Ingrid Nilsen

Ingrid NilsenWikimedia Commons, the free media repositoryIngrid Nilsen rose to fame in the early mid-2010s through the popularity of her YouTube channel "Missglamorazzi". Like many "YouTuber's", Ingrid's channel began as a form of self-expression where she could gain confidence in her public speaking abilities by practicing confidence and sharing her passion for makeup. 

Through the success of her channel, Ingrid became one of the most prominent internet personalities of the first YouTube Generation, whose rise to fame led to opportunities in "traditional" media. One of Ingrid's first ventures into the world of product marketing was her collaboration with CoverGirl, through which she became the first YouTuber personality to officially represent the brand as a beauty ambassador. That same year, Ingrid was invited as a Judge on the popular reality television show Project Runway: Threads. Although 2014 was a big year for Ingrid, the summer of 2015 would prove to be a cultural shift in the type of content that fans appreciated from their YouTube idols. 

On June 2015, Ingrid uploaded a YouTube video in which she came out as lesbian. Her "Coming-Out" video made headlines in publications such as CNN, The Huffington Post, People, and Time Magazine. Her vulnerability and emotional connection to the audience across a virtual platform connected with a lot of young audiences, reaching almost a million views in just 8 hours.

Her advocacy towards the LGBT+ community and ability to connect with young viewers across the world resulted in her recognition as one of the United Nations Change Ambassadors along with six other female YouTube creators just the following year. With a focus on the global fight for gender equality, Ingrid and the UN Change ambassadors were tasked to create content to raise awareness about and aims to fight discrimination against girls and women.

Ingrid Nilsen interviews Barack ObamaWikimedia Commons, the free media repositoryArguably one of the most impactful moments in her career, on January 15, 2016, Nilsen interviewed Barack Obama for an official YouTube Interview. In the livestream filmed at the White House, she raised questions about the future of terrorism in the United States, taxation of feminine hygiene products, and LGBTQ+ issues.  

Ingrid's regonition as a young and impactful influencer continued in 2016, as she was named one of the SuperSoul100, Oprah Winfrey and OWN's list of innovators and visionaries. She was also included on OUT magazine's OUT100 list, and awarded Nilsen the "Trevor Digital Innovator Award" by The Trevor Project, an nonprofit organization focused on suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ+ youth.

Her collaboration with brands continued that year, as Do Something, and U by Kotex. Ingrid and the brands launched Power To The Period, the first nationwide period product drive that encouraged youth to run product drives for tampons, pads, and panty liners to donate to local homeless shelters. 

Most recently, Ingrid partnered with the nonprofit It Gets Better for a new campaign. Nilsen led the #TheirStory campaign, encouraging LGBTQ+ youth and their allies to share stories about inspirational figures. This campaign was covered on Instagram, Tik Tok, and YouTube and attempted to raise $50k. 

Although she announced her departure from YouTube in 2020, she continues to use her platform to speak out on important issues such as #StopAsianHate and supporting Black-led LGBTQ+ organizations.