YouTube videos to late-night host: Who is Lilly Singh?

From university to YouTube - Her channel now has nearly 15 million subscribers, but starting out wasn't easy, especially when her parents weren't completely on board with the idea. Her description sums it up: “Spent thousands of dollars on tuition, graduated and got a degree. I make YouTube videos now.”

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Digging into her roots - At the beginning of her digital creator career, Singh slowly gained a loyal following from content based on her Punjabi heritage (her earliest public video was about how to tie a turban), which eventually took a hilarious turn.

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Punjabi jokes everyone can enjoy - Her most popular series features her fictional parents, Paramjeet and Manjeet (both played by Singh), reacting to trending videos, controversial topics, and more.

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She didn't limit herself to one category - Singh diversified her content to include satirical takes on everyday life, from music and pop culture to social situations and common complaints, which proved essential to reaching a global audience. Her most popular video is 2013's 'How Girls Get Ready.'

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SuperwomanVlogs - One year after getting started on YouTube, Singh launched a second channel called SuperwomanVlogs where, instead of sketches, she chronicles more of her own daily life, posting reviews, reactions, and challenge videos nearly every day.

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She even vlogged about her first vlog - So much has changed since her first vlog, and Singh knows it, so this year she made a video critiquing her first ever vlog. She yells at her past thin-eyebrowed self, calls herself “obnoxious,” and revels in how weird she is: “That has not changed.”

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She did it for herself - Mental health still holds a huge stigma in South Asian culture, but Singh explained that she first started making videos in her bedroom as a way to pull herself out of her depression.

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Little did she know a global audience awaited - Just as Singh loves the video-sharing website for providing a healthy outlet, the platform loves the star and has featured her in every YouTube Rewind video since 2014!

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YouTube provided something essential - "There is no casting director, there is no producer monitoring your upload button. Anyone that looks like anyone can upload a video,” Singh explained. She admires the way digital spaces like YouTube set an example for the rest of the entertainment industry.

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Her roster of celebrity collaborators - Will Smith, Dwayne Johnson, Selena Gomez, Seth Rogen, James Franco, Dr. Phil, Terry Crews, Hasan Minhaj, Priyanka Chopra, Shay Mitchell, Amber Rose, Bollywood star Madhuri Dixit, and many, many more have jumped at the chance to work with Singh.

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Live shows - In March 2015, Singh began a world tour called 'A Trip to Unicorn Island,' where she adapted her YouTube content for the stage and included singing, dancing, music performances, comedy, and her parent characters. The tour's 27 cities covered India, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, the UK, and the US.

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She also dabbled in the music scene - As if her winning personality wasn't enough, Singh has featured as a rapper on a few songs, one of which played in the Bollywood drama 'Gulaab Gang.' She collaborated with other Canadian artists like Humble the Poet (pictured) and Sickick, releasing songs and music videos—'#IVIVI,' for example, is an ode to Toronto.

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Forbes' Highest Paid YouTube Stars - Singh cracked the list in 2015, earning an estimated US$2.5 million from her channels and tour, among other projects. Two years later, she was ranked 10th on the Forbes list of the world's highest-paid YouTube stars, earning a reported US$10.5 million.

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Her first feature film - 'A Trip To Unicorn Island' (2016) follows her journey in planning and executing her tour, revealing a raw and genuine side to the funny lady. Singh said it was a really difficult experience because she had no control over the cameras, and there were consequently many emotional moments captured that she didn't particularly enjoy.

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Acting chops - Singh appeared in small roles in a few Indo-Canadian films, she voiced miniature unicorns named Bubbles and Misty in 'Ice Age: Collision Course,' played a cameo role in the movie 'Bad Moms' (2016), and had a role in HBO's film adaptation of 'Fahrenheit 451' (2017).

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She's a best-selling author - In March 2017, Singh released her first book, 'How to be a Bawse: A Guide to Conquering Life,' which quickly became a No. 1 New York Times best-seller.

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What is a "bawse" exactly? - Singh defines a bawse as someone who exudes confidence, achieves their goals, “gets hurt efficiently,” and smiles genuinely because they overcame every obstacle in their way and came out on top.

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And how do you conquer life? - People hungrily searched for the answer to how this Punjabi girl from Canada made it big, but Singh warned: “This book does NOT include hopeful thoughts, lucky charms, and cute quotes. That's because success, happiness and everything else you want in life needs to be fought for—not wished for.”

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Then there's the philanthropy, of course - With all that star power and a strong moral compass, Singh used her name and fame to become a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2017, to advocate for children's rights. She led a campaign called “GirlLove” to end girl-on-girl hate, and raised money for girls' education around the world.

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What can't she do? - As hard work has been her solution all her life, Singh put in real work and traveled to South Africa in July 2018 to actually meet students of elementary schools who are speaking against bullying and classroom violence. Instead of pushing new campaigns, she lent her support to their existing efforts.

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She created her own production company - Singh established Unicorn Island Productions to develop and produce inspirational and informative stories for film, TV and digital, across many genres—all with a focus on diverse female voices.

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Being a YouTube star isn't all fun and videos - In November 2018, Singh posted a video unlike any of her others, where she announced she would be taking a break. “This is not clickbait, I'm not trying to get on the trending page,” she assured fans, before explaining that she was "mentally, physically and emotionally and spiritually exhausted."

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Learning to prioritize health and happiness - Even with the money and the fame, Singh was scared to take a break, believing that as a creator she had to consistently pump out content at any cost. She took a note from other YouTube vloggers Alisha Marie and Grace Helbig, and practiced what she preached: prioritizing happiness.

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And then she came out! - With her relationship to the internet being so direct and open, it's fitting that Singh came out in a tweet. On February 25, 2019, she wrote a checklist, "Female, coloured, bisexual," to her 5.77 million followers. It's an especially significant declaration for the South Asian community.

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Coming out - "Throughout my life these have proven to be obstacles from time to time. But now I'm fully embracing them as my superpowers,” Superwoman herself added. “No matter how many 'boxes' you check, I encourage you to do the same."

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Opening up the social media platform -

As a “female, coloured, bisexual” person in the South Asian community, Singh continues to create much needed space for all LGBT women of color to speak about their experiences, and, most importantly, to laugh about them.

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A glass-ceiling moment - Lilly Singh will be taking over the 'Last Call With Carson Daly' spot on NBC, reportedly making her the only female late-night host on broadcast TV!

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