Jeffree Star (born Jeffrey Lynn Steininger Jr., November 15, 1985) is an American

YouTuber A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006. Influence Influent ...

, makeup artist, and former singer-songwriter. He is the founder and owner of

Jeffree Star Cosmetics Jeffree Star Cosmetics is an American cosmetics company founded by internet personality Jeffree Star. Star claims to have invested his life savings to start the company's makeup line in 2014 with an initial three liquid lipstick colors. The comp ...

. In 2009, Star released a studio album, ''

Beauty Killer ''Beauty Killer'' is the only studio album by American singer Jeffree Star, released on September 21, 2009 under Popsicle Records through Warner Music Group's Independent Label Group.(5 May 2009) The album was mostly produced by God's Paparazzi, ...

'', which included songs such as "

Lollipop Luxury "Lollipop Luxury" is a song by American recording artist and songwriter Jeffree Star. It is the only single from the album '' Cupcakes Taste Like Violence''. The song was written by Jeffree Star and Nico Hartikainen in 2008 and it was produced by ...

" featuring

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...

. He embarked on several world tours to promote his music. In 2010, he signed to

Konvict Muzik Konvict Muzik is a record label founded by R&B singer Akon.Melvin Brown: Konvict Business ...

but abruptly left the music industry by 2013 citing legal issues the label’s owner faced between 2007 and 2010. In November 2014, Star founded the company Jeffree Star Cosmetics. In 2018, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' revealed that he had earned $18 million from his YouTube endeavors alone, making him the fifth-highest-paid YouTuber that year.

Early life

Jeffree Lynn Steininger Jr. was born in

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...

, on November 15, 1985 and grew up in

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

. He says that he began experimenting with his mother's

makeup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

as a child, and convinced her to let him wear it to school when he was in

junior high A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school ...

. Star attended Pacifica High School in

Garden Grove, California Garden Grove is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, located just southwest of Disneyland (located in Anaheim, CA). The population was 171,949 at the 2020 census. State Route 22, also known as the Garden Grove Freeway, ...

, where he graduated in 2002. After high school, he legally changed his name to Jeffree Star and relocated to Los Angeles where he supported himself with various makeup, modeling, and music jobs. He recalls his early years, spending his weekends using a

fake ID Identity document forgery is the process by which identity documents issued by governing bodies are copied and/or modified by persons not authorized to create such documents or engage in such modifications, for the purpose of deceiving those ...

to attend Hollywood clubs, which is where celebrities would hire him as a personal makeup artist. (Interview transcript; original source uncredited)

Career

MySpace

Star used MySpace to further both his music as well as fashion design career. Using MySpace like a blog, Star shared his personal life, while also providing social commentary on "self-image and confidence", fame and beauty. Due to his use of several websites, Star already had a built-up fan base who signed up to join him on MySpace, giving his profile a large number of friends from its inception. His MySpace photoshoots would frequently gain over 50,000 comments. He also gained fame as one of the most popular

independent artists Independent music (also commonly known as indie music or simply indie) is music that is produced independently from commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, a process that may include an autonomous, do-it-yourself approach to recording a ...

, with the daily rankings placing him in the top tier on MySpace.

Music career

Star's career as an

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

and pop vocalist began when he befriended

Peaches The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fu ...

' drummer

Samantha Maloney Samantha Maloney (born December 11, 1975) is an American musician best known for playing in the bands Hole and Mötley Crüe. She has also performed live with Eagles of Death Metal and Peaches. Early career Maloney received her first drum-kit a ...

, who encouraged him to make music. During the summer of 2007, he was advertised as a part of the

True Colors Tour 2007 True Colors was an annual music event created by American recording artist Cyndi Lauper. The concerts were headlined by Lauper and featured various music and comedy acts. Beginning in 2007, the trek supported the Human Rights Campaign, Parents, F ...

, which traveled through 15 cities in the United States and Canada. The tour, sponsored by the

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

Logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...

channel, began on June 8, 2007, to coincide with

Pride Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...

month. Star released his first and only studio album ''

'' in 2009, which peaked at number seven on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Top Electronic Albums Top Dance/Electronic Albums, Dance/Electronic Albums (formerly Top Electronic Albums) is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine which ranks the top-selling electronic music albums in the United States based on sales compiled by ...

chart. The album included songs such as "

" featuring

. He embarked on several world tours to promote his music. In 2010, he signed to

Konvict Muzik Konvict Muzik is a record label founded by R&B singer Akon.Melvin Brown: Konvict Business ...

