Joey Graceffa

Early life and education

Graceffa was born in Marlborough, Massachusetts, the son of Debbie O'Connor and Joe Graceffa. He has two siblings, an older sister named Nicole and a younger half brother named Jett who has autism, through his mom and his stepfather, Bob. Graceffa endured hardships with his mother when she resorted to alcoholism due to changes in her life. These started when Graceffa was around 12 years old, according to his book "In Real Life". He graduated from Marlborough High School in 2009. Graceffa enrolled in Fitchburg State College intending to major in film, but left after one year. Graceffa initially intended to enroll in Emerson College, a private, liberal arts university in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, but was rejected twice, so he decided to stay at Fitchburg.

2007–13: YouTube success and The Amazing Race

At age 16, Graceffa began uploading videos to YouTube on a channel known as WinterSpringPro, with his high school classmate and friend Brittany Joyal in 2007, when Graceffa was in high school. In 2009, he started posting videos on his own channel, called, JoeyGraceffa. In 2013, he joined the StyleHaul YouTube network. Graceffa posts daily vlogs on his channel. As of August 2017, he has over 8.1 million subscribers and more than 1.43 billion total views on his main YouTube channel. On a second YouTube channel focusing on his gaming, he had more than 2.2 million subscribers and over 417 million views, for a total of over 1.7 billion views. He also has more than 3.7 million Twitter followers and more than 5.5 million Instagram followers.

In 2013, Graceffa and fellow YouTube personality Meghan Camarena were contestants on The Amazing Race 22. The two made it to the tenth leg before being eliminated. Graceffa told an interviewer that "There were a lot of bad times but it was definitely good overall. It was an amazing experience, and I'd love to do it again." The two later teamed up again to compete in The Amazing Race: All-Stars.

2013–2015: Films, In Real Life and other projects

In late 2013 and early 2014, Graceffa starred in his own web series titled Storytellers. In 2014, Graceffa starred in his own short film titled Eon. The same year Graceffa also starred in Ethereal alongside Joey Pollari. Throughout 2012 to 2014, Graceffa was in various BlackBoxTV short films. He was also a part of the Fine Brothers online series MyMusic throughout 2013 and 2014. Graceffa was nominated for two awards at the 2014 Teen Choice Awards. He won "Best Male Actor in a Dramatic Web Series" at the 2014 Streamy Awards for his portrayal of Hunter Crowley in Storytellers. Graceffa was named by Common Sense Media as one of "10 YouTube Stars Your Kids Love".

In March 2015, Graceffa starred in an episode of the CONtv reality television project Fight of the Living Dead, created by fellow YouTube personality Justine Ezarik.

On May 16, 2015 Graceffa released a song with an accompanying music video titled "Don't Wait" that was widely distributed on Twitter and other media to broadly positive comment. It tells a fantasy fairytale story that features goblins, a witch and a prince. The video ends with Graceffa, dressed as a prince, kissing his male co-star. By October 2016, it had received more than 24 million views. Graceffa confirmed on YouTube on May 18, 2015 that he is gay. Graceffa stated that the reason he waited so long to come out online was because "there was a lot of hesitation to come out online because of growing up in my town: It wasn't acceptable to be gay; it was looked down upon." He also went on to state that after coming out, "I definitely feel more open and free with who I am, and I think that's inspired a lot of other people to also do the same and have come out to their friends and family."

On May 19, 2015, Graceffa released a memoir titled In Real Life: My Journey to a Pixelated World, published by Keywords Press. In the book, he discusses being bullied and feeling lonely in school, his mother's alcoholism, his brother's autism, the beginnings of his YouTube career and his road to self-acceptance, among other topics. His book was a New York Times Best Seller on the "celebrities" list in July 2015 and the cover was updated to acknowledge this achievement.

2016–present: Escape the Night, literature, and jewelry line

On February 14, 2016, Graceffa announced that he has been in a relationship with Daniel Preda since July 2014 in a video titled "OUR LOVE STORY!"

On June 21, 2016, Graceffa announced in his YouTube video, titled "I HAVE A SURPRISE!", that he's starting a crystal-based jewelry line called "Crystal Wolf". On June 7, 2017, Crystal Wolf Co released their Summer Solstice Collection with new jewelry and including the Crystal nail polish for the overall Summer Collection.

On June 22, 2016, Graceffa started, starred, and uploaded the first episode of a YouTube Red mini-web series called Escape the Night with other YouTubers like Shane Dawson, MyLifeAsEva, Glozell, Oli White, Timothy Delaghetto, Andrea Russet, Matthew Hagg, Justine Ezarik (iJustine), Sierra Furtado, and one Viner, Lele Pons. The first episode has over 9,000,000 views. On June 22, 2017 Graceffa stated, starred, and uploaded the first episode his YouTube Red web series Escape the Night's season 2. The season stares himself and includes Liza Koshy, Alex Wassabi, Lauren Riihimaki, DeStorm Power, Gabbie Hanna, Jesse Wellens, Andrea Russett, Tyler Oakley, and Tana Mongeau.

On October 4, 2016, Graceffa, along with co-author Laura L. Sullivan, released a young adult novel titled Children of Eden., published by Keywords Press. The book follows a Second child named Rowen, who is marked with death due to Eden's population control and recklessly escapes for an adventure after sixteen years of hiding. His book was a New York Times Best Seller on the "Young Adult Hardcover" list in the week of October 23, 2016. The book has received glowing praise from readers on Goodreads and Amazon, with four and five star reviews predominating. Critics have not been universally positive, although Rachel Hyland of Geek Speak Magazine wrote, "Graceffa knows a lot about YA dystopian conventions, and they are all present and accounted for here. This is by no means a bad thing — an enjoyable romp through this genre doesn’t necessarily require too much divergence (no pun intended) from the established norms — but it is worth noting that most everything in his Eden has pretty much happened before, in one way or another. Still, it is fun to see just how those ever-trusty elements are put together, and there is a nice twist on the almost essential love triangle that is actually pretty awesome."

On January 6, 2017, Graceffa announced that he would be playing an extra in the full-length feature film, The Space Between Us. The movie originally released in the United States on February 3, 2017, follows a teenage boy (Asa Butterfield), born on Mars, who travels to Earth. After uniting with his long-distant friend (Britt Robertson), the duo soon form a new relationship with each other.

On May 16, 2017, Graceffa announced in his YouTube video, titled "MOST INSANE BIRTHDAY SURPRISE EVER!" the sequel to his Young adult novel Children of Eden. The sequel, entitled, Elites of Eden, follows an Elite and lilac-haired girl - Yarrow and Lark. When these two girls discover the thread that binds them together, the collision of memories means that their lives may change drastically – and that Eden may never be the same. Rowan - captured by the government, her fate is uncertain. The novel's official release date is October 3, 2017.

Extended plays

Personal life

On February 14, 2016, Graceffa confirmed he is in a relationship with Daniel Preda. The pair have been together since July 2014. He lives in Los Angeles, California along with Preda and their three Siberian Husky dogs - Wolf, Storm and Lark.