Eugenia Cooney
Eugenia Cooney | ||||||||||
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![]() Cooney in 2017 | ||||||||||
Born | Colleen Cooney[1] July 27, 1994 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |||||||||
Education | Connections Academy | |||||||||
Occupation | ||||||||||
Years active | 2011–present | |||||||||
YouTube information | ||||||||||
Channels | Eugenia Cooney | |||||||||
Subscribers | 2.13 million | |||||||||
Total views | 270.56 million | |||||||||
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Last updated: 21 Sept 2022 | ||||||||||
Twitch information | ||||||||||
Channel | ||||||||||
Followers | 406 thousand | |||||||||
Total views | 1.80 million | |||||||||
Follower and view counts updated as of March 3, 2022. |
Eugenia Sullivan Cooney (born July 27, 1994) is an American YouTuber and Internet personality. She was born in Massachusetts and is based in Greenwich, Connecticut and Los Angeles, California. She initially began livestreaming on broadcasting service YouNow, eventually creating her YouTube channel in 2011, which has garnered over 2 million subscribers. Known for her emo and gothic looks, Cooney's content mainly involves clothing hauls, beauty, cosplay and vlogs of her daily life. She also regularly livestreams on Twitch.
Life and career
Cooney was born Colleen Cooney on July 27, 1994, in Boston, Massachusetts.[2][3] Her first name was changed to Eugenia several months after her birth.[4] Throughout her childhood, Cooney didn't have many friends and was often the victim of bullying at school,[5][6] which caused her to switch schools multiple times and begin attending an online school after her first year of high school.[7][8] She transferred to Connections Academy and graduated in 2013.[9][10] Eugenia Cooney pursued modeling for a brief time in New York.[11][12] After being asked to remove her online presence and feeling overcontrolled, Cooney decided to instead focus on her online career.[13]
Cooney began her online presence in 2011 by livestreaming on broadcasting service YouNow, later creating her YouTube channel that same year.[14] In 2013, she uploaded a video titled "How to Ratchetly Twerk",[15] which went viral after being shared on WorldStarHipHop.[12][16] Her first three videos amassed over 7.5 million views. Cooney's YouTube content mainly consists of clothing hauls, vlogs about her daily life, cosplay outfits, and makeup tutorials.[14] She began livestreaming on Twitch in 2018,[17] where she has over 400,000 followers as of August 2022.[18] She is known for her emo style, characterized by her "extraordinarily long, dark hair, gothic lace dresses, and bold, multi-colored makeup looks."[19]
In 2018, Cooney starred in the music video for Niki DeMar's song "Anthem for the Judged".[20] Cooney was nominated and a finalist for "YouTuber of the Year" for the 12th annual Shorty Awards in 2020.[21]
Cooney resides with her family in Greenwich, Connecticut,[22][23] and also had a residence in Burbank, California.
Controversy
Throughout Cooney's online career, viewers have speculated based on her appearance that she has an eating disorder,[24][25] presumably anorexia nervosa.[26][27] Her critics argue that her content encourages eating disorders among viewers, raising concern about her influence on her young fans.[28][27][29] This is despite Cooney seldom referencing her eating disorder. Cooney is a popular figure in online "pro-ana" communities, where her videos and images are used as "thinspiration".[note 1][31] Beginning in 2015, viewers began expressing concern around her weight loss, and since then several theories about her health, mental state, and home life have steadily grown. In 2016, a Change.org petition titled "Temporarily Ban Eugenia Cooney off of YouTube" went viral and received 18,000 signatures, although it was later removed for "violating community guidelines".[24][32] In response to the petition, Cooney denied having a problem and said that she did not intend to be a bad influence.[33]
In early 2019, Cooney's activity online got more dispersed, raising concern among her fans, who thought she had died.[34][35] On February 10, Cooney announced on her Twitter account that she was taking a hiatus to work "on this with [her] doctor privately."[36][37] Cooney was assessed by medical professionals and placed under a 5150 hold[38][39] before entering into a month-long treatment program.[35][40][26] In July 2019, Cooney reappeared as the subject of Shane Dawson's hour-long YouTube video "The Return of Eugenia Cooney", in which she confirmed the decade long speculation about her eating disorder and recovery process for the first time.[40][26] She now describes her experiences as "traumatizing" and claims to be "doing better" now than she was during treatment.[41]
Dawson's video on Cooney was viewed over 27 million times in a month.[25] She was initially praised when she came back to YouTube, with people commending her for her return and being honest about her health. As a result, Cooney was nominated as YouTuber of the Year at the 2020 Shorty Awards.[42] The reaction to "The Return of Eugenia Cooney" video was mixed, with some viewers and mental health experts raising concerns about the future of her treatment, as well as the possible impact on Dawson's mostly young, female audience.[25]
Following the publication of Dawson's documentary, Cooney returned to regularly posting videos.[40] Despite being initially praised for opening up about her struggle with an eating disorder, Cooney was soon criticized again for appearing to relapse.[26] Further, allegations of grooming and predatory behavior of young people by older men on Cooney's Discord server surfaced in 2020, prompting her to delete it in September.[28] In early 2021, concerned citizens, along with the support of big name YouTubers, started a Change.org petition to age-restrict, or entirely remove, her YouTube channel and social media accounts, claiming that she promotes eating disorders through her "emaciated" appearance.[43]
Awards and nominations
Year | Award Show | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | Shorty Awards | YouTuber of the Year | Nominated |
See also
Footnotes
References
- ^ Cooney, Eugenia [@Eugenia_Cooney] (September 10, 2014). "how many of you know my name was originally colleen and then it got changed a few weeks later now you all know congrats" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 21, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ Where was Eugenia Cooney Born?, retrieved 2022-05-24
- ^ 5150 - Eugenia Cooney's Story, retrieved 2021-11-28
- ^ Eugenia Cooney Tells 48 Facts About Herself | YouTube July 26, 2013, retrieved 2021-11-28
- ^ I'm Sorry, retrieved 2022-06-22
- ^ How To Deal With Bullies, retrieved 2021-11-28
- ^ My Bullying Story, retrieved 2021-11-28
- ^ Getting Bullied..., retrieved 2021-11-28
- ^ What school did Eugenia Cooney go to?, retrieved 2022-05-24
- ^ "Eugenia Cooney on Linkedin".
