Colleen Ballinger facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Colleen Ballinger
Colleen Ballinger in 2019
Personal information
Born	Colleen Mae Ballinger (1986-11-21) November 21, 1986 (age 38) Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
Occupation	Comedian YouTuber actress singer writer
Spouse(s)	Joshua Evans ​ ​ (m. 2015; div. 2016)​ Erik Stocklin ​ (m. 2018)​
YouTube information
Years active	2008–present
Genre	Comedy vlog
Total views	5.1 billion

Colleen Mae Ballinger (born November 21, 1986) is an American comedian, YouTuber, actress, singer, and writer. She is famous for creating and playing the online character Miranda Sings. Colleen posts videos of Miranda on YouTube and performs live shows around the world.

She also created and starred in a Netflix show called Haters Back Off (2016–2017). Colleen made Miranda Sings to make fun of people who sing badly online but think they are amazing. Miranda is a funny character who is very confident but not very talented.

Colleen also shares comedy and daily life videos on her personal YouTube channel and a vlog channel called Colleen Vlogs. Her YouTube channels together have over 5 billion views. The Miranda Sings channel has more than 10 million subscribers. The Miranda character also has over 13 million TikTok followers and 6 million Instagram followers.

Colleen won a Teen Choice Award for "Web Star: Comedy." She also won a Streamy Award for Best Actress. Colleen has acted and sung in plays, TV shows, and web series. She was in the web series Escape the Night (2018–2019). She also played Dawn in the Broadway musical Waitress in 2019.

Colleen has appeared on The Tonight Show three times (2016–2017). She has also published two popular books written as Miranda: Selp-Helf (2015) and My Diarrhe (2018).

Early Life and Education

All four Ballinger siblings, from left: Trent, Rachel, Colleen and Chris, in 2015

Colleen Ballinger was born and grew up in Santa Barbara, California. Her parents are Tim and Gwen Ballinger. Colleen was homeschooled during middle school. She went to San Marcos High School.

In 2008, she graduated from Azusa Pacific University. She studied vocal performance there. Colleen has two older brothers, Christopher and Trent. She also has a younger sister, Rachel.

Colleen's Career Journey

Acting and Performances

From 2007 to 2009, Colleen performed at Disneyland in California. She also taught singing, dancing, and piano to children. In 2009, she played Kelsi Nielsen in High School Musical at a theater in Claremont.

In 2012, Colleen was a nurse in the web series Dr. Fubalous. She also gave a talk about using social media to promote yourself as a performer. In 2013, she appeared in the web series The Flipside and Hipsterhood. She also played Meg in a live-action version of the Family Guy introduction.

In 2015, Colleen was a guest host on The View. She also appeared in a video by Todrick Hall. Later that year, she starred in a six-episode makeup parody series called How to Makeup. This show featured her both as herself and as Miranda Sings.

Colleen appeared in commercials for DiGiorno pizza in 2016. In 2018, she was in season 3 of the web series Escape the Night. She also had a small voice role in the animated movie Ralph Breaks the Internet. She appeared in the Ariana Grande music video "Thank U, Next".

In 2019, she was in season 4 of Escape the Night. She made her Broadway debut in the musical Waitress in August 2019. Her performances helped the musical earn more money at the box office. In 2020, Colleen played Janet in a live reading of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. In 2021, she voiced Crandy in the Netflix animated series Centaurworld.

Comedy and YouTube Videos

Colleen Ballinger opening her act as herself, in 2014, before changing into Miranda

In 2009, Colleen started earning a living by performing her live comedy show as Miranda Sings. She has toured all over the world. She says her live shows are the most satisfying part of her career.

Colleen has over 2,000 videos on her YouTube channels. Her personal channel has comedy, Q&A videos, and challenges. She also vlogs about her life with family and friends. This channel has over 1.9 billion views and 8 million subscribers.

Her Miranda Sings channel has over 2.3 billion views and 10 million subscribers. A third channel, Colleen Vlogs, has over 3 million subscribers and 900 million views. This channel shows her experiences at home and on tour.

Colleen uses social media to promote her videos and shows. Miranda has over 13 million TikTok followers and 6 million Instagram followers. Colleen herself has 8 million TikTok followers and 7 million Instagram followers. She also has millions of followers on Twitter and Facebook.

Colleen earns money from YouTube advertising and brand deals. In 2016, Forbes magazine listed her as one of the highest-earning YouTubers. Since 2021, Colleen and her husband, Erik Stocklin, have streamed weekly podcasts called Relax! with Colleen and Erik. They post these on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

Miranda Sings: The Character

Miranda's YouTube Videos

"Miranda Sings" at VidCon 2014 in Anaheim, California

Since 2008, Colleen has posted hundreds of videos as Miranda Sings on the YouTube channel Miranda Sings. Miranda is a funny character who is not talented but thinks she is amazing. She makes fun of people who post bad singing videos online but don't realize how bad they are.

Miranda is supposed to be a young woman who lives with her mother and uncle. She is quirky and believes she was born famous. She is obsessed with becoming a star. In her videos, Miranda sings pop songs off-key. She also complains about "haters" online. She gives "tutorials" and talks about current events, which she often misunderstands.

Miranda uses funny words and phrases. She is easily annoyed, very self-centered, and socially awkward. She has a defiant attitude. When people criticize her videos, she says, "Haters back off!" She tells them, "haters make me famous." Miranda has active eyebrows and a crooked smile. She wears bright red lipstick outside her lips and mismatched clothes. She often dances stiffly.