—whose founder

Akon Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (; born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of " Locked Up" (featuring Styles P) ...

described Star as "the next

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

"—with plans to release a second album. However, it was never released and Star abruptly left the music industry in 2013 under unclear circumstances. He later described signing to Akon's record label as "the biggest mistake I've ever made." He appeared in the second version of

Kesha Kesha Rose Sebert (; born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. In 2005, at age 18, Kesha was signed to Kemosabe Records. Her first major success came in early 2009 after she was featured on America ...

's music video for her single " Take It Off" in 2010. Star has worked with several other musical performers, including

Blood on the Dance Floor Blood on the Dance Floor may refer to: *'' Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix'', a 1997 album by Michael Jackson ** "Blood on the Dance Floor" (song), a 1997 song by Michael Jackson from the album *Blood on the Dance Floor (band) Bl ...

Deuce Deuce, Deuces, or The Deuce may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Deuce, in the ''Danger Girl'' comic book series * Deuce, a character in ''Shake It Up'' * Deuce, in the ''Wild Cards'' science fiction universe * Deuce Biga ...

Millionaires A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. Depending on the currency, a certain level of prestige is associated with being a millionaire. In countries that use the short sc ...

, and

Larry Tee Larry Tee (born October 12, 1959) is a Berlin-based DJ, club promoter, and music producer who curated the electroclash scene in New York in the early 2000s, and helped launch the careers of such artists as RuPaul, Scissor Sisters, Fischerspooner ...

Conflicts with other media personalities

Star's quarrels with other media personalities include conversations with tattoo artist Kat Von D, who accused Star of "drug use, racism, and bullying";

Tati Westbrook Tatiana Aleksandra Westbrook (née Krievins, born February 14, 1982) is an American YouTuber and makeup artist. Career YouTube Westbrook, a former image consultant turned makeup artist, created her YouTube channel GlamLifeGuru, later renam ...

, who accused Star and

Shane Dawson Shane Lee Yaw (born July 19, 1988), better known as Shane Dawson, is an American YouTuber, actor, fimmaker, writer, and musician. One of the first people to rise to fame on YouTube, he began making videos in 2008 at the age of 19 and garnered ...

of forcing her to upload a video attacking fellow beauty YouTuber

James Charles James Charles Dickinson (born May 23, 1999) is an American beauty YouTuber and makeup artist. While working as a local makeup artist in his hometown of Bethlehem, New York, Charles started a YouTube channel, where he posts makeup tutorials. ...

, whose brother, Ian Jeffrey, was also bullied by Star on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

; Kylie Jenner, whose products were criticized by Star;

Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (formerly West; born October 21, 1980) is an American socialite, media personality, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the s ...

; and Jerrod Blandino, co-founder of Too Faced Cosmetics. In 2010, Star called

member

Dahvie Vanity Blood on the Dance Floor was an American electronic music group from Orlando, Florida, formed in 2006. The group's longest standing lineup, from 2009 to 2016, consisted of Jesus David Torres also known as Dahvie Vanity (born 1984) and Jayy Von ...

, who was arrested in 2009 on sexual assault charges, a " child fucker", tweeting that he saw Vanity "bring underage girls to his hotel room ..100% ILLEGAL". Star had said he had witnessed Vanity's actions in 2012. Other tweets show Star telling people to "get over the negativity" against Vanity, and promoting a Blood on the Dance Floor album. He was accused of associating with Vanity despite knowing about sexual assault allegations to profit off Vanity's continued success. Following a ''

HuffPost ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' report detailing sexual assault – before and after 2010 – against 21 individuals (many of whom were minors),

Chris Hansen Christopher Edward Hansen (born September 13, 1959) is an American television journalist and YouTube personality. He is known for his work on ''Dateline NBC'', in particular the former segment ''To Catch a Predator'', which revolved around catc ...

of ''

To Catch a Predator ''To Catch a Predator'' is an American reality television series in the television news magazine program ''Dateline NBC'' featuring confrontations with host Chris Hansen, partly filmed with a hidden camera, of adult men arriving at a sting h ...

