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Natalie Tran

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Natalie Tran (born 24 July 1986), also known online as communitychannel, is an Australian YouTuber, actress, comedian, television presenter, and writer. On YouTube, she became known for her comedy videos in which she discusses everyday issues. She began posting on YouTube in 2006 while attending University of New South Wales. From 2006 to 2016, her channel consisted primarily of observational comedy videos with monologues. Tran was the most subscribed-to YouTuber in Australia and one of the highest-earning YouTubers globally in the late 2000s and early 2010s. She ceased uploading routinely to YouTube in late 2016.

Natalie Tran
Tran at the Australian premiere of Paper Towns in 2015
Born (1986-07-24) 24 July 1986 (age 38)
Auburn, New South Wales, Australia
Alma materUniversity of New South Wales
Occupations
  • YouTuber
  • actress
  • comedian
  • television presenter
  • writer
Years active2006–present
YouTube information
Channel
GenreComedy
Subscribers1.78 million[1]
Total views176 million[1]
100,000 subscribers
1,000,000 subscribers2011
Last updated: 5 August 2024

Tran's acting career has consisted of a supporting role in the romantic comedy film Goddess (2013), as well as recurring roles on the Foxtel sketch comedy show The Slot (2017–2018), the FX/Foxtel comedy-crime drama series Mr Inbetween (2018–2021) as Jacinta, the Network 10 sketch comedy show Kinne Tonight (2018–2020), and the Disney+ animated sitcom Koala Man (2023) as Lulu Liu and Kevin's neighbour. She joined The Great Australian Bake Off as a host in 2023.

Early life and education

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Natalie Tran was born on 24 July 1986 in the suburb of Auburn in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, to refugee parents who travelled to Australia from Vietnam in 1981. Her mother previously practised law, while her father practised literary lecturing. Her sister, Isabel, travelled with Tran's parents from Vietnam.[2] She has stated that her parents "fled Vietnam with nothing but the clothes on their backs".[3] After the family resettled in Sydney, Tran's mother found employment in the postal service, while her father became a public school teacher.[4] Tran credits her parents for making her success possible, expressing that they "endured so much to give my sister and I great lives."[5]

Tran was raised in Auburn, and attended primary school in Lidcombe. After graduating, she attended Rosebank College in Five Dock, before transferring to Meriden School, an Anglican all-girls school in Strathfield, in year nine, where she graduated in 2004.[6] Speaking about her secondary school experience, she shared that she "wasn't really a fan", saying, "I'm not a very ambitious or very applied student."[7] After high school, she attended the University of New South Wales, where she originally majored in education after being inspired by her father, but, following the success of her YouTube channel, began studying and later completing a degree in Digital Media.[8][4] While attending the University of New South Wales, she worked in retail.[9]

Career

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YouTube

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Tran posted her first video to YouTube on September 25, 2006, initially posting responses to other videos she had seen on the site.[10][9] Her content then consisted of observational comedy skits and vlogs, which lampooned everyday situations, in which she played all of the characters and gave monologues throughout.[11][12][13]

In 2007, Tran was invited to participate in the launch of YouTube Australia.[14] A video of her defending Vegemite was featured on the Australian television programme A Current Affair in February 2007.[15] Tran was nominated for two awards for Best YouTube Channel or Personality and for Funniest YouTube Channel at Mashable's 2009 Open Web Awards.[16] Tran partnered with Lonely Planet in 2010 to make a series of travel videos, chronicling her journey around the world to places such as Paris, New York City, Los Angeles and Buenos Aires.[11][17]

