Colleen Ballinger

Background

The talented American comedian, singer, author, actress, YouTuber, and vocal coach, Colleen Ballinger has become one of the most popular internet celebrities. Born on November 21, 1986, in Santa Barbara, California, her zodiac sign is Scorpio. Her father, Tim Ballinger, is a sales manager, while her mother, Gwen Ballinger is a homemaker. She has three siblings, two older brothers Christopher and Trent, and a younger sister Rachel. She was homeschooled during middle school and then went on to attend the San Marcos High School in Santa Barbara. In 2008, she graduated from Azusa Pacific University, majoring in vocal performance. While she was still in college, she began giving private vocal coaching, movement, and piano lessons to children.

Ballinger acquired widespread acclaim in 2008 with her videos and YouTube channel based on the character she created — Miranda Sings. The videos featured an eccentric and egotistical character, obsessed with show business, who sings and dances badly and is easily recognized by her overdrawn red lipstick. The bad singing, combined with comedy, and the ranting about internet trolls and haters became popular with her fans who loved the satire in her videos. The following year, in 2009, her video “Free Voice Lesson,” a compilation of bad tips on singing, became viral and she came under the spotlight. That same year, she also started performing live in one-woman comedy acts as her character Miranda Sings, where she began to sing and perform in the off-key voice of the character and also gave voice and acting lessons to stars such as Ariana Grande and Sutton Foster. Her shows went on to receive widespread critical and popular acclaim. Always keen on becoming an actress, Ballinger then began her acting career on stage in 2009. She was cast as Kelsi Nielsen in a production of Disney’s High School Musical. In 2010, she started a second YouTube channel based on Miranda Sings — Mirandavlogz.

It was in 2013 when she was propelled to celebrity status when videos of her Miranda Sings channel crossed 150,000 and both her channels subsequently went on to acquire more followers. In 2014, owing to the popularity of her videos, she starred on television as Miranda Sings alongside Jerry Seinfeld on “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” and went on to make more television appearances throughout the year. In 2015, she authored a book in Miranda’s voice, called “Selp Helf”. She also won a Teen Choice Award for ‘Web Star: Comedy’ and was one of the Top 25 Digital Stars in a list curated by “The Hollywood Reporter.” Later that year, she married fellow YouTuber Joshua Evans and began touring with him throughout the U.S. as “The Colleen & Josh Show.” This was also the year when she started off the annual charity fundraiser for children with cancer. In 2016, she was named by “Forbes” as the ninth highest-earning YouTube personality. Then, in 2017, she created and starred in a Netflix series “Haters Back Off,” based on the catchphrase of her character Miranda Sings. She then appeared in a cameo in the animated movie “Ralph Breaks the Internet” as Colleen in 2018 and later married her second husband Erik Stocklin, who had played her love interest on the Netflix show. That same year, she also released her second book as Miranda, called “My Diarrhe.” In 2019, fulfilling a long-time ambition, she made her Broadway debut in the musical “Waitress” and her casting also coincided with an increase in box office grosses for the musical. In 2021, she and her husband Erik Stocklin also started a podcast — “Relax with Colleen and Erik” — broadcast weekly.

Ballinger has acquired massive popularity with her unique and quirky sense of humor. With millions of fans across her social media pages, she has managed to create quite the buzz, having earned three nominations for People’s Choice Awards and three Shorty Awards. She has also endorsed several brands, including DiGiorno pizza, and has her line of merchandise. A doting mother to her three children with Stocklin, she enjoys family time. She also lends her time and voice to social causes. Every year since 2015, she has hosted an annual charity fundraiser for children suffering from cancer. She has continued to entertain her fans with her signature brand of humor and it will be worth waiting for the new content she releases in the future.