Entertainer and YouTube sensation Jenna Marbles will answer questions about how she turned her dream into a reality on Friday in the Student Union Memorial Center.
Marbles is known for phrases like,
“As weird and awful and terrible as it may seem to be yourself sometimes, it will always reward you.”
“You and me, microwave, till death do us part.”
“You might as well get some cats and call it quits.”
Her real name is Jenna Mourey — Marbles is her dog, and the inspiration for her pseudonym. From the comfort of her bedroom, she has created an empire. Marbles has more than 13 million YouTube subscribers, 1.9 million Facebook fans, nearly 2.7 million Instagram followers and more than 3.28 million followers on Twitter. She uploads a new video every Wednesday, a day she dubbed #SexualWednesday.
She has capitalized on the popularity of social media, and thus serves as an inspiration for millions of fans looking to strike gold on the Internet. In this medium where success proves difficult for a lot of people, Marbles has built an ever-growing online brand for herself.
“Students should be excited to come out and see her because she is an inspiration,” Wildcat Events Board member Kevin Mauerman said. “She has worked hard to achieve the success she has in life, and she is going to share her insights with students. In addition, she is very funny.”
The Wildcat Events Board, the largest event planning board on campus, is hosting Marbles. The board plans and hosts dozens of events throughout the year, bringing in speakers and comedians as well as also holding concerts and interactive events like open mic nights and ice skating.
To promote Marbles’ visit, the board hosted an Instagram contest using the hashtag #UAJennaMarbles, with the winners receiving two tickets to meet Marbles after the main event.
Board members said they expect Friday’s event to be one of the larger events of the semester, as Marbles has a large following of college-aged viewers.
“In her videos, Jenna talks about everyday issues in a comical manner that college-aged students can relate to,” Mauerman said.
As of Thursday evening, more than 1,700 guests RSVP’d to the event on Facebook. One of them is Austin Pyrek, a chemical engineering junior who is a huge fan of Marble’s videos.
“I think my favorite videos are ‘What Disney Movies Taught Me’ and ‘How To Avoid Talking To People You Don’t Want To Talk To,’” Pyrek said. “Her videos are just hilarious. I really like her videos. … I think everybody does.”
By views, Marble’s most popular video is “How to trick people into thinking you’re good looking,” which has been watched by more than 56.6 million people. Her least popular video — from 3 years ago — still has nearly 369.5 thousand views, a number that most YouTubers would be ecstatic about.
“She is just very upbeat, relatable and funny,” Pyrek said. “I can’t wait to see her in person.”