Colleen based Miranda partly on young women she knew in college. She saw many confident girls who thought they were talented but were rude. She also saw girls trying to become famous by posting singing videos, not realizing they were terrible. At first, Miranda's videos were a joke among Colleen's friends.

In March 2009, a Miranda video called "Free Voice Lesson" became very popular. It showed bad advice about singing. Miranda's videos got a lot of criticism online. As they became more popular, Colleen changed the character based on the negative comments. She said, "I took what people hated and exaggerated it more." Miranda became a "hero of the anti-bullying movement."

After Colleen became pregnant in 2018, Miranda had a pregnancy storyline. Miranda claimed she was the "virgin Miranda" and had a "virgin conception." Colleen talked about this on a TV show in July 2018. When Colleen gave birth, she tweeted about it from both her and Miranda's accounts.

Miranda's Live Comedy Shows

Starting in April 2009, Colleen performed her one-woman comedy show as Miranda Sings. She performed in theaters in New York, London, and many other cities worldwide. Critics called Miranda "the hottest, freshest and oddest breakout star."

In her live shows, Miranda sings pop hits and musical theater songs in her unique off-key style. She used to give "voice lessons" to famous stars like Ariana Grande. She would criticize their performances and tell them to quit show business. She also reads hate mail she received and interacts with audience members. Her shows include funny presentations with terrible spelling. She also does a "magic trick" where she sings with a sword through her neck. The joke is that she sings better with the sword in her neck!

Miranda, with Rachel Ballinger, on stage in 2014

In her 2014 "Selp Helf" tour, Miranda taught her audience how to get a boyfriend by being more like her. Reviewers said Colleen was so convincing as Miranda that you would forget there was a normal person behind the red lips. One reviewer said the show was "as theatrical as it is musical, comedic as it is inspirational."

Colleen performed Miranda shows in 57 cities in 2014. Her 2015 tours included a "Miranda 4 Pre|cident" theme and a "Summer Camp" theme. In 2015, Miranda was a main act at the Just for Laughs festival. She also released a film version of her stage show on Vimeo, called Miranda Sings: Selp Helf.

In 2016, a critic noted that Miranda's show "resonated with parents as well as the younger set." She performed as Miranda at the Kennedy Center in April 2016. She toured Miranda shows in the US, England, Ireland, Germany, and Denmark in late 2016. Her tours in 2017 were called "Miranda Sings Live ... Your Welcome." These shows involved Miranda celebrating her own funeral. She continued touring in Europe, Australia, and the US until early 2018. Her mid-2018 tour was called Miranda Sings Live ... No Offense.

A Netflix comedy special, Miranda Sings Live... Your Welcome, was released on June 4, 2019. It was filmed live at the Kennedy Center. The New York Times said her humor "simultaneously draws laughs and cringes – and it works." In June 2019, Colleen started touring a Miranda show called "Who Wants My Kid?". This tour continued into early 2020. Her 2022 tour was called her "funniest one yet." She continued to tour until June 2023.

Other Miranda Appearances

In 2009, Colleen released a Christmas EP called Christmas With Miranda Sings. Miranda has been in radio, TV, and internet interviews. Colleen has also appeared as Miranda at award shows and charity concerts.

In 2012, Miranda appeared in a comedy film, Varla Jean and the Mushroomheads. She was also in an episode of the TV show Victorious on Nickelodeon. Miranda appeared in an Australian web show called Dance Chat in 2013. She also appeared in a 2014 back-to-school video for Old Navy.

Colleen guest-starred as Miranda Sings on Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee with Jerry Seinfeld in 2014. Seinfeld called Miranda "a very well-developed character." In December 2014, Colleen appeared as Miranda on The Tonight Show. She played Pictionary with Jimmy Fallon, Martin Short, and Jerry Seinfeld. Us Weekly called it "the most hilarious game night ever."

In 2015, Colleen appeared as Miranda on The Grace Helbig Show. She also released a book, Selp-Helf, published by Simon & Schuster. The book is a funny "how-to" guide written in Miranda's voice by Colleen and her brother Christopher. It became a No. 1 best-seller on Publishers Weekly and The New York Times lists.

She released a second book, My Diarrhe, in 2018. It was written as a leaked diary. It debuted at No. 8 on The New York Times Best Seller list. Colleen appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in July 2018 to promote the book.

Colleen appeared as Miranda on the 2016 YouTube Premium series Prank Academy. She also helped create, write, and produce the Netflix series, Haters Back Off. She starred as Miranda in the show. The series was about Miranda's unusual family and her journey to becoming a famous YouTuber. The show ran for two seasons in 2016 and 2017. To promote Haters Back Off, Colleen appeared on many talk shows.

In 2022, Colleen, as Miranda, returned to TV as a guest star on the game show Generation Gap.

Colleen's Personal Life

Colleen moved to New York City in 2010 to find more acting jobs. But she moved back to the West Coast of the United States in 2012. This allowed her to work with more YouTubers, many of whom lived in Los Angeles.

In July 2015, Colleen married Joshua Evans in California. In September 2016, they announced they were getting divorced. Colleen met actor Erik Stocklin in 2016. She cast him to play Miranda's boyfriend, Patrick, in Haters Back Off. The couple started dating in early 2018 and got married later that year. They have three children together.

Filmography

Movies

TV and Web Series

Awards and Nominations