Biography
Jenna Marbles, YouTube channel entrepreneur and social media sensation, commanded a captive global audience of over 16 million subscribers. As one of the first Youtube stars, Marbles was able to spin her virality into a successful career. Born Jenna Mourey in Rochester, New York, Marbles was a shy kid until she came out of her shell in college. After graduating from high school, Mourey left upstate New York and headed to Boston and earned undergraduate degree in psychology from Suffolk University, followed by a master's degree in sports psychology from Boston University. Despite her academic background, Marbles struggled to find a job in her field and ended up blogging for Barstool Sports, amid working a series of odd-jobs including bartending, working at a tanning salon, and go-go dancing at nightclubs. Having to transform herself to work in the nightlife industry served as the inspiration for her first viral video, "How To Trick People Into Thinking You're Good Looking," in 2010, which racked up over 5.3 million views in its first week. While she initially posted videos with her real name, she ended up adopting the Marbles moniker after her mother complained that her video clips were showing up in online searches and might put off prospective employers. Ironically, her mother ended up running her daughter's company J Marbles Inc. Once YouTube success fell into her lap, Marbles made the move to Los Angeles to produce videos full time with her boyfriend Max Weisz, another social media star. Instead of chasing the Hollywood dream, Marbles eschewed show business for the creative freedom of the internet, churning out a weekly blend of offbeat zaniness. In 2011, she had another viral hit on her hands entitled "How to Avoid Talking to People You Don't Want to Talk To," which attracted the attention of 34 million viewers on YouTube as well as the press. She started cropping up on ABC News and The New York Times. Known for her zany personality and sexual frankness, no topic is taboo for Marbles. Both Marbles and her paramours became internet celebrities in their own right due to the intimacy of her confessional-style videos. Much to the dismay of "Marbleheads," Marbles and Weisz broke up in early December 2012 but it wasn't long until she ended up with another social media personality, when she started dating Vine star Julien Solomita in February of 2013. Together they started the Jenna & Julien Podcast in July of 2014 and expanded their social media empire. Like many of the new digital celebrities, Marbles was able to profit from her own personal brand without the help of Hollywood. She reportedly made over 4 million in 2015 alone. While not a traditional actress, Marbles appeared in a number of short films and online shows as herself, including Natural Born Pranksters appearing alongside top YouTube prank artists VitalyzdTV, Roman Atwood and Dennis Roady. In 2016, Lionsgate bought distribution rights and released the film day-and-date in theaters, on electronic sell-through and via video on-demand (VOD).
