Rachel Hofstetter

Rachell Hofstetter (born January 8, 1992), better known as Valkyrae, is an American Internet personality. She has been YouTube's most-watched female streamer since 2020, and appeared on ''Forbes''' 30 Under 30 list in 2022. She was named "Gaming Creator of the Year" by ''Adweek'', and has won a Game Award and a Streamy Award.

Hofstetter is a co-owner of 100 Thieves, an esports and an apparel company, and has been a content creator for the brand since 2018. Hofstetter is an advocate for women in online gaming, sometimes playing games on all-female teams.

Career

Early work and recognition (2014–2020)

After graduating from community college, Hofstetter worked various jobs, including a job at GameStop. In 2014, while working, she began sharing her gaming hobby on Instagram, gaining a significant following. She was encouraged by various Instagram followers, friends, and Twitch streamers to start streaming on Twitch, beginning in 2015. After gathering a following, Hofstetter began posting gaming videos on YouTube.

In 2018, she became the first female gamer and content creator for 100 Thieves, a competitive American esports team. On January 13, 2020, Hofstetter left Twitch for an exclusive streaming contract on YouTube. While initially struggling to maintain an average viewer count of 5,000 towards the beginning of 2020, her YouTube channel experienced a significant boost when she started playing the online multiplayer social deduction game '' Among Us'' and began collaborating with popular streamers including Disguised Toast, Sykkuno, Pokimane, Jacksepticeye, Cr1TiKaL, Corpse Husband, xChocoBars, and Fuslie.

Hofstetter became the fastest growing female streamer of the year and surpassed Pokimane as the most-viewed female streamer of 2020. Towards the end of 2020, Hofstetter's stream regularly peaked at concurrent viewer counts exceeding 100,000, typically during ''Among Us'' sessions.

Breakthrough and expansion (2021–present)

On April 7, 2021, Hofstetter was announced as a co-owner of 100 Thieves alongside fellow 100 Thieves content creator, CouRageJD. They join Scooter Braun, Dan Gilbert, the rapper Drake, and founder Matthew 'Nadeshot' Haag. As co-owners, Valkyrae and CouRage will receive equity in the company, which Forbes magazine recently valued at $190 million. In March 2021, Hofstetter and content creator Natsumiii released a cover version of the song "Last Cup of Coffee" by LilyPichu. Later that month, she portrayed Corpse Husband in the music video for the song " Daywalker!" by Machine Gun Kelly featuring Corpse Husband. Hofstetter additionally made cameo appearances in music videos for Bella Poarch's songs "Build a Bitch" and "Inferno" later that year.

Hofstetter, alongside Sykkuno and Corpse Husband, participated in a fundraiser for Feeding America hosted by Jimmy Fallon as a part of a segment for '' The Tonight Show'' in April. The segment included them playing ''Among Us'' with members of the American hip hop band The Roots, Tariq Trotter, Kirk Douglas, and Questlove, as well as cast members of the critically acclaimed American TV series ''Stranger Things'', Gaten Matarazzo and Noah Schnapp.

RFLCT controversy

On October 19, 2021, Hofstetter announced the launch of her skincare brand RFLCT. The brand, primarily geared towards gamers and those who put in heavy screen time, claimed that users are susceptible to skin damage caused by prolonged exposure to blue light, and that their products protect against it. RFLCT received backlash due to insufficient evidence supporting the claim; according to Kathleen Suozzi, the director of the aesthetic dermatology program at Yale University, unless someone was already prone to melasma or hyperpigmentation, they were unlikely to suffer any consequence of sitting in front of a screen for long periods of time.

Hofstetter addressed RFLCT's criticisms in October 2021, 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 website, stating that updates were being made to the website. She later revealed that she had previously been given access to research conducted by RFLCT supporting the products and that the research would be publicly available at product launch, however, she was informed post-launch that the research could not be released to the public. Hofstetter then expressed a desire to part ways with RFLCT, but was contractually bound. 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."

Personal life

Hofstetter is of part Filipino and German descent and was raised in Moses Lake, Washington. She has two brothers and one younger sister. Her father died of cancer in 2017. She graduated with an associate in arts from a community college in Washington.

Discography

Singles

As a featured artist

Filmography

Television

Music videos

Competitions

Awards and nominations

See also

* List of YouTubers

References

External links

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*{{imdb name, 10758613

1992 births
American people of German descent
American people of Filipino descent
American YouTubers
American female YouTubers
Gaming YouTubers
Let's Players
Living people
People from Los Angeles
People from Washington (state)
People from Moses Lake, Washington
The Game Awards winners
YouTube streamers