By 2009, Tran was the most subscribed-to YouTuber in Australia and the 37th most subscribed-to globally.[12][11] In 2010, she became the 18th most subscribed-to YouTuber globally.[18] Also in 2010, Tran was the 10th highest-earning YouTuber on the platform, having made over $101,000 in advertising revenue between July 2009 to July 2010, according to TubeMogul.[19] By 2011, she had earned over one million subscribers.[7] In 2013, she started a relationship advice series called Love Conundrums on her YouTube channel, which she later discontinued.[13] She was included in the lineup at YouTube FanFest Australia 2015.[20] In an April 2015 presentation at Brown University posted to her YouTube channel, she talked about Asian representation and stereotypes in the media.[21] In December 2015, she appeared in Lilly Singh's promotional video for her #GirlLove campaign, which aimed to end socialised competition among women, alongside Shay Mitchell, Hannah Hart, and others.[22]

Her April 2016 parody of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's video apology for breaking Australian biosecurity laws, in which she depicts them as being held at gunpoint while filming the video, received praise from critics.[23][24] By September 2016, her channel had an average of 1.43 million views per video, and a ten-year anniversary video for her channel posted that same month featured YouTubers such as The Fine Bros congratulating her.[25] In February 2017, her Valentine's Day video, in which she serenaded her partner while he played video games using a virtual reality headset, also gained traction online.[26][27] She became an ambassador for YouTube's Creators for Change initiative in September 2016.[28] In December 2017, as part of the program, she released White Male Asian Female, a 40-minute documentary about negative perceptions of relationships between Asian women and Caucasian men such as her own, on her YouTube channel.[29] She hosted a video guide segment for the 2019 Sydney Film Festival called the Launch Show, released in May 2019.[30]

Television and film

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Tran at the premiere of Goddess, March 2013

From 2010 to 2011, Tran worked as a Sydney correspondent for The Project's The Whip segment.[7] She made her debut film appearance in the 2013 romantic comedy film Goddess as Helen.[31] From 2017 to 2018, she appeared as a series regular on the sketch comedy show The Slot.[32] She appeared in all three seasons of the FX series Mr Inbetween in the recurring role of Jacinta, the ex-wife of the protagonist, Ray, played by series creator Scott Ryan.[33] She appeared as a guest in the pilot episode of the sketch comedy series Kinne Tonight in August 2018.[34] In 2020, she returned to the show during its second season as a recurring guest.[35]

Tran was a correspondent and writer for The Weekly with Charlie Pickering in 2021.[36] She made a guest appearance on the Netflix series Heartbreak High in 2022 and had voice roles as Lulu Liu and Kevin's neighbour in the Michael Cusack-helmed animated sitcom Koala Man.[37][38][39] She began cohosting the cooking competition television series The Great Australian Bake Off with comedian Cal Wilson, who died in October 2023, in its seventh season, which premiered in June 2023.[3][40] Wilson and Tran replaced the show's previous hosts, Claire Hooper and Mel Buttle.[41][42]

Other endeavors

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Six months after returning home from her Lonely Planet trip in 2011, Tran co-launched a travel app for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with the country's former Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd.[43] By September 2016, she and her partner filmed corporate events for work.[44]

Public image

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Tran speaking at the EG2010 conference, January 2010

Tran has frequently been referred to in the media as the "Australian Queen of YouTube".[45][12][46] She has appeared on multiple lists of the best Australian YouTubers.[47][48][49] The Daily Telegraph called her "one of Australia’s original success stories on YouTube".[50] Wired placed Tran on their list of "The Top 10 Geeks from Downunder".[18] In 2011, Tran was included in The Sydney Morning Herald's annual list of Sydney's 100 most influential people.[51] In 2014, Tran was listed on NewMediaRockstars's list of their top 100 YouTube channels.[52] Digital Trends named her video "Indoor Plant Serial Killer" as one of the funniest YouTube videos of all time in 2020.[53] In 2016, Sam Gutelle of Tubefilter called Tran "one of the original innovators of a video format that is now widespread in the YouTube community".[25]

Personal life

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Tran became vegetarian in 2015, and later became vegan. In 2011, she began dating Rowan Jones, a producer who she met during her time on The Project. As of 2015, the two work together as freelance videographers.[7] She is an atheist.[54]

