Jacksepticeye facts for kids

Quick facts for kids jacksepticeye
McLoughlin in 2018
Personal information
Born	Seán William McLoughlin (1990-02-07) 7 February 1990 (age 36) Ballinasloe, County Galway, Ireland
Education	Athlone Institute of Technology (BA (Hons))
Occupation	YouTuber actor
Signature
Subscriber and view counts updated as of 9 April 2026.

Seán William McLoughlin (born 7 February 1990), known online as jacksepticeye, is a famous Irish YouTuber. He creates fun videos that focus on gaming, comedy, and sharing his daily life through vlogs.

Seán grew up in Cloghan, County Offaly in Ireland and loved playing video games from a young age. He started his YouTube channel in December 2012. His channel quickly became popular, reaching one million subscribers in 2014 and 10 million by 2016. In 2017, Seán appeared on Disney XD and Irish television. He also went on tours in Europe and the US, sharing his story and playing games with fans.

In 2018, Seán began streaming special content on Twitch. He continued making YouTube videos and attending live events like Summer Game Fest in 2020. In 2021, he had a cameo role in the movie Free Guy, which starred Ryan Reynolds. The next year, he released a documentary called How Did We Get Here? about his life and career. In 2025, he voiced a character in the video game Dispatch. In 2026, he appeared in the horror film Iron Lung.

Seán is also the founder of the Top of The Mornin' Coffee company. He co-founded the clothing brand Cloak with fellow YouTuber Markiplier, but he is no longer involved with it. He is well-known for his charity work, helping to raise millions of dollars for many good causes.

Seán's Early Life and School

Seán William McLoughlin was born on 7 February 1990. He was the youngest of five children. He was born in Ballinasloe and grew up in Cloghan, Ireland. He also lived in Banagher for a while. His dad worked for the electricity company, and his mom had several jobs before becoming a caregiver.

Seán started playing video games when he was seven. He often played on his Nintendo Game Boy in a treehouse. He felt like he belonged in the world of games. As a child, people often called him Jack, a common nickname for Seán in Ireland. He got the nickname "Jack Septic Eye" after a small accident during a football game where he hurt his eye.

When he was 18, Seán and his family moved to a cabin in Ballycumber. He studied music technology and production at Limerick Institute of Technology. In his third year, he decided to leave college and go back home. Later, in 2014, he moved to Athlone and studied hotel management at the Athlone Institute of Technology. He earned a degree there. He lived in Athlone until 2017, then moved to Brighton, England. He moved for more privacy and to be part of a diverse community.

Seán's Online Career

McLoughlin at PAX East in 2016

Seán started uploading videos to YouTube in December 2012 under the name "jacksepticeye." At first, he focused on voice impressions. Soon, he switched to making videos about playing games. In 2013, another popular YouTuber, PewDiePie, mentioned Seán in one of his videos. This caused Seán's channel to grow from 2,500 to 15,000 subscribers in just four days!

Because his channel was so successful, Seán was able to make YouTube his full-time job by May 2014. In August of that year, he reached one million subscribers. By the end of 2014, he had 1.5 million. In February 2015, his channel had over one billion views and 3.2 million subscribers. The next year, he gained six million more subscribers. In January 2016, he joined PewDiePie's network, Revelmode. That year, he also helped host the South by Southwest Gaming Awards and appeared in the 2016 YouTube Rewind.

Seán was also in the second season of the YouTube Red show Scare PewDiePie. This season was planned for March 2017 but was cancelled due to issues with PewDiePie's content. After this, the Revelmode network closed. Seán then signed with the Disney Digital Network. In June 2017, Disney announced that Seán would be in a series called Polaris: Player Select on Disney XD. Later that year, he was featured in an Irish TV documentary, which introduced his content to more people in Ireland.

Seán went on tour in September and October 2017 with his How Did We Get Here show in the US. He then toured the UK and Europe with the Game Grumps on their Ready Player 3 tour. His How Did We Get Here show told the story of his life, from growing up in Ireland to becoming a famous YouTuber. He also played games with his fans during the show. In 2018, he performed this show at the Just for Laughs comedy festival. That year, it was announced that Seán would create special content for livestreaming on Twitch as part of a deal with Disney.

