Rachell Hofstetter (born January 8, 1992) better known by her online alias Valkyrae, is an American internet personality. A recipient of a Game Award, she was dubbed the "Queen of YouTube" after becoming the platform's most-watched female streamer in 2021. She is a co-owner of 100 Thieves, an esports and an apparel company, and has been a content creator for the brand since 2018. Hofstetter is an advocate for women in online gaming, sometimes playing games on all-female teams.

Career

After graduating from community college, Hofstetter worked various jobs, including a job at GameStop. In 2014, while working she began sharing her gaming hobby on Instagram, gaining a significant following. She was encouraged by various Instagram followers, friends, and Twitch streamers to start streaming on Twitch, beginning in 2015. After gathering a following, Hofstetter began posting gaming videos on YouTube.

In 2018, she became the first female gamer and content creator for 100 Thieves, a competitive American esports team. On April 7, 2021, Hofstetter was announced as a co-owner of 100 Thieves alongside fellow 100 Thieves content creator CouRageJD. They join Scooter Braun, Dan Gilbert, the rapper Drake, and founder Matthew 'Nadeshot' Haag. As co-owners, Valkyrae and CouRage will receive equity in the company, which Forbes magazine recently valued at $190 million.

On January 13, 2020, Hofstetter left Twitch for an exclusive streaming contract on YouTube. While initially struggling to maintain an average viewer count of 5,000 towards the beginning of 2020, her YouTube channel experienced a significant boost when she started playing the online multiplayer social deduction game Among Us and began collaborating with popular streamers including Disguised Toast, Sykkuno, Pokimane, Jacksepticeye, Corpse Husband, xChocoBars, and Fuslie. She became the fastest growing female streamer of the year and surpassed Pokimane as the most-viewed female streamer of 2020. Towards the end of 2020, Hofstetter's stream regularly peaked at concurrent viewer counts exceeding 100,000, typically during Among Us sessions.

On March 14, 2021 Hofstetter and content creator "Natsumiii" released a cover version of the song "Last Cup of Coffee" by "LilyPichu". On March 18, 2021, she starred as Corpse Husband in the music video for the song "DAYWALKER!" by Machine Gun Kelly featuring Corpse Husband. On April 6, 2021, Hofstetter, alongside Sykkuno and Corpse Husband, participated in a fundraiser for Feeding America hosted by Jimmy Fallon as a part of a segment for The Tonight Show. The segment included them playing Among Us with members of the American hip hop band The Roots, Tariq Trotter, Kirk Douglas, and Questlove, as well as cast members of the critically acclaimed American TV series Stranger Things, Gaten Matarazzo and Noah Schnapp. On May 13, 2021, she starred in the music video for Bella Poarch's song "Build a Bitch".

Personal life

Hofstetter is of part Filipino and German descent and was raised in Washington. Her father died of cancer in 2017. She has one younger sister. She graduated with an Associate in Arts from a community college in Washington. Hofstetter currently lives in the Los Angeles area.