Caspar Richard George Lee (born 24 April 1994) is a British-South African YouTuber[2] and investor.[3][4] He was featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2020 for his work in media and advertising.[5]
Caspar Lee | ||||||||||
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 Lee in 2022 | ||||||||||
| Born | Caspar Richard George Lee 24 April 1994 London, England | |||||||||
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| Years active | 2012–present | |||||||||
YouTube information | ||||||||||
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| Subscribers | 6.83 million[1] | |||||||||
| Total views | 781 million[1] | |||||||||
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Last updated: 1 September 2021 | ||||||||||
Career
editLee started his YouTube channel 'dicasp' in 2011, and later renamed it 'Caspar'. Lee was part of the 'YouTube Boyband' that raised money in 2014 for Comic Relief.[6][7][8] He was named by Yahoo! News as one of "12 Web-savvy entrepreneurs to watch" in December 2013.[9] He collaborated with Lisa Kudrow in two episodes of Web Therapy[10][11] (2014).
Lee played Garlic in the 2014 comedy movie, Spud 3: Learning to Fly, with John Cleese and Troye Sivan.[12] Lee and Joe Sugg appeared in a 2015 travel documentary, Joe and Caspar Hit the Road, and its sequel Joe and Caspar Hit The Road: USA, produced for BBC Worldwide.[13] Also in 2016, Lee starred in Laid in America alongside YouTube comedian KSI (Olajide Olatunji).[14] Lee appeared in the music video for Charli XCX's 2017 single, "Boys".
In August 2017, Lee was named "Chief Vision Officer" of Influencer Ltd, a British influencer marketing agency.[15][5] Caspar Lee, a biography written by Lee and his mother, Emily, was published in hardcover in May 2016.[16] Lee also co-founded Margravine Management with Joe Sugg, now known as MVE.[17][18]
In May 2020, Lee co-founded Proper Living,[19] a South African student accommodation company.
In 2022, Lee launched Creator Ventures[3] with former private equity investor cousin Sasha Kaletsky. Their venture capital fund raised $20m to finance early-stage, consumer-internet startups.
Personal life
editBorn in London, Lee is the son of TV commercial producers Emily Lee (née Murphy, b. 1956) and Jonathan Lee (b. 1955). Lee's older sister, Theodora Lee (b. 1991), is an author and advertisement creator. The family emigrated to South Africa in 1996. Lee was raised in Knysna and Durban, where he attended Crawford College, La Lucia.[20] When Lee was younger he was diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome.[21] In 2013, Lee moved from South Africa to live with YouTuber Alfie Deyes. In 2014, Lee moved into a London apartment with fellow YouTuber Joe Sugg. In 2016, he moved into an apartment with Josh Pieters, who is also a YouTuber.[20] Lee is engaged to Ambar Driscoll.[22]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Spud 3: Learning to Fly | Garlic | |
| 2015 | The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water | Seagull | Voice role (UK version) |
| 2015 | Joe and Caspar Hit the Road | Himself | Documentary |
| 2016 | Joe and Caspar Hit the Road USA | Himself | Documentary |
| 2016 | Laid in America | Jack | |
| 2019 | Wonder Park | Cooper | Voice role (UK version) |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Web Therapy | Himself (fictional) | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Celebrity Mastermind | Himself | Contestant (Episode: 31 December 2019) |
Web series
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Web Therapy | Himself (fictional) | 2 episodes |
Music videos
edit| Year | Title | Artist(s) | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | "Friends with Benefits" | KSI feat. MDMN | Himself | [23] |
| 2017 | "Boys" | Charli XCX | Himself | [24] |
| 2019 | "Real Name" | KSI, Randolph, Talia Mar | Wedding guest | [25] |
Awards
editLee won "Social Media Superstar" at the 2018 Global Awards.[26]
References
edit- ^ a b "About Caspar". YouTube.
- ^ Innes, Molly. "Caspar Lee was one of the original YouTube stars but suddenly stopped posting videos in 2019. For the first time, he explains why he quit amid intensifying competition and his pivot to entrepreneurship". Business Insider. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
- ^ a b "Europe gets its first creator-founded, creator-backed VC | Sifted". sifted.eu. 29 June 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
- ^ Cooke, Laura (11 March 2013). "Video made the internet star". Vodacom. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
Born in March 1994
- ^ a b Wood, Alex (17 March 2020). "30 Under 30: Meet The European Media & Marketing Moguls Of Tomorrow". Forbes. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
- ^ Dobbins, Amanda (21 April 2014). "Meet the YouTube Boy Band". Vulture. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
- ^ Dredge, Stuart (21 March 2014). "YouTube Boy Band's cover version of It's All About You becomes viral hit". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
- ^ Wood, Lucy (10 March 2014). "Marcus Butler, Alfie Deyes, Joe Sugg, Jim Chapman and Caspar Lee are The YouTube Boyband for Sport Relief". sugarscape.com. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
- ^ "Alfie Deyes | 12 Web-savvy entrepreneurs to watch". Yahoo! News. 24 December 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
- ^ Boyd, Sarah (21 August 2014). "Stylish Sips With StyleHaul Founder Stephanie Horbaczewski". Forbes. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- ^ Jarvey, Natalie (25 June 2014). "Lisa Kudrow Digital Series 'Web Therapy' Moves to StyleHaul". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- ^ Evenden, Lucy (16 June 2014). "Caspar Lee and Troye Sivan to star in feature film". Ten Eighty. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- ^ Nissim, Mayer (1 April 2016). "YouTubers Joe Sugg and Caspar Lee's Hit the Road special will air on E4". Digital Spy. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
- ^ Laid in America (2016) at IMDb
- ^ Tickner, Lauren (2 August 2017). "Caspar Lee joins Influencer as CIO". Influencer Insights. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
- ^ "Caspar Lee by Caspar Lee". www.penguin.com.au. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
- ^ Weiss, Geoff (7 June 2018). "Joe Sugg And Caspar Lee Launch 'Margravine' Talent Firm With Strategic Partner IMG". Tubefilter. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
- ^ Whittock, Jesse (25 January 2023). "Joe Sugg, Caspar Lee And IMG's Margravine Launches U.S. Base And Rebrands As MVE". Deadline. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
- ^ "Hi-tech Observatory project nears completion". Cape Argus. 21 May 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020 – via Pressreader.
- ^ a b Marr, Wendy (16 August 2014). "Zoella, Tanya Burr and the UK's YouTube superstars". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- ^ Lee, Caspar (23 April 2017). "My Tourette's Story". YouTube. Google.
- ^ McKay, Bronwyn. "YouTube star Caspar Lee on getting engaged: "It's a Christmas miracle."". Life. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ "KSI & MNDM - FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS (FWB) OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO". Retrieved 14 March 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Charli XCX - Boys [Official Video]". Retrieved 14 March 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ "REAL NAME - Randolph & KSI ft Talia Mar". Retrieved 14 March 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ Ryan, Joel. "Caspar Lee wins the award for Social Media Superstar at The Global Stock Photo". Alamy. Retrieved 18 May 2020.