After not having posted any videos since December 2016, Tran stated in 2019 that she isolated herself and stopped posting YouTube videos due to anxiety from her obsessive–compulsive disorder.[55]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
2010–2011 The Project Herself TV series (13 episodes)
2011 Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation Herself Game show (1 episode)
2013 Goddess Helen Film debut
2017–2018 The Slot Herself/Various roles TV series
2018–2021 Mr Inbetween Jacinta TV series (9 episodes)
2018–2020 Kinne Tonight Herself/Various roles TV series (5 episodes)
2020 Rosehaven Gemma Episode: "Episode #4.4"
2022 Heartbreak High Rhea Brown Episode: "Angeline"
2023 The Great Australian Bake Off Host Season 7
2023 Koala Man Lulu Liu/Neighbour TV series (4 episodes)

References

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  1. ^ a b "About communitychannel". YouTube.
  2. ^ "Refugees and locals will transcend fear and division in powerful live global social experiment". Amnesty International. 18 November 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  3. ^ a b Cunningham, Katie (11 June 2023). "Three things with Natalie Tran: 'I don't know how people don't have rice cookers … it should be illegal'". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Riding the Tube". The Age. 14 November 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
  5. ^ Natalie Tran. "My Father/My Hero". Twitpic.com. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  6. ^ Miao, Margaret. "Secret UNSW Students". Arc UNSW Student Life. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d Dapin, Mark (24 July 2015). "YouTube star Natalie Tran is a prolific apologiser". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Natalie Tran on Shaping Your Future". Adobe Creative Cloud. 6 February 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  9. ^ a b Tarrant, Deborah (1 July 2012). "Bright Ideas: What drives Youtube sensation Natalie Tran". Qantas. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  10. ^ What's Trending (25 April 2015). "Natalie Tran On BUSTING Asian Stereotypes". YouTube. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2020. I started in '06, back when YouTube was a very, very small community, so the way a lot of people interacted with each other was through video responses, so my first video was a video response.
  11. ^ a b c Humphrey, Michael (7 May 2011). "Natalie Tran: Down Under's Top YouTuber Considers Her Next Move". Forbes. Archived from the original on 7 November 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  12. ^ a b c Moses, Asher (6 February 2009). "Natalie Tran - Australia's queen of YouTube". WAtoday. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  13. ^ a b Lloyd, Robert (22 August 2014). "Critic's Pick: TV Picks: Communitychannel, 'Doctor Who,' 'Poirot: Curtain'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  14. ^ Jansen, Dave (24 October 2007). "In Pictures: YouTube down under". PC World Australia. Archived from the original on 15 March 2009. Retrieved 7 March 2009.
  15. ^ "Last Laugh: Vegemite Wars". The Age. Archived from the original on 8 November 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  16. ^ Sharon Feder (13 November 2009). "500 Leading Nominees in Mashables's #openwebawards". Mashable. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
  17. ^ Adrian Lowe (16 February 2012). "Business snapping up YouTube stars". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  18. ^ a b Donahoo, Daniel (16 February 2010). "Top 10 Geeks from Downunder". Wired. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  19. ^ Howard, Caroline (10 August 2010). "Natalie Tran Makes Top 10 YouTube TubeMoguls". Forbes. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  20. ^ Gorman, James (13 August 2015). "YouTube's biggest stars coming to Sydney". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  21. ^ Siede, Caroline (21 May 2015). "Internet star Natalie Tran discusses Asian representation in the media". Boing Boing. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  22. ^ Wiest, Brianna (29 December 2015). "Shay Mitchell and YouTube Stars Are Helping Lilly Singh Spread #GirlLove". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  23. ^ Zatat, Narjas (18 April 2016). "The making of' Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's apology video". indy100. Retrieved 2 September 2020.[permanent dead link‍]
