1603, Prince Henry's Men; after 1612, the Elector Palatine's Men or the Palsgrave's Men) was a playing company or troupe of actors in the E ...
, which was a
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
an group of actors that came together to perform, whilst still retaining their individual careers.
Their first single was released via YouTube on 14 June 2010 on McDonnell's channel: the group covered
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later i ...
' song "
Here Comes My Baby", featuring all four members on vocals. The track peaked at No. 61 in the UK. In October 2010 the band released an EP including "Here Comes My Baby"; an acoustic version of the same song; a cover of "Believe in Yourself", the theme of children's television show ''
Arthur
Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...
''; the music video of "Here Comes My Baby"; and a behind-the-scenes video. Sons of Admirals disbanded in May 2011, publishing a statement on their website that "the core goal of the group – to get into the charts, and to increase exposure for the group members' individual talents proved to run against too many of our beliefs and approaches to music and promotion".
Solo career
A prominent feature of McDonnell's YouTube channel were the songs which she wrote and performed herself, usually on a ukulele, but also with instruments such as the guitar, melodica, and —in one song— a kazoo and a xylophone made of filled water glasses. The most popular of these is "Duet with Myself." On 1 December 2010, in response to demand, she released her debut album, entitled ''This is Me,'' via
DFTBA Records
DFTBA Records, commonly known as DFTBA.com, is an e-commerce merchandise company that was co-founded by Hank Green and Alan Lastufka in 2008. Originally a record label, the company now focuses on selling merchandise for prominent YouTube cont ...
. The album features several songs from her channel that were remixed for the album, as well as several previously unreleased songs. In December 2016, she teamed up with
Project for Awesome to release ''A Very Gideon Christmas,'' an exclusive Christmas EP sung from the perspective of and with the imaginary inflections of her cat Gideon.
Music videos
* In The Absence Of Christmas (2008)
* A Song About Acne (2009)
* Duet with Myself (2009)
* A Song About Love (2010)
* Chemical Love (2010)
* A Song About Monkeys (2010)
* Time to Reply (2012)
Charity and media work
On 30 September 2008, to celebrate her 18th birthday, McDonnell and Alex Day dyed and then shaved their hair off whilst live on
BlogTV for a period of seven and a half hours in aid of
Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organization. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...
. They managed to raise nearly £5000. The broadcast viewership peaked at 4,500. Another friend, Jazza John (known as ''rhymingwithoranges'' on YouTube) promised to shave his head if they hit £4000 and did so about a month later with help from Kristina Horner (known as ''italktosnakes'' and ''Monday'' on the YouTube collab-channel ''fiveawesomegirls'').
In October 2009, McDonnell was named as one of a number of prominent YouTube users who would be participating in a project called ''RNLI Shout''. The aim of the project is to raise money to purchase a lifeboat for the
Royal National Lifeboat Institution
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...
.
In the autumn of 2009, McDonnell featured with three other YouTube users on the
BBC Switch
BBC Switch was the brand for BBC content aimed at UK teenagers. The brand was launched on Saturday 20 October 2007 on BBC Two and ceased broadcasting on 18 December 2010. It included a block of television programmes on BBC Two, an online portal ...
documentary series ''
Chartjackers''. The programme documented their attempt to achieve a number one single in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
within 10 weeks, by
crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing involves a large group of dispersed participants contributing or producing goods or services—including ideas, votes, micro-tasks, and finances—for payment or as volunteers. Contemporary crowdsourcing often involves digita ...
resources provided by the
online community
An online community, also called an internet community or web community, is a community whose members interact with each other primarily via the Internet. Members of the community usually share common interests. For many, online communities may fe ...
. McDonnell was cast in the series for her familiarity to young British YouTube viewers. Over the course of ''Chartjackers'', McDonnell solicited lyrics, music, performers and stylists to record the final single and video via a YouTube channel named ''ChartJackersProject''. An unofficial
charity single
A charity record or charity single is a song released by musicians with most or all proceeds raised going to a dedicated foundation or charity.
George Harrison's "Bangla Desh" single in 1971 is commonly acknowledged as the first ever purpose-made ...
for
Children in Need, the completed song was titled "
I've Got Nothing" and was sung by vocalists
Miranda Chartrand and Adam Nichols. McDonnell edited the single's official music video, which was shown nationwide on British
music channels such as
4Music
4Music is a British music television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. The original incarnation was launched on 15 August 2008, and until 29 June 2022, showed a mix of music and entertainment programming. I ...
and
Viva
Viva may refer to:
Companies and organisations
* Viva (network operator), a Dominican mobile network operator
* Viva Air, a Spanish airline taken over by flag carrier Iberia
* Viva Air Dominicana
* VIVA Bahrain, a telecommunication company
* V ...
. "I've Got Nothing" was released exclusively through the
iTunes Store
The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
at midnight on 9 November 2009 and reached No. 36 on the UK Singles Chart. Sales of the single raised a total of approximately £10,000 for Children in Need.
