LaToya Forever
| LaToya Forever | |
|---|---|
 LaToya Forever (in 2015) | |
| Personal information | |
| Born |
LaToya Ali Scarborough, Ontario, Canada[1] |
| Website |
www |
| YouTube information | |
| Pseudonym | LaToya Forever |
| Channel | latoyaforever |
| Years active | 2010–present[2] |
| Genre |
Comedy Video blog |
| Subscribers |
1021034 (LaToya Forever)[3] 600,765 (LaToya's Life)[4] (July 9, 2016[3][4]) |
| Total views |
72,665,938 (LaToya Forever)[5] 42,554,492 (LaToya’s Life)[5] (June 3, 2015[5]) |
LaToya Ali, (née Wilson) better known under the name LaToya Forever is a Canadian born, Trinidadian YouTube personality and author, best known for her eponymous YouTube channel as well as her video blog channel "LaToya's Life". In 2012, she was the official Vibe TV host at the American Music Awards and in 2015 she participated in the Buffer Festival.
Early life
LaToya Ali was born in Scarborough, Ontario,[1] Canada, daughter of professional baseball player Nigel Wilson and Debbie Snacks, of Trinidadian descent.[1][6] Ali has seven younger siblings.[5] Around the time LaToya was around 11-14 years old (middle school age) her parents moved to the United States to allow her mother to get a college education.[7] While living in the United States Ali's family would often have to move from place to place, making it difficult to develop any strong friendships while she was growing up. Instead, she turned to creating videos and posting them online as an outlet for her feelings.[1] She would later relocate to Toronto, Ontario.[1]
Online career
Ali first started posting videos in 2009 and in 2010 she began her YouTube channel "LaToya Forever", posting comedy skits and jokes to entertain herself and others.[8] One of her most well-known early videos was titled "Shit Caribbean Moms say", reflecting on her own mother growing up as well as other moths from Trinidad.[9] While pregnant with her first child, Samia, she began a video blog, or VLog of her day creating the channel "LaToya's Life", with "reality show" type content about her and her life.[8] In 2012, she was hired to be the Vibe TV host at the American Music Awards.[7] In 2015, she introduced the "LaToya Forever App" to give her fans access to her video content.[10]
YouTube made "LaToya Forever" their official YouTube Correspondence for the 2015 "YouTube FanFest Live" event that was held on May 2, 2015.[11][12] She would later host an "Afrocentric dance competition" called "The Movement," organized by the Erindale Campus African Students Association, who invited LaToya Forever to host the one-night competition, held on May 16, 2015.[13] She was one of the featured guests at the 7th annual VidCon conference in Anaheim, California.[14] In August 2015, Ali and her team were one of three teams selected for the Canadian Film Centre and Canadian Broadcast Corporation's "Jumping Screens" Comedy workshop, a workshop intended to help the creators make the jump from online to television. The workshop ran from June through November.[15] Ali was one of the featured creators of the 2015 Buffer Festival, held from October 13 to 15, 2015, in Toronto Canada.[1]
Writing
Outside of her video work she has also written an e-book titled "How to become a YouTube Sensation" where she shared her steps to success.[16] She has also written an autobiography titled "LaToya's Life: Uncut Mishaps of a YouTube" star, which will be published on November 8, 2016.[17] In June 2016, she partnered with Gone Viral TV (GVTV) for a social media seminar.[18]
Personal life
Ali vlogged while pregnant with her first child, a girl named Samia, who was born in 2014.[1] In 2016, she gave birth to a son, Zayn, which was also chronicled in her video blogs.[19]
Bibliography
- Ali, LaToya (November 8, 2016). LaToya's Life: Uncut Mishaps of a YouTube Star. Mango. ISBN 978-1-63353-419-3.
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kwan, Truman (October 23, 2015). "Buffer Festival 2015: Q&A with LaToya Forever". Can Culture. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
- ↑ Williams, Jasmine (July 29, 2015). "Vlogger LaToya Forever Talks "Not Faking The Funk"". AndPop. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
- 1 2 "LaToya Forever". YouTube. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- 1 2 "LaToya's Life". YouTube. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 "2015 Jumping Screens Comedy Workshop Participant Bios and Social Stats" (PDF). Canadian Film Centre and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. June 5, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ↑ "Marlins make Wilson's dream a reality". Bangor Daily News. Associated Press. November 18, 2011. p. 17. Retrieved October 26, 2011.
- 1 2 "About LaToya". Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- 1 2 Thomas, Tiffany (May 11, 2016). "The makings of LaToya Forever". New You. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ↑ "Top Caribbean YouTubers". Thiscalabash. November 4, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ↑ "LaToya Forever". Google Play. Google. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ↑ LaToya Forever (April 29, 2015). "Get ready to laugh...get ready to cheer….YouTube FanFest in Toronto is finally here!". Google Official Canada Blog. Google. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ↑ Deschamps, Tara (May 2, 2015). "YouTube FanFest attracts a few thousand excited fans at Yonge-Dundas Square". The Toronto Star. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ↑ Ben, Yvonne (May 11, 2015). "#Event update ECASA announces host for #TheMovement LaToya Forever #Toronto". The Kalaidoscopian. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ↑ "LaToya Forever Here is where you'll find Latoya Forever at VidCon". VidCon. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ↑ "CFC and CBC announce YouTubers selected as inaugural participants of Jumping Screens Comedy Workshop". Canadian Film Centre. August 31, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ↑ "LaToya Forever reveals secret on how to earn money on YouTube". Family Vloggers. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ↑ "LaToya's Life: Uncut Mishaps of a YouTube Star". Amazon. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ↑ "REV and GVTV partner to bring YouTube star to local social media seminar". Cable Bahamas Ltd. June 30, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
- ↑ LaToya Forever (June 22, 2016). "Father's Day + Pregnant Again? (Season 9 finale)". YouTube. Retrieved July 9, 2015.