  24. ^ "Watch hilarious parody of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's video apology". The Telegraph. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  25. ^ a b Gutelle, Sam (12 September 2016). "Natalie Tran Gets A Surprise Video Greeting To Celebrate Ten Years On YouTube". Tubefilter. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  26. ^ "A lonely Valentine's Day for virtual reality 'widow'". Newshub. 14 February 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  27. ^ Amini, Tina (14 February 2017). "Sad YouTuber finds a way to express her sorrow over her VR-distracted boyfriend". Mashable. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  28. ^ Montgomery, Blake (22 September 2016). "Social Justice YouTubers Are About To Get A Big Boost". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  29. ^ Thompson, Rachel (14 December 2017). "YouTuber addresses cultural stereotypes about interracial relationships". Mashable. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  30. ^ "Broadcasting live from AFTRS: The Sydney Film Festival Launch Show". Australian Film Television and Radio School. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  31. ^ Chandra, Jessica (7 March 2013). "Laura, Ronan, Magda and More Celebrate Goddess' World Premiere". PopSugar Australia. Retrieved 1 September 2020.[permanent dead link‍]
  32. ^ Langford, Sam (14 December 2017). "Fans Of 'Activewear' Rejoice: The Creators Of That Viral Video Are Getting A New Show!". Junkee. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  33. ^ Lloyd, Robert (18 October 2018). "Review: Three Australian mysteries — 'Dead Lucky,' 'Mr. Inbetween' and 'Mystery Road' — worth a binge". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  34. ^ Buckmaster, Luke (23 August 2018). "Pilot Week: Sam Dastyari, Kyle Sandilands and more line up for a race to the bottom". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  35. ^ McManus, Bridget (30 May 2020). "Kinne Tonight offers a cheeky release from lockdown". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  36. ^ "Foxtel announces new judges and hosts Rachel Khoo, Darren Purchese, Natalie Tran and Cal Wilson". BBC Studios Australia. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  37. ^ Vrajlal, Alicia (13 June 2023). "From YouTube Fame To The Great Australian Bake Off: Natalie Tran Relishes The Sweet Taste Of TV Success". Refinery29. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  38. ^ Festa, Giana (16 January 2023). "9 Surprise Celebrity Voice Cameos in Hulu's 'Koala Man'". Collider. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  39. ^ Conway, Polly (16 January 2023). "Koala Man TV Review". Common Sense Media. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  40. ^ Dunk, Tiffany (12 October 2023). "'This is devastating': Celebs pay tribute to comedy queen Cal Wilson". The Australian Women's Weekly. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  41. ^ Rugendyke, Louise (7 June 2023). "The sweetest show on TV is recast for a new generation". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  42. ^ Vrajlal, Alicia (13 June 2023). "Everything We Know About The Great Australian Bake Off 2023". Refinery29. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  43. ^ "YouTube star Natalie Tran launches government's travel app". Brisbane Times. 28 November 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  44. ^ Tran, Natalie (30 September 2016). "YouTube Star Natalie Tran Procrastinates by Looking Up Mansions on the Internet". Elle. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  45. ^ Jefferson, Dee (1 May 2015). "YouTube changes face of comedy". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  46. ^ "Social Media and YouTube". B&T. Archived from the original on 14 March 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  47. ^ "Australian YouTubers - The Official Top 10". New Idea. 29 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  48. ^ McKay, Rhys (17 February 2020). "Top 15 Australian Youtubers: Who is The Biggest?". Who. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  49. ^ "Natalie Tran". POPSUGAR Tech. 14 February 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  50. ^ Keene, Neil (3 March 2015). "Behind the scenes with our YouTube stars". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  51. ^ Stephanie Wood. "Sydney's Top 100 Most Influential People". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  52. ^ "The NMR Top 100 YouTube Channels: 100-76!". New Media Rockstars. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  53. ^ Martindale, Jon (11 August 2020). "The funniest YouTube videos of all time". Digital Trends. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  54. ^ "Atheist Natalie Tran's Anti-Religion Charlie Hebdo Tweets Spark Backlash". Superfame. 13 January 2015.
  55. ^ "Quentin Kenihan with Natalie Tran". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 3 January 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
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