Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg ( SHEL-burg, Swedish: [‘f :l ks ‘ r:v d lf ‘ l:baerj] (listen); born 24 October 1989), known online as PewDiePie ( PEW-dee-py), is a Swedish YouTuber and comedian, known primarily for his Let’s Play videos and comedic formatted shows.
Born and raised in Gothenburg, Sweden, Kjellberg registered his YouTube channel “PewDiePie” in 2010, primarily posting Let’s Play videos of horror and action video games. His channel experienced substantial growth in popularity over the next two years and he reached 1 million subscribers in July 2012. Over time, his style of content diversified to include vlogs, comedy shorts, formatted shows, and music videos.
Kjellberg’s channel became the most-subscribed on YouTube on 15 August 2013, but after he publicly vied for the title with T-Series in 2019, it currently holds the title of the third-most subscribed, albeit remaining the most-subscribed operated by an individual. Kjellberg had the most-viewed channel on YouTube from 29 December 2014 to 14 February 2017, and the channel currently ranks as the 23rd-most-viewed, and the sixth among those operated by an individual. As of May 2021, his channel has over 110 million subscribers and has received over 27.3 billion views.
Kjellberg’s popularity on YouTube and extensive media coverage have made him one of the most noted online personalities and content creators. Due to this audience and media attention, his coverage of indie games has created an Oprah effect, boosting sales for titles he plays. In 2016, Time magazine named him one of the world’s 100 most influential people.