In 2019, Seán joined the talent agency WME. He also signed with the network Studio71. He was supposed to appear at a gaming and music festival, but it was cancelled. In 2020, Seán took part in Summer Game Fest, an online event that happened after E3 2020 was cancelled. In July 2021, he released a short film called "15 MONTHS" on his YouTube channel, which explored his experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Later that year, he signed with another talent agency, CAA.

Seán made a cameo in the movie Free Guy, released in August 2021. He even gave the director advice on how to make the film feel real to video game culture. In February 2022, Seán announced his documentary, How Did We Get Here?, which premiered on February 28. This film covers his life from childhood to his YouTube career and includes footage from his tour.

In July 2022, Seán mentioned on a podcast that he would likely stream less on Twitch. He wanted to focus more on his edited YouTube videos. In 2023, he co-hosted The Gamer and the Mouth, a show with gaming creators and comedians. In 2025, Seán played the character "Punch Up" in the video game Dispatch. In 2026, he appeared in Markiplier's horror film Iron Lung. Seán has also worked behind the scenes on other projects, including an animated show and movie adaptations of video games.

Seán's Influence and Earnings

Seán's influence and earnings have been recognized in many media lists. In September 2017, Forbes magazine included him in their list of Top Gaming Influencers. The next year, Forbes estimated him to be the eighth highest-paid YouTuber, earning about $16 million. In 2019, he was again listed as the eighth highest-paid gamer by Forbes, with estimated earnings of $11 million. He was also the third most talked about gaming personality on Twitter that year. In 2020, Seán was featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for "Sports & Games," described as "Ireland's most popular YouTuber."

According to research in 2021, Seán was the 6th most popular gaming streamer. In 2022, Forbes listed him at number 15 on their Top Creators list. He was also the seventh-highest earning gaming YouTuber that year, with an estimated income of €7.3 million from his YouTube videos. In 2023, he was again number 15 on Forbes' Top Creators list, being the eighth highest paid creator with an estimated income of $27 million. He was listed at number 23 with an estimated income of $18 million in both 2024 and 2025.

In June 2014, Seán's channel became one of the top 100 most-subscribed channels on YouTube. It was also the most-subscribed Irish channel. Since then, many publications, including the Irish Examiner and The Irish Times, have noted his channel as the most subscribed in Ireland.

Jacksepticeye's YouTube Content

Seán's YouTube channel mainly features "Let's Play" videos, where he plays games and provides commentary. He also creates comedy gaming videos and vlogs about his life. He plays a mix of popular and unique games. His videos often include collaborations with other famous YouTubers, especially his close friends Markiplier and PewDiePie. He has also interviewed traditional celebrities like Tom Holland, Dwayne Johnson, and Ryan Reynolds. Other content on his channel includes comedy sketches, short films, charity livestreams, and Q&A sessions.

Septic Eye Sam, the logo of the jacksepticeye channel; its prominent use of the colour green represents McLoughlin's Irish identity

His videos usually start with him giving a high five to the camera and saying, "Top of the morning to ya, laddies!" By 2023, he started using this phrase less often. He chose this greeting to show his Irish identity to his viewers. He believes his Irish identity and accent have helped him connect with his audience. His videos typically end with him encouraging his audience to "punch the 'like' button in the face, like a boss!" The color green is also a big theme in his content, representing his Irish heritage, and is seen in his YouTube logo, "Septic Eye Sam."

Seán's videos are carefully edited. His commentary while playing games is improvised, meaning he makes it up as he goes along. It includes humor, funny voices, and laughter. His commentary has been described as "genuine" and "authentic." He calls himself the "most energetic video-game commentator on YouTube." He describes his content as a "burst of energy" that people either love or find very intense. He has said that his success comes from a mix of energy, positivity, honesty, and consistency. Seán wants his channel to be an inclusive community, saying, "One of the main things I wanted to do on YouTube is to keep people together." He promotes a "positive mental attitude" in his videos, campaigns, and merchandise.

Sometimes, Seán uses elements of gothic storytelling in his horror game "Let's Plays." He also plays a character called Antisepticeye, which is an "evil presence" on his channel. This character involves his fans, who interact with it on social media. His audience also enjoys creating fan fiction based on his content. Besides YouTube, Seán also makes short videos for TikTok, which often focus on more personal topics.

