Jenna Nicole Mourey (born September 15, 1986), better known as Jenna Marbles, is an American YouTuber. Over the span of ten years, her YouTube channel has accumulated approximately 1.8 billion video views and, at its peak, over 20 million subscribers. After apologizing for a series of accusations involving offensive content in her older videos, Marbles announced her indefinite hiatus from the platform in 2020.
“What was Jenna Marbles’ early life and career like?”
Jenna Nicole Mourey, born on September 15, 1986, spent her early life in Rochester, New York where she was also brought up. She went to Brighton High School located in the suburb of Brighton in Rochester and completed her graduation in 2004. After that, Mourey moved to Boston, Massachusetts where she achieved a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Suffolk University and a Master of Education degree in sport psychology and counseling from Boston University.
During the summer months of 2010, Mourey lived in a three-bedroom apartment situated in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She managed her living expenses by working as a bartender, at a tanning salon as well as go-go dancing at nightclubs along with vlogging. Around this time, she started her career with Barstool Sports by writing for their female-centric site named StoolLaLa. However, she parted ways with the publication the following year in 2011.
What is Jenna Marbles’ YouTube career like?
One of Jenna Marbles’ first popular videos on YouTube was “How to Trick People into Thinking You’re Good Looking” which she released in 2010. The video garnered approximately 5.3 million views within its first week. Another one of her notable videos, “How to Avoid Talking to People You Don’t Want to Talk To,” received coverage from The New York Times and ABC News in August 2011. In this video, she expressed her irritation with men assuming that her presence at social gatherings meant she wanted their physical advances.
Marbles decided to use the pseudonym after her mother raised concerns about the search term “Mourey” leading solely to Jenna’s videos on Google. At the time, Jenna’s mother was unemployed and worried that the content could deter potential employers. The name “Marbles” originated from her dog’s name, Mr. Marbles.
Beyond her own channel, Marbles participated in various other media projects. She played Eve in an episode of Epic Rap Battles of History titled “Adam vs. Eve,” made guest appearances on shows like The Annoying Orange and Ridiculousness, and featured in Smosh: The Movie. She also appeared alongside fellow YouTubers Bart Baker and Brittany Furlan in Pitbull’s music video for “Fireball.”
In addition to these accomplishments, Marbles made history by becoming one of the first YouTube personalities – along with the creators of Smosh – to have a wax figure modeled after her at Madame Tussauds New York; she unveiled this figure in 2015.
What is the controversy and indefinite hiatus involving Jenna Marbles?
On June 25, 2020, Marbles issued a video apology in response to allegations of blackface and racism. She confronted controversial material in her videos from 2011 to 2012 which featured offensive content such as impersonating Nicki Minaj, uttering anti-Asian slurs whilst dressed in Asian traditional attire, and criticizing women with multiple sexual partners, a behavior she attributed to self-inflicted misogyny. Marbles insists that it was never her intention to cause harm or give offense, yet admitted that these actions were “dishonorable” and “terrible”, expressing regret that they are part of her history. She then announced an indefinite break from YouTube. Following this, on June 26, Julien Solomita, Marbles’ boyfriend, stated via Twitter that their shared podcast and Twitch streams would also be suspended indefinitely. The public largely commended Marbles’ contrition; The Berkeley Beacon pointed out that although Marbles wasn’t the first to invoke ‘accountability’ in a YouTube apology, she may have been the first to genuinely mean it.
What are Jenna Marbles’ other ventures?
Marbles introduced a line of dog toys under the name Kermie Worm & Mr. Marbles, designed to resemble her own pets. She also developed merchandise featuring some of her most well-known catchphrases such as “What are this?” and “Team legs!” In addition to this, Marbles once hosted a weekly pop countdown on SiriusXM Hits 1 called YouTube 15. By 2016, she had expanded her portfolio by becoming an executive producer for the film Maximum Ride, which is adapted from James Patterson’s book series bearing the same title.
What is known about Jenna Marbles’ personal life?
In April 2021, Marbles got engaged to his long-term partner, fellow YouTube personality and competitive Valorant player Julien Solomita. They tied the knot in November of the following year. A disturbing incident took place at their residence in January 2023 when an intruder broke into their home. The intruder was successfully stopped using pepper spray and subsequently arrested. Marbles follows a vegan lifestyle.