'' started covering the story. Speaking to Hansen on YouTube, Star said he had no knowledge of any inappropriate activity between Vanity and underage girls while they worked together, and that his tweets were based on hearsay.

Jeffree Star Cosmetics

In 2014, Star founded his

e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain manageme ...

makeup brand, Jeffree Star Cosmetics. In a five-part docuseries by Shane Dawson, Star stated that the end of his music career had left him essentially bankrupt, and that he had used his remaining savings to start his makeup brand. Star began promoting the brand through videos published on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, 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 ...

, leading to the success of his YouTube channel, with 17.4 million subscribers and over 2.4 billion views as of October 2020. ''

Bustle A bustle is a padded undergarment used to add fullness, or support the drapery, at the back of women's dresses in the mid-to-late 19th century. Bustles are worn under the skirt in the back, just below the waist, to keep the skirt from dragging. ...

'' magazine described Star as "a musician and onetime MySpace celeb that reinvented himself in the YouTube makeup tutorial space." His first cosmetics release was a collection of velour liquid lipsticks, which were followed by highlighter palettes, lip scrubs, eyeshadow palettes, clothing, and accessories, such as mirrors and make up bags. The first East Coast location to carry the cosmetics line was a Morphe Cosmetics store at the Westfield Garden State Plaza in

Paramus, New Jersey Paramus ( Waggoner, Walter H ''The New York Times'', February 16, 1966. Accessed October 16, 2018. "Paramus – pronounced puh-RAHM-us, with the accent on the second syllable – may have taken its name from 'perremus' or 'perymus,' Indian for ...

on August 11, 2018. Star has since launched several successful collections, such as the "Blue Blood" eyeshadow palette.

Personal life

Star was in a relationship with Nathan Schwandt from 2015 to January 2020. Star claims to abstain from alcohol, despite previously tweeting about drinking

vodka Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuritie ...

on multiple occasions. He also says that he avoids cigarettes and hard drugs, although he does smoke

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...

, which is legal in California, where Star used to live. In Wyoming, however, the state has some of the strictest cannabis laws in the United States. As of December 2020, Star currently resides in

Casper, Wyoming Casper is a city in, and the county seat of, Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. Casper is the second-largest city in the state, with the population at 59,038 as of the 2020 census. Only Cheyenne, the state capital, is larger. Casper is nic ...

. Following a car accident in

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

on April 16, 2021, Star and his friend were both hospitalized. He broke his back and had several fractures on his spine.

Controversies

Star was accused of

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

due to derogatory remarks about minorities. He later apologized for the remarks. A satirical skit between Star and a drag queen was posted on MySpace, in which Star allegedly states he wants to throw battery acid on a black woman to lighten her skin so it will match her foundation. In June 2020, Star apologized after images and an archive of his former website Lipstick Nazi resurfaced. The website featured

swastikas The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...

alongside photos of Star engaging in self-harm. In an October 2020 report by journalist

Kat Tenbarge Kat Tenbarge is an American journalist, who is currently working as a tech and culture reporter for NBC News after previously working as a senior reporter at Business Insider, Insider. She specializes in reporting on internet culture and Internet ...

, Star was accused of multiple instances of

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

, assault, and paying $10,000 in

hush money Hush money is a term for an arrangement in which one person or party offers another an attractive sum of money or other enticement, in exchange for remaining silent about some illegal, stigmatized, or shameful behavior, action, or other fact abo ...

to accusers. An attorney for Star denied all the allegations. Leaked documents later appeared to show one of Star's accusers being paid $45,000 by a Jeffree Star Cosmetics executive.

Filmography

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Star, Jeffree 1985 births Living people 21st-century American singers American YouTubers American bloggers American electronic musicians American fashion designers American make-up artists American male bloggers American male singer-songwriters American performance artists American male pop singers American synth-pop musicians Beauty and makeup YouTubers LGBT YouTubers LGBT fashion designers LGBT people from California LGBT rights activists from the United States LGBT singers from the United States LGBT songwriters American male YouTubers Male models from California Singer-songwriters from California Warner Music Group artists American cosmetics businesspeople YouTube vloggers YouTube controversies 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people