Rachell "Rae" Marie Hofstetter (born January 8, 1992), better known as Valkyrae, is an American online streamer and YouTuber. She is a co-owner of the gaming organization 100 Thieves and founder, co-owner, and CEO of media company Hihi Studios. She has been YouTube's most-watched female streamer since 2020.
Hofstetter began streaming on Twitch in 2015. She had her breakthrough by playing the competitive online game Fortnite in 2018 and joined 100 Thieves as their first female content creator. In 2020, she switched streaming platforms by signing an exclusive contract with YouTube. Later that year, she saw significant follower growth and reached her peak viewership when playing the online social deduction game Among Us, which led to her winning the Game Award for "Content Creator of the Year" and the Streamy Award for best live streamer. She was also named "Gaming Creator of the Year" by Adweek in 2021 and was included on Forbes'30 Under 30 list in 2022.
Early life
Rachell Marie Hofstetter was born on January 8, 1992, and grew up in Moses Lake, Washington.[2][3][4][5] She is of Filipino and German descent[6] and has three brothers and one younger sister.[7] She cites her mother as the reason she became interested in video games, who encouraged her to pursue it as a hobby from a young age.[8] She attended community college and worked a job at GameStop to support herself,[9] later graduating with an associate degree in arts and science.[10]
Career
While working at GameStop, Hofstetter began sharing her gaming hobby on Instagram, gaining a following. After being encouraged by her followers, she started live streaming on Twitch in 2015.[9][11] She later began uploading her gaming content to YouTube and had her breakthrough by playing the competitive online game Fortnite in 2018.[11] That October, she became the first female content creator for the gaming organization 100 Thieves.[12][13]
On January 13, 2020, Hofstetter left Twitch for an exclusive streaming contract on YouTube.[14] In her first three months on YouTube, she averaged around 1,500 concurrent viewers.[15] Her stream then experienced significant growth and, in late 2020, regularly peaked at concurrent viewer counts exceeding 100,000.[16] This was driven by her playing the online multiplayer social deduction game Among Us and collaborating with popular streamers like Disguised Toast, Sykkuno, Pokimane, PewDiePie, and Cr1TiKaL,[16] in addition to public figures like politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, musician Lil Nas X, and television personality Jimmy Fallon.[9][17] Hofstetter became the fastest-growing female streamer of 2020 and surpassed Pokimane as the year's most-viewed female streamer.[16]
In September 2022, Hofstetter became an ambassador for the fitness apparel brand Gymshark.[21] On March 11, 2023, Hofstetter co-hosted the second annual Streamer Awards alongside the event's creator, QTCinderella; the ceremony averaged 425,000 live concurrent viewers.[22][23][24]
In May 2024, Hofstetter's streaming heavily involved playing a character on the modded Grand Theft Auto V roleplaying server NoPixel.[2] On July 13, 2024, she appeared and participated in a MrBeast video titled "50 YouTubers Fight for $1,000,000".[25] In September 2024, Hofstetter founded her own media company called Hihi Studios, the company is set to "develop and produce IP for graphic novels, TV and film projects with a specific emphasis on anime-inspired content."[26]
In June 2022, Hofstetter participated in a Minecraft charity tournament held by the MC Championship with several other creators to raise money for The Trevor Project. Hofstetter also donated $10,000 towards the charity.[28] In late November 2022, Hofstetter donated $15,000 towards No Kid Hungry during Ludwig Ahgren's charity event.[29][30] In December 2022, Hofstetter participated in "Thankmas", an annual charity livestream event hosted by YouTuber jacksepticeye, to raise money for World Central Kitchen. The event raised over $10 million in donations.[31]
On October 19, 2021, Hofstetter announced the launch of her skincare brand, RFLCT. The brand, primarily geared towards gamers and those who put in heavy screen time, claimed that users are susceptible to skin damage caused by prolonged exposure to blue light and that their products protect against it.
RFLCT received backlash due to insufficient evidence supporting the claim;[33][34] according to Kathleen Suozzi, the director of the aesthetic dermatology program at Yale University, unless someone was already prone to melasma or hyperpigmentation, they were unlikely to suffer any consequence of sitting in front of a screen for long periods of time.[35] Hofstetter responded by stating that "all of the hate, doubt, concerns, and criticisms are all warranted and valid" and that she was "very upset and confused" with the lack of information on its website, promising additional information supporting the products would be made available.[35][36] She was later informed that the research conducted by RFLCT supporting the products—which she had been given access to during development—could not be released to the public.[37]
Hofstetter then expressed a desire to part ways with RFLCT but was contractually bound.[38] On October 30, 2021, RFLCT ceased operation of its website and online store. A statement on the website read: "While we believe in the formulations created, after further reflection, have decided to move forward on new paths, effectively terminating the RFLCT brand."[39][40]
Personal life
From 2016 to 2021, Hofstetter was in a relationship with fellow streamer Michael "Sonii" Sherman.[24] From April 2023 to July 2024, Hofstetter moved into a house in Los Angeles with fellow streamers Leslie "Fuslie" Fu, Miyoung "Kkatamina" Kim, and Christina "TinaKitten" Kenyan. They were collectively known as "The Roomies".[41] She owns a dog named Mika.[2]
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