How Often Seán Uploads Videos

For the first five years of his career, Seán uploaded two videos every day. Later, he reduced this to one video per day. In July 2018, Seán announced he was taking his first short break from uploading. He explained that he was struggling with his well-being and feeling tired from working too much. Many other online creators also talked about feeling tired from their work around this time.

In the following years, Seán continued to speak openly about feeling overworked and needing breaks. He took several more breaks from uploading. In July 2020, he took a break until August, saying he was exhausted from his daily uploading schedule. He decided he would no longer upload daily videos when he returned. His first video back on YouTube was watched over 2 million times on its first day. In January 2021, Seán took a break from recording and streaming due to personal grief. In July 2021, he took another break for over a month. He explained in an interview, "I feel like I've done it so often for so long that I just burnt myself out on it. I feel like if I'm not putting the energy that I'm known for... then I'd rather just take a step back."

Other Projects

Business Ventures

In October 2018, Seán announced Cloak, a clothing brand for gamers that he created with Markiplier. In June 2020, Twitch streamer Pokimane joined as a third partner. Cloak has released special collections with various games and internet personalities, including Minecraft Dungeons and Five Nights at Freddy's. The brand often donates a part of its sales to charities, raising money for causes like the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. Seán left the business in 2023.

On 15 June 2020, Seán launched his own coffee company, called Top of The Mornin' Coffee. He announced that the company partnered with the Feya Foundation, a charity that helps fight world hunger. In April 2023, he started a podcast called Brain Leak with fellow YouTuber Ethan Nestor. He also announced a comic book series, Altrverse, with Bad Egg publishers. The comic features characters from his YouTube content, and its first issue was released in December 2023.

Helping Others Through Charity

Business Insider has called Seán "one of YouTube's most active charity supporters." In 2019, Save the Children gave him an award for his fundraising work. In 2021, he was named one of Junior Chamber International Ireland's "Ten Outstanding Young Persons" for raising over $6 million for charity between 2017 and 2021. In 2022, he won Best Philanthropic Streamer at The Streamer Awards.

In December 2016, Seán was part of a charity livestream called #Cringemas with PewDiePie, Markiplier, and others. They raised over $1.3 million for charity. In December 2017, Seán hosted two more charity streams, raising over $260,000 for Save The Children.

Throughout 2018, Seán hosted many fundraising livestreams for charities. These included groups that support mental health, ill and disabled gamers, and children's hospitals. He raised over $1 million for charities that year. His December fundraising stream for Crisis Text Line was called "Thankmas." This name became a tradition for his yearly December charity streams leading up to Christmas.

In 2019, Seán raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charities like the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Red Nose Day 2019. His December 2019 Thankmas stream raised $300,000 for Child's Play. In 2020, he raised millions of dollars for various causes, including helping with bushfires in Australia, COVID-19 relief, and Black Lives Matter organizations. In December 2020, his annual Thankmas stream raised over $1.4 million in 10 hours for the Red Nose Day campaign. Including other streams, the campaign raised over $4.6 million.

In December 2021, Seán worked with the fundraising platform Tiltify for his annual Thankmas stream. This event supported New Story, a charity that helps people experiencing homelessness. The campaign raised $7.6 million in total.

In November 2022, Seán announced he would again work with Tiltify for Thankmas, raising money for World Central Kitchen. Their goal was $10 million. Seán's 2023 Thankmas stream also raised money for World Central Kitchen and was broadcast live from the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles. It raised $6 million, bringing the total money raised by his Thankmas streams to over $25 million. His 2024 Thankmas stream was also broadcast live from the Orpheum Theater to support Crisis Text Line.

Seán's Personal Life

Seán has been in a relationship with Dutch YouTuber Evelien "Gab" Smolders since 2019. He has played the drums since he was young and enjoys heavy metal music. He was once in a metal band called Raised to the Ground. Seán has autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Music Seán Has Released

Seán's Film and TV Appearances

Films

Acting Roles in Films

Television Shows

Video Game Roles

Awards and Nominations

See also

• List of YouTubers