James Charles (internet personality)

James Charles Dickinson (born May 23, 1999) is an American internet personality, beauty YouTuber and make-up artist. While working as a local makeup artist in his hometown of Bethlehem, New York, he launched his self-titled YouTube channel, posting makeup tutorials. In 2016, he became the first male ambassador for CoverGirl after a tweet featuring his makeup went viral online.

James Charles
Charles in 2019
Born
James Charles Dickinson

(1999-05-23) May 23, 1999
Albany County, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Occupation
Years active2015–present
Net worthUS$12 million (2019)
YouTube information
Channel
Genre
Subscribers25.4 million[1]
Total views3.2 billion[1]
100,000 subscribers 2016[1]
1,000,000 subscribers 2017[1]
10,000,000 subscribers 2018[1]
Updated: January 25, 2021

Since starting his YouTube channel, Charles has amassed over 25 million subscribers as of January 2021. In 2020, he worked as the host, director, and co-producer of the YouTube Originals reality competition series Instant Influencer. He has received numerous awards for his work on social media, including two People's Choice Awards, two Streamy Awards, one Shorty Award, and one Teen Choice Award.

Early life

Charles was born on May 23, 1999[2] in Bethlehem, New York[3] to parents Christine and Skip Dickinson,[4] a contractor,[5] with one younger brother, Ian Jeffrey.[6] He attended Bethlehem Central High School, where he graduated in 2017.[3] Describing his high school experience, he stated, "I did get bullied a lot in high school and personally, I just ignored it."[4] Charles first ventured into beauty as an amateur hairstylist, and started doing makeup after being asked by a friend to do her makeup for a school dance. After teaching himself how to do makeup, he soon began doing it professionally for girls in his area.[5][7]

Career

Charles started his social media career in 2015 with the launch of his YouTube channel, where he posted makeup tutorials.[7] He rose to fame after a tweet of him retaking his senior portrait with a ring light and makeup on went viral in September 2016.[8] In October 2016, as a result of his online popularity, at 17 years old, Charles became a spokesmodel for cosmetics brand CoverGirl, working alongside brand ambassador Katy Perry and making him the first-ever male spokesmodel for the brand.[9] Charles launched the Sisters Apparel clothing line and a makeup collection, the Sister Collection, made in collaboration with cosmetics brand Morphe Cosmetics, in November 2018.[4][10]

By early 2019, he had amassed over 10 million subscribers on YouTube and over 10 million followers on Instagram.[11] His January 2019 visit to Birmingham for the opening of Morphe Cosmetics' second UK store caused gridlock in the city center.[12] Charles did Australian rapper Iggy Azalea's makeup for promotional art for her single "Sally Walker" in March 2019, and made an appearance in the song's music video.[13][14] He announced in April 2019 that he would be embarking on the nationwide Sisters Tour throughout the US.[15] However, the tour was canceled the following month following a highly publicized feud with American social media personality Tati Westbrook.[16] He released the Artistry Palette, an eyeshadow palette, in collaboration with Morphe Cosmetics in October 2019.[17]

From April to May 2020, Charles hosted, directed, and co-produced the first season of the YouTube Originals reality competition series Instant Influencer, which premiered on his YouTube channel. The series aims to find "the next great beauty influencer", with the winner receiving a $50,000 cash prize.[18][19] In October 2020, Charles made a cameo appearance in the music video for American social media personality Larray's single "Canceled".[20]

Since the launch of his channel, Charles has made a number of collaborative videos, doing makeup on and with various public figures including Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner,[21] Lil Nas X,[22] Kesha,[23] Madison Beer,[24] Doja Cat,[25] JoJo Siwa,[26] Charli D'Amelio, Addison Rae,[19] Trixie Mattel,[27] Avani Gregg,[28] Bretman Rock,[29] and Plastique Tiara.[30]

Public image

Early in his career, Charles received online criticism for being a male makeup artist.[7][9] Todd Spangler of Variety called him "YouTube's most famous beauty vlogger". Writing for the Irish Independent, Caitlin McBride remarked that he "spearheaded a makeup revolution among men", while Amelia Tait of The Guardian wrote that his online platform was "arguably revolutionary".[31][32] Teen Vogue referred to Charles in 2019 as "one of the most famous YouTube makeup artists and beauty influencers around", while Noelle Faulkner of Vogue Australia wrote in 2018 that he had "one of the most engaged followings on YouTube".[23][33]

