PewDiePie
Born 1989 · Age 36
Swedish YouTuber known as PewDiePie; pioneer of gaming Let's Plays and one of YouTube's most-followed creators, notable for subscriber/view milestones, several controversies, original programs, merchandise, and philanthropic drives.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Gothenburg, Sweden
Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg born to Lotta (Johanna) and Ulf Kjellberg in Gothenburg; grew up with older sister Fanny.
Registered first YouTube account 'Pewdie'
Created original YouTube account named 'Pewdie' (later lost access until 2012); early gaming uploads predate main channel.
Supported early videos with odd jobs
Worked selling prints, as a harbor captain and at a hot dog stand to fund video equipment.
Left Chalmers University of Technology
Departed Chalmers (industrial engineering and management) in 2011 period to pursue other interests (later clarified he left due to lack of interest in course).
Registered 'PewDiePie' YouTube channel
Created the channel that would become his primary platform for Let's Plays and vlogs.
Uploaded oldest currently viewable video
Uploaded 'Minecraft Multiplayer Fun' (oldest video still available on main channel).
Reached ~60,000 subscribers (Dec 2011)
Channel grew to roughly 60k subscribers by end of 2011 before rapid growth in 2012.
Signed to Machinima (early network affiliation)
Was associated with Machinima prior to switching to Maker; later reported feeling neglected and pursued release from contract.
Launched 'Fridays with PewDiePie' weekly vlogs
Started a recurring Friday vlog series as a diversion from Let's Plays and to interact with viewers.
Spoke at Nonick Conference
Spoke publicly at Nonick Conference (around time channel had ~700k subscribers).
Surpassed 1,000,000 subscribers
Channel reached 1 million subscribers in July 2012 amid rapid growth.
Public apology and cessation of rape jokes
Addressed criticism for use of rape jokes and publicly announced he would stop making such jokes.
OpenSlate ranked channel No.1 (Oct 2012)
Industry ranking placed PewDiePie at top of YouTube channels for influence at that time.
Signed to Maker Studios (Dec 2012)
Joined Maker Studios (multi-channel network) to help scale merchandise, apps and growth; previously left Machinima.
Reached 5 million subscribers (Feb 18, 2013)
Rapid subscriber growth continues; major platform presence established.
Won Starcount Social Star Awards (May 2013)
Won 'Swedish Social Star' and 'Most Popular Social Show' at inaugural Starcount Social Stars Awards in Singapore.
Published 'A Funny Montage' (June 2013)
Released a compilation video that became one of his most-viewed uploads for years.
Surpassed 10 million subscribers (July 2013)
Milestone marking mainstream dominance on YouTube.
Signed with Polaris (August 2013)
Joined Polaris (Maker's gaming sub-network) as part of Maker Studios' gaming relaunch.
Became most-subscribed channel on YouTube (15 Aug 2013)
Overtook Smosh to become the most-subscribed channel (received Guinness World Records certificate).
Channel regained most-subscribed (23 Dec 2013 -> note: regained late 2013)
After a back-and-forth with YouTube Spotlight and others, his channel firmly reclaimed top subscriber spot by late 2013 into 2014.
Disabled YouTube comments (Sept 2014) then re-enabled with moderation (Oct 13, 2014)
Publicly turned comments off citing spam/abuse and later allowed them under approval to redirect discussion to forums.
Became most-viewed channel on YouTube (29 Dec 2014)
Channel became most-viewed on platform; had amassed over ~7 billion views by that date per Social Blade.
Announced and filmed YouTube Red series 'Scare PewDiePie' (Sept 2015)
Traveled to Los Angeles to shoot a YouTube Red reality/web television series, which premiered Feb 2016.
First YouTube account to surpass 10 billion total views (6 Sep 2015)
Noted as the first individual account to reach 10 billion views on YouTube.
Published book 'This Book Loves You' (Oct 2015)
Released a book of humorous aphorisms and designs (widely publicized in 2015).
Launched Revelmode network (Jan 2016)
Partnered with Maker Studios to launch Revelmode, a sub-network to produce original shows with other creators.
Named one of Time's 100 most influential people (2016)
Recognized by Time magazine as one of the world's 100 most influential people.