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ REACTING TO MY OLD MODELING PICTURES, retrieved 2021-11-28
- ^ a b 🗃️ Eugenia Cooney' Life: Deleted Video ( ARCHIVED ), retrieved 2021-11-28
- ^ Eugenia Cooney On Photographer Who Wanted To Push Her Beyond Her Limits | Twitch August 7, 2021, retrieved 2021-11-28
- ^ a b Dodgson, Lindsay (February 6, 2021). "YouTubers are campaigning to deplatform an influencer over eating disorder concerns. Experts say that won't fix the problem". Insider. Insider Inc. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
- ^ The Twerking Instructional Video That Should've Never Been, 2013-06-03, retrieved 2021-11-28
- ^ "Disturbing: Skinny Girl Teaching How To Twerk! | Video". WORLDSTARHIPHOP. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
- ^ First Hour Of Eugenia Cooney's VERY FIRST Twitch Stream | Twitch March 2, 2018, retrieved 2021-11-28
- ^ eugeniacooney - Twitch, retrieved 2022-08-01
- ^ "The 10-year journey that led YouTube star Eugenia Cooney become one of the most polarizing figures on the internet". Times News Express. 2021-07-17. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
- ^ Anthem for the Judged- Niki DeMar [Official Music Video], retrieved 2022-06-05
- ^ "Eugenia Cooney - The Shorty Awards". shortyawards.com. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
- ^ Dellinger, Hannah; Marchant, Robert (February 11, 2019). "Greenwich therapists: Social media contributes to eating disorders, body dysmorphia". GreenwichTime. Hearst. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
- ^ "Eugeniacooney • Instagram". www.instagram.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
- ^ a b Tait, Amelia (February 20, 2019). "The story of Eugenia Cooney, the emaciated YouTuber the internet thought was dead". New Statesman. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
- ^ a b c Tenbarge, Kat (August 3, 2019). "One of YouTube's biggest stars made a viral 'documentary' about another YouTuber's eating disorder. Experts say it could be harmful for its subject and audience". Insider. Insider Inc. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Estévez, María (April 2, 2021). "Eugenia Cooney, la 'influencer' que promueve la anorexia". ABC (in Spanish). Retrieved August 21, 2021.
- ^ a b Montoya García, Jonathan (January 19, 2018). "Youtubers que hacen locuras por likes". El Colombiano (in Spanish). Archived from the original on February 18, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- ^ a b Dodgson, Lindsay (March 25, 2021). "Sexual predators target pro-eating-disorder communities to find young people to groom". Insider. Insider Inc. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
- ^ Henríquez, Azucena (November 2, 2017). "Seguidores piden cerrar canal de famosa Youtober por inducir a anorexia". El Mundo (in Spanish). El Salvador. Archived from the original on February 9, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- ^ Heffernan, Virginia (May 25, 2008). "Narrow Minded". New York Times. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
- ^ Dodgson, Lindsay (May 15, 2019). "An extremely thin YouTube star disappeared from the internet, but people with eating disorders are still getting 'thinspiration' from her videos". Insider. Insider Inc. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
- ^ Gupta, Sonal (November 2, 2016). "This US Fashion Vlogger Was Slammed For Being 'Too Thin'". The Quint. Archived from the original on September 28, 2017. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
- ^ I'm Sorry, retrieved 2022-06-22
- ^ Katzowitz, Josh (June 3, 2019). "After health scare, YouTube star Eugenia Cooney's newest photo gives fans hope". The Daily Dot. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- ^ a b Pearce, Tilly (February 11, 2019). "YouTuber Eugenia Cooney takes social media break to seek medical help". Metro. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
- ^ Twitter https://twitter.com/eugenia_cooney/status/1094711937739440129. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ Pearce, Tilly (2019-02-11). "YouTuber Eugenia Cooney takes social media break amid health concerns". Metro. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
- ^ 5150 - Eugenia Cooney's Story, retrieved 2022-06-22
- ^ Dodgson, Lindsay. "A YouTuber opened up about her friends forcing her into psychiatric hospital because of her eating disorder". Insider. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
- ^ a b c Song, Sandra (August 20, 2019). "Eugenia Cooney on Cyberbullying, Recovery and Her Return". Paper. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
- ^ Eugenia Cooney Says Her Experience In Rehab Was Traumatizing | June 14, 2022, retrieved 2022-06-22
- ^ a b "Eugenia Cooney - YouTuber". Shorty Awards. 2020. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
- ^ "Who is Eugenia Cooney? Petition to 'cancel' YouTube-Twitch streamer who looks 'emaciated' crosses 45K signatures | MEAWW". meaww.com. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
External links
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