Valkyrae facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Valkyrae
Valkyrae in 2023
Personal information
Born	Rachell Marie Hofstetter (1992-01-08) January 8, 1992 (age 33) Moses Lake, Washington, U.S.
Occupation	Live streamer YouTuber
YouTube information
Years active	2014–present
Genre	Gaming vlog react
Subscribers	4.09 million
Total views	718.9 million
Associated acts	Bella Poarch Corpse Husband Disguised Toast Fuslie Pokimane QTCinderella Sykkuno
Twitch information Channel Valkyrae Years active 2015–2020 2025–present

Rachell "Rae" Marie Hofstetter (born January 8, 1992), known as Valkyrae, is an American online streamer and YouTuber. She is a co-owner of the gaming company 100 Thieves. She also started her own media company called Hihi Studios.

Valkyrae began streaming on Twitch in 2015. She became very popular in 2018 by playing the game Fortnite. That year, she joined 100 Thieves as their first female content creator. In 2020, she moved to stream only on YouTube. She gained many followers playing Among Us. This led her to win "Content Creator of the Year" at The Game Awards. She also won "Best Live Streamer" at the Streamy Awards. In 2021, Adweek named her "Gaming Creator of the Year". She was also on Forbes magazine's 30 Under 30 list in 2022.

Early life

Rachell Hofstetter was born on January 8, 1992. Her hometown is Moses Lake, Washington. Her family background is Filipino and German. She has three brothers and one younger sister.

Her mother helped her get interested in video games. She encouraged Rachell to play games from a young age. Rachell went to community college. She also worked at GameStop to support herself. She earned a degree in arts and science.

Career

2015–2019: Early streaming days

While working at GameStop, Rachell started sharing her gaming on Instagram. She gained many followers there. Her fans encouraged her to start live streaming. So, she began streaming on Twitch in 2015.

Later, she started uploading her gaming videos to YouTube. She became very well known in 2018. This was because she played the popular game Fortnite. In October 2018, she made history. She became the first female content creator for the gaming company 100 Thieves. In May 2019, she was nominated for a Gaming award. This was at the 11th Shorty Awards.

2020–2024: YouTube success and new ventures

Hofstetter during a photoshoot for 100 Thieves in July 2019.

On January 13, 2020, Valkyrae moved from Twitch. She signed a special contract to stream only on YouTube. For her first three months on YouTube, she had about 1,500 viewers at a time. Then, her streams grew a lot. By late 2020, she often had over 100,000 viewers at once.

This huge growth happened when she played Among Us. This is an online game where players try to find an "impostor." She played with other popular streamers. These included Disguised Toast and Sykkuno. She also played with famous people like politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and musician Lil Nas X.

Valkyrae became the fastest-growing female streamer in 2020. She also had more views than any other female streamer that year. In December 2020, she won "Content Creator of the Year" at The Game Awards 2020.

On April 7, 2021, Valkyrae became a co-owner of 100 Thieves. She joined CouRageJD and others in owning the company. As co-owners, they received a share of the company. Forbes magazine said 100 Thieves was worth $190 million then. In May 2021, she won "Gaming Creator of the Year" at the Adweek Creator Visionary Awards. In December 2021, she won the "Livestreamer" award at the 11th Streamy Awards.

In 2022, Forbes magazine included her on their 30 Under 30 list. This list highlights young people doing great things. In September 2022, she became an ambassador for the fitness clothing brand Gymshark. In March 2023, she helped host the second annual Streamer Awards. The show had about 425,000 live viewers.

In February 2024, she won The Sapphire Award at the February 2024 Streamer Awards. In May 2024, she played a lot of Grand Theft Auto V on a special roleplaying server called NoPixel. Later that month, she was named an A100 honoree by Gold House. On July 13, 2024, she appeared in a MrBeast video. It was called "50 YouTubers Fight for $1,000,000."

In September 2024, Valkyrae started her own media company. It is called Hihi Studios. This company will create and produce stories for graphic novels, TV, and film. They will focus on content inspired by anime. In October 2024, she launched her podcast, Press Esc. Her co-host is artist Alyssa "Alythuh" Dios. On December 28, she announced that her YouTube contract had ended. She would return to Twitch in January 2025.

2025–present: Back to Twitch

On January 8, 2025, Valkyrae streamed on Twitch again. This was also her tenth streaming anniversary and her 33rd birthday. After one week back on Twitch, she became the most-watched female streamer. This was based on how many hours people watched her.

Other activities

Helping others

Valkyrae often uses her platform to help others. On April 6, 2021, she played Among Us for charity. This event was hosted by Jimmy Fallon from The Tonight Show. Many famous people joined, like actors from Stranger Things. The event raised over $25,000 for Feeding America. This charity helps feed people in need.

In June 2022, Valkyrae played in a Minecraft charity tournament. This was for the MC Championship. It raised money for The Trevor Project, which helps young LGBTQ+ people. Valkyrae also gave $10,000 herself. In November 2022, she donated $15,000 to No Kid Hungry. This charity works to end childhood hunger.

In December 2022, she joined "Thankmas." This is a yearly charity livestream hosted by YouTuber jacksepticeye. It raised money for World Central Kitchen. This group provides food after disasters. The event raised over $10 million. Valkyrae also donated $10,000 to help victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria in February 2023.

Personal life

From 2016 to 2021, Valkyrae was in a relationship with fellow streamer Michael "Sonii" Sherman. From April 2023 to July 2024, she lived in a house in Los Angeles. She lived with other streamers: Leslie "Fuslie" Fu, Miyoung "Kkatamina" Kim, and Christina "TinaKitten" Kenyan. They were known as "The Roomies." Valkyrae has a dog named Mika.

Valkyrae supported Kamala Harris in the 2024 United States presidential election. This means she publicly showed her support for her.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Discography

Singles

As featured artist

Awards and nominations

Recognitions

See also

• List of YouTubers