First YouTuber to surpass 50 million subscribers (Dec 2016)
Channel reached 50M subscribers; he uploaded a video joking he'd delete his channel; received a custom Play Button.
Fiverr video controversy (Jan 2017)
Uploaded video featuring Fiverr workers holding a sign reading 'Death to all Jews' (said intent was to show website oddities); sparked major criticism.
Wall Street Journal report and fallout (Feb 2017)
WSJ article alleged recurring antisemitic imagery/jokes; Maker Studios and Google severed certain business ties; Scare PewDiePie season 2 cancelled; Google Preferred removal.
Used a racial slur during livestream; apologized (Sept 2017)
During a PUBG livestream used the n-word; later apologized and faced developer pushback and criticism.
Raised profile of formatted shows (2018)
Regularly posted series formats such as You Laugh You Lose, LWIAY, Meme Review and Pew News, shifting away from pure Let's Plays.
Uploaded LWIAY video about T-Series (Sept 2018)
Noted T-Series' projected growth and began public subscriber 'competition' that became a global meme/campaign.
Released 'Bitch Lasagna' diss track (5 Oct 2018)
Diss track aimed at Indian record label T-Series; became his most-viewed video and intensified 'subscriber war'.
Gained ~6.62M subscribers in December 2018
Explosive subscriber growth credited largely to 'Subscribe to PewDiePie' campaigns and visibility.
Story mention in Christchurch shooter (15 Mar 2019 aftermath)
Perpetrator of Christchurch mosque shootings referenced 'subscribe to PewDiePie' leading him to publicly condemn and ask followers to end the meme.
T-Series overtook PewDiePie in subscribers (27 Mar 2019)
T-Series became the most-subscribed YouTube channel; PewDiePie briefly regained the position multiple times thereafter.
Released 'Congratulations' diss track (31 Mar 2019)
Sarcastic music video directed at T-Series that temporarily helped regain subscribers and publicity.
Asked fans to stop 'Subscribe to PewDiePie' meme (28 Apr 2019)
Published video urging followers to end the meme due to increasingly harmful incidents tied to it.
Married Marzia Bisognin (19 Aug 2019)
Public wedding in Kew Gardens, London to long-time partner Marzia; personal milestone shaping subsequent life decisions.
Surpassed 100 million subscribers (25 Aug 2019)
First individual YouTuber to pass 100M subscribers; awarded Red Diamond Play Button; channel reached over 110M later.
Announced $50,000 donation to Anti-Defamation League (Sept 2019) then withdrew
Announced donation funded via Honey sponsorship; withdrew donation two days later after fan backlash and opted to choose another charity later.
Returned from brief hiatus; faced COVID-19 jokes criticism (Feb 2020)
After a short break made videos referencing COVID-19; received backlash and posted follow-up defenses/apologies.
Signed exclusive streaming deal with YouTube (May 2020)
Committed to stream exclusively on YouTube as the platform courted prominent streamers.
Allegations of channel 'shadowban' on YouTube (Oct 2020)
Fans noticed his channel and uploads not appearing in searches; YouTube acknowledged system issues and apologized.
Announced he considered himself 'retired' from YouTube (Nov 2020)
Uploaded a Q&A reflecting that since earlier in 2020 he felt internally 'retired' and planned to upload for enjoyment rather than as a full-time career.
Moved to Japan with wife Marzia (May 2022)
Relocated from England to Japan; began posting Japan daily-life vlogs and living on a five-year business visa.
Announced upload philosophy shift / soft retirement (Sept 2022)
Explained he would upload less frequently and for fun, embracing a less career-driven approach to content.
Announced indefinite hiatus for imminent fatherhood (29 Jun 2023)
Posted video stating he would stop uploading for a while due to upcoming fatherhood.
Returned to YouTube and announced he was a father
Returned with scheduled uploads and referenced being a dad ('I'm a dad now' video), marking a major personal milestone.
Public critique of YouTubers visiting Japan (May 2024)
Expressed discontent with an 'infestation' of YouTubers traveling to Japan to create attention-seeking content.
Completed drawing every day for a year; uploaded progress video (Nov 2024)
Published a video detailing progress after drawing daily for a year, illustrating shift to personal-interest content.
Key Achievement Ages
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