Charles refers to his fans as "sisters".[34] He has cited Jaclyn Hill and Nikkie de Jager as his biggest influences.[35] He has said that, for him, makeup is "a creative outlet and an art form".[36]

In February 2017, Charles was criticized online after tweeting, "I can't believe we're going to Africa today omg what if we get Ebola?" He later issued an apology for the tweet in which he mistakenly referred to Africa as a country.[37][38][39] He faced further criticism online from fans after saying in a video posted in April 2019 that he was not "fully gay", stating, "there have been girls in the past who I've thought were very, very beautiful. There's also been trans guys in the past, too, that I was really, really into for a moment in time."[40][41] Charles apologized shortly after, releasing a statement saying that his comments were unintentionally transphobic and that he should have chosen different words to convey what he meant.[42] He also received backlash online for attending a crowded party at the Hype House during the COVID-19 pandemic, for which he apologized in a video.[43][44]

Tati Westbrook controversy

On May 10, 2019, one of Charles's longtime collaborators, Tati Westbrook, uploaded a 43-minute long video titled "Bye Sister ..." (stylized in all caps) to her YouTube channel, wherein she accused Charles of disloyalty after he posted an Instagram endorsement of a vitamin supplement company which was rivals with her own supplement company, and of trying to "trick a straight man into thinking he's gay, yet again" during her birthday party, stating that she was "afraid" of Charles.[37] The video was viewed over 40 million times in less than a week, and caused Charles to set a YouTube record for losing over one million subscribers in less than 24 hours. His following continued to fall from 16.6 million subscribers around May 6, 2019 to a low point of 13.4 million on May 15, 2019, recovering somewhat in the days that followed. Westbrook's subscriber count increased by over four million over the same period.[45] American YouTuber Jeffree Star corroborated Westbrook's claims on social media, adding that he believed Charles was a "danger to society".[37] Swedish singer Zara Larsson also posted about Charles after Westbrook's video was posted, claiming that he had sent direct messages to her boyfriend.[46]

Charles later uploaded an 8-minute response video titled "Tati" (stylized in all lowercase), addressing the issues raised by Westbrook and apologizing to his fans and both her and her husband. The video received mostly negative feedback and became one of the most disliked videos on YouTube.[47][48] On May 18, 2019, Charles posted a second 41-minute video addressing the comments made by Westbrook, entitled "No More Lies".[49][50] It presented evidence that refuted many of Westbrook's accusations and led to renewed support for Charles and criticism of Westbrook. Soon after its posting, Charles gained one million subscribers and Westbrook lost two hundred thousand.[51][52] Westbrook later removed the original video from her YouTube channel.[53] On June 30, 2020, Westbrook posted a video on her YouTube channel detailing the events that led up to and occurred after her "Bye Sister ..." video, where she claimed that Shane Dawson and Jeffree Star manipulated her into making the video against Charles.[54]

The controversy sparked media analysis relating to cancel culture, the alleged toxicity of YouTube's beauty community, stereotypes of gay men being predatory and profits made from online "drama".[55][56][57]

Personal life

Charles is openly gay.[58][59] He came out to his parents at the age of 12.[60] Addressing questions about his gender identity, he stated, "I'm confident in myself and my gender identity -- [I'm] happy being a boy. But at the same time, I love makeup. I have a full set of nails on all the time."[4] As of 2019, his net worth is estimated to be US$12 million.[47][61] In 2020, he purchased a $7 million mansion in Los Angeles.[62]

In May 2020, Charles revealed to supermodel Naomi Campbell that he has had botox injections in his forehead and filler injections in his lip.[63][64]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2018 The Secret World of Jeffree Star Himself Episode: "Becoming Jeffree Star for a Day" [65]
2020 Nikita Unfiltered Himself Episode: "James Charles Confronts Nikita"
2020 Instant Influencer with James Charles Himself Host; Season 1

Awards and nominations
Year Association Category Work Result Reference
2018 People's Choice Awards Beauty Influencer Himself Won [66]
2019 Nominated [67]
2020 Won [68]
2017 Shorty Awards Breakout YouTuber Won [69]
2019 YouTuber of the Year Nominated [70]
2018 Streamy Awards Beauty Won [71]
2019 Beauty Nominated [72]
2020 Creator of the Year Nominated [73]
Show of the Year Instant Influencer with James Charles Won
2018 Teen Choice Awards Choice Fashion/Beauty Web Star Himself Won [74]
2019 Nominated [75]

References
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