McDonnell was purportedly approached to be a Housemate on the eighth series, and first revived series, of ''
Celebrity Big Brother'' but declined the offer.
In October 2013, it was announced that McDonnell was to play the main voice role along with
Danny Wallace in
Mike Bithell
Michael Bithell is a British video game designer, Video game developer, developer, and podcaster best known for his work on ''Thomas Was Alone'' and ''Volume (video game), Volume''. He is a regular host of the ''Play, Watch, Listen'' podcast, al ...
's indie video game ''
Volume
Volume is a measure of occupied three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch). ...
''. The game was released in 2015 for
PS4,
PC and
Mac and in 2016 for
PlayStation Vita
The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international terri ...
.
In 2014, McDonnell worked with the
Home Office on their ''This Is Abuse'' Campaign, alongside other prominent YouTubers, in order to educate people about the importance of consensual sex. She also made a video regarding consent on her YouTube channel.
Presenting roles
On 6 June 2010, McDonnell presented the YouTube Audience Award to ''
The Inbetweeners
''The Inbetweeners'' is a British coming-of-age television teen sitcom, which originally aired on E4 from 2008 until 2010 and was created and written by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris. The series follows the misadventures of suburban teenager ...
'' as part of the
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
Television Awards.
In July 2010 McDonnell was signed up alongside ''
KateModern'' star Emma Pollard and ''
X Factor'' contestants Nicola and Fran Gleadall to present a TV show run by
Piers Morgan
Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; né O'Meara; born 30 March 1965) is a British broadcaster, journalist, writer, and television personality. He began his Fleet Street career in 1988 at ''The Sun (United Kingdom), The Sun''. In 1994, aged 29, he was ...
called ''FirstTV'', an offshoot of ''
First News
''First News'' is a UK newspaper for young readers. It is published in a full colour tabloid format every Friday, and aims to present current events and politics in a child-friendly format, alongside news on entertainment, sport and computer g ...
'' newspaper. On ''FirstTV'' McDonnell did a few challenges like trying to break a
Guinness world record
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
by
typing
Typing is the process of writing or inputting text by pressing keys on a typewriter, computer keyboard, mobile phone or calculator. It can be distinguished from other means of text input, such as handwriting and speech recognition. Text can b ...
the
alphabet
An alphabet is a standardized set of basic written graphemes (called letters) that represent the phonemes of certain spoken languages. Not all writing systems represent language in this way; in a syllabary, each character represents a syllab ...
on an
iPad
The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, ...
keyboard
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Mu ...
quickest and she got asked to tell a
joke
A joke is a display of humour in which words are used within a specific and well-defined narrative structure to make people laughter, laugh and is usually not meant to be interpreted literally. It usually takes the form of a story, often with ...
. However, after filming four episodes of ''FirstTV'', McDonnell decided to leave the show because she did not enjoy presenting pre-scripted work.
On 4 September 2010, McDonnell and fellow YouTuber Myles Dyer co-presented Stickaid, a 24-hour live web show. Starting from 12:00 noon
BST, the two hosted the fifth annual charity event from
Middlesex University's Trent Park campus in London. Their goal was to raise £10,000 ($15,900), which they more than doubled. All the proceedings went to
UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to c ...
.
In November 2010, McDonnell was part of a group of YouTube videos called ''The Science of Attraction'' where she hosted a few experiments and had her body digitally swapped with somebody else's. She was a co-presenter with Kat Akingbade and Derren Brown. As part of the series, eight videos were produced. In December 2010, McDonnell filmed a series of behind-the-scenes videos for ''
Doctor Who Confidential'' during the filming of the ''Doctor Who'' Christmas special
"A Christmas Carol".
Personal life
In March 2014, McDonnell announced on her blog that she had terminated her friendship with frequent collaborator
Alex Day, stating that "I just don’t feel able to call Alex a friend of mine anymore", following allegations that Day had sexually manipulated and emotionally abused women, and cheated on past girlfriends.
McDonnell considers herself an
atheist
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
.
On 6 October 2022, McDonnell announced on her Instagram account that she is
transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...
and uses
she/her
In Modern English, ''she'' is a singular, feminine, third-person pronoun.
Morphology
In Standard Modern English, ''she'' has four shapes representing five distinct word forms:
* ''she'': the nominative (subjective) form
* ''her'': the accu ...
and
they/them
Singular ''they'', along with its inflected or derivative forms, ''them'', ''their'', ''theirs'' and ''themselves'' (or ''themself''), is a gender-neutral third-person pronoun. It typically occurs with an unspecified antecedent, in sentence ...
pronouns.
Notes
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonnell, Charlie
1990 births
Living people
British Internet celebrities
Chartjackers
DFTBA Records creators
English atheists
English expatriates in Canada
English video bloggers
English female YouTubers
English women film directors
People educated at Beechen Cliff School
People from Bath, Somerset
People from Somerset
YouTube vloggers
English women musicians
Transgender women musicians
LGBT YouTubers
LGBT musicians from England