Charlie McDonnell

Charlie McDonnell (born 1 October 1990) is a British filmmaker, screenwriter, musician, former vlogger, author and Twitch streamer from Bath, Somerset.

After setting up the YouTube channel, charlieissocoollike on 3 April 2007, McDonnell started posting video blogs (or vlogs) to a small audience.

She first came to prominence when her video titled How To Get Featured on YouTube became popular after it was featured on YouTube's UK homepage.

Her audience jumped from just under 150 subscribers to over 4,000 in two days.

In January 2008, in celebration of gaining 25,000 subscribers, McDonnell asked for 25 challenge suggestions from subscribers, which sparked her series of Challenge Charlie videos.

Along with fellow vloggers Alex Day (Nerimon on YouTube), Liam Dryden (Littleradge), and former member Chris Beattie (CowInParachute), Chameleon Circuit released their self-titled debut album on 1 June 2009.

In 2010, McDonnell released a solo album titled This Is Me.

In July 2010, their song Count the Shadows also appeared on DFTBA Records, Volume Two, a compilation sampler that was given for free in the grab bags at VidCon 2010.

In 2010, McDonnell, along with three other YouTubers, Alex Day, Ed Blann and Tom Milsom ("Hexachordal") formed a new project titled "Sons of Admirals".

Sons of Admirals was not a band in the traditional sense; they were all solo artists, but as well as having their solo careers, they came together to form one group.

The idea and nominal inspiration for the band came from the Admiral's Men, which was a Shakespearean group of actors that came together to perform, whilst still retaining their individual careers.

Their first single was released via YouTube on 14 June 2010 on McDonnell's channel: the group covered Cat Stevens' song "Here Comes My Baby", featuring all four members on vocals.

The track peaked at No. 61 in the UK.

On 15 June 2011, her YouTube channel charlieissocoollike became the first in the United Kingdom to reach one million subscribers.

As a musician, McDonnell was a member of Doctor Who–themed rock band Chameleon Circuit and was also a member of the short-lived project Sons of Admirals until it was disbanded in May 2011.

In June 2011, McDonnell became the first YouTuber in the United Kingdom to reach 1 million subscribers, and in May 2013, her channel reached 2 million subscribers.

Most of McDonnell's videos end with an outro by Stephen Fry.

At the beginning of 2011, Chameleon Circuit, in their new line-up following the departure of Beattie and the addition of Ed Blann and Michael Aranda, began work on their second album Still Got Legs.

It was released on 12 July 2011.

She also directed a series of short films from 2013 to 2014, and co-hosted the weekday morning YouTube breakfast show Cereal Time with Capital FM presenter and fellow YouTube vlogger Jimmy Hill from 2015 to 2016.

She completed all of these challenges by March 2013, one of which was suggested by TV presenter Phillip Schofield and his daughter Molly, challenging McDonnell to perform the dance that accompanies the song "Hoedown Throwdown" from Hannah Montana: The Movie.

On 8 March 2013, McDonnell announced that she would be making five short films.

In 2014, McDonnell's YouTube Channel, charlieissocoollike, was listed on New Media Rockstars Top 100 Channels, ranked at #63.

In a video published on 27 October 2014, she announced her last two films would actually be one film, split into two parts.

In 2014, McDonnell and Dryden publicly denounced members Blann and Day, who both suspended their online presence following separate reported incidents of sexual abuse.

McDonnell, Dryden and Aranda appeared together at VidCon 2014 for photo signings.

In 2016, she published a book, Fun Science.

In 2017, Aranda wrote in a Reddit AMA that "it's safe to say that Chameleon Circuit is dead for now. I know that the last time Charlie and I spoke about it, [she] didn't feel interested in writing new music in general."

After over a decade of regular uploads, McDonnell ended her YouTube career in December 2018 and moved on to screenwriting and television production duties.

On 6 March 2019, McDonnell announced on Twitter that she had quit YouTube to focus on screenwriting.

She currently streams on Twitch.

In January 2023, McDonnell posted a YouTube video in which she discussed her life and said, "I'm a transgender woman, my pronouns are she/they, and I am continuing to use the name 'Charlie. She also made all past videos on her YouTube channel private.

Her first series, the science fiction drama Don't Look Deeper, was released on the streaming platform Quibi in July 2020.

McDonnell creates content on Twitch, where she plays different games while interacting with her chat.

McDonnell was born and raised in Bath, Somerset to parents Lindsey and Mark.

She has two younger siblings: her brother, William, and her sister, Bridie.

She was educated at Beechen Cliff School, a local state comprehensive foundation school.

On 27 July 2020, Don't Look Deeper, a 14-episode series co-created by McDonnell and Jeffrey Lieber, premiered on Quibi.

McDonnell wrote several episodes of the series.

McDonnell was one of the founding members of Chameleon Circuit, a band known for creating music inspired by the British television series Doctor Who.