Natalie Tran

Early life and education

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. She has stated that her parents "fled Vietnam with nothing but the clothes on their backs". After the family resettled in Sydney, Tran's mother found employment in the postal service, while her father became a public school teacher.

Tran was raised in Auburn, and went to primary school in Lidcombe. She then attended Rosebank College in Five Dock, before transferring in Year 9 to Meriden School, an Anglican all-girls school in Strathfield, where she graduated in 2004. 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." 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. While attending the University of New South Wales, she worked in retail.

Career

YouTube

Tran posted her first video to YouTube on September 25, 2006, initially posting responses to other videos she had seen on the site. Her content then consisted of observational comedy skits and vlogs, which lampooned everyday situations—such as losing her phone on silent mode, not being able to keep house plants from dying, and envisioning the person who measures celebrities' heights—in which she played all of the characters and gave monologues throughout.

In 2007, Tran was invited to participate in the launch of YouTube Australia. A video of her defending Vegemite was featured on the Australian television programme A Current Affair in February 2007. Tran was nominated for two awards for Best YouTube Channel or Personality and for Funniest YouTube Channel at Mashable's 2009 Open Web Awards. 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.

By 2009, Tran was the most subscribed-to YouTuber in Australia and the 37th most subscribed-to globally. In 2010, she became the 18th most subscribed-to YouTuber globally. 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. By 2011, she had earned over one million subscribers. In 2013, she started a relationship advice series called Love Conundrums on her YouTube channel, which she later discontinued. She was included in the lineup at YouTube FanFest Australia 2015. In an April 2015 presentation at Brown University posted to her YouTube channel, she talked about Asian representation and stereotypes in the media. 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.

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. 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. She became an ambassador for YouTube's Creators for Change initiative in September 2016. 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.

Tran stopped posting to YouTube regularly in December 2016, which she stated in 2019 was due to anxiety from her obsessive–compulsive disorder. 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. She hosted a video guide segment for the 2019 Sydney Film Festival called the Launch Show, released in May 2019.

Television and film

From 2010 to 2011, Tran worked as a Sydney correspondent for The Projects The Whip segment. She made her debut film appearance in the 2013 romantic comedy film Goddess as Helen. From 2017 to 2018, she appeared as a series regular on the sketch comedy show The Slot. 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. She appeared as a guest in the pilot episode of the sketch comedy series Kinne Tonight in August 2018. In 2020, she returned to the show during its second season as a recurring guest.

Tran was a correspondent and writer for The Weekly with Charlie Pickering in 2021. 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.

Tran began cohosting the cooking competition television series The Great Australian Bake Off with comedian Cal Wilson in its seventh season, which premiered in June 2023. Wilson and Tran replaced the show's previous hosts, Claire Hooper and Mel Buttle. Mediaweeks Tom Gosby described her hosting performance in season seven as "well-received", while Christine Estera of News.com.au called her a "fan favorite". Following Wilson's death from cancer in October 2023, Tran hosted the show solo until comedian Tom Walker joined Tran as the show's co-host in its eighth season, which premiered in September 2025.

Other endeavors

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. By September 2016, she and her partner filmed corporate events for work.

Public image

Tran has frequently been referred to in the media as the "Australian Queen of YouTube". She has appeared on multiple lists of the best Australian YouTubers. The Daily Telegraph called her "one of Australia’s original success stories on YouTube". Wired placed Tran on their list of "The Top 10 Geeks from Downunder". In 2011, Tran was included in The Sydney Morning Heralds annual list of Sydney's 100 most influential people. In 2014, Tran was listed on NewMediaRockstarss list of their top 100 YouTube channels. Digital Trends named her video "Indoor Plant Serial Killer" as one of the funniest YouTube videos of all time in 2020.

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". In 2025, Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times called her a "brilliant Australian internet humorist" whose videos were "timeless, smart and funny across years, generations, continents and hemispheres".

Personal life

Tran became vegetarian in 2015, and later became vegan. In 2011, she began dating Rowan Jones, a producer whom she met during her time on The Project. In 2015, the two worked together as freelance videographers. She is an atheist.

Filmography

Television

Film

References

References

1. (18 November 2016). "Refugees and locals will transcend fear and division in powerful live global social experiment".
2. (11 June 2023). "Three things with Natalie Tran: 'I don't know how people don't have rice cookers … it should be illegal'".
3. "Secret UNSW Students".
4. (6 February 2018). "Natalie Tran on Shaping Your Future".
5. (14 November 2010). "Riding the Tube". [[The Age]].
6. (25 April 2015). "Natalie Tran On BUSTING Asian Stereotypes".
7. (1 July 2012). "Bright Ideas: What drives Youtube sensation Natalie Tran".
8. (22 August 2014). "Critic's Pick: TV Picks: Communitychannel, 'Doctor Who,' 'Poirot: Curtain'".
9. Jansen, Dave. (24 October 2007). "In Pictures: YouTube down under". [[PC World (magazine).
10. "Last Laugh: Vegemite Wars". [[The Age]].
11. Sharon Feder. (13 November 2009). "500 Leading Nominees in Mashables's #openwebawards". [[Mashable]].
12. Adrian Lowe. (16 February 2012). "Business snapping up YouTube stars". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
13. (6 February 2009). "Natalie Tran - Australia's queen of YouTube".
14. (7 May 2011). "Natalie Tran: Down Under's Top YouTuber Considers Her Next Move".
15. (16 February 2010). "Top 10 Geeks from Downunder".
16. (10 August 2010). "Natalie Tran Makes Top 10 YouTube TubeMoguls".
17. (13 August 2015). "YouTube's biggest stars coming to Sydney".
18. (21 May 2015). "Internet star Natalie Tran discusses Asian representation in the media".
19. (29 December 2015). "Shay Mitchell and YouTube Stars Are Helping Lilly Singh Spread #GirlLove".
20. (18 April 2016 }}{{Dead link). "The making of' Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's apology video".
21. (19 April 2016). "Watch hilarious parody of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's video apology".
22. (22 September 2016). "Social Justice YouTubers Are About To Get A Big Boost".
23. (14 December 2017). "YouTuber addresses cultural stereotypes about interracial relationships".
24. (3 January 2019). "Quentin Kenihan with Natalie Tran".
25. (8 August 2025). "Thinking about 'Wednesday' as the weekend hits, plus what to stream".
26. (14 February 2017). "A lonely Valentine's Day for virtual reality 'widow'".
27. (14 February 2017). "Sad YouTuber finds a way to express her sorrow over her VR-distracted boyfriend".
28. (20 May 2019). "Broadcasting live from AFTRS: The Sydney Film Festival Launch Show".
29. (7 March 2013 }}{{Dead link). "Laura, Ronan, Magda and More Celebrate Goddess' World Premiere".
30. (December 14, 2017). "Fans Of 'Activewear' Rejoice: The Creators Of That Viral Video Are Getting A New Show!".
31. (18 October 2018). "Review: Three Australian mysteries — 'Dead Lucky,' 'Mr. Inbetween' and 'Mystery Road' — worth a binge".
32. (23 August 2018). "Pilot Week: Sam Dastyari, Kyle Sandilands and more line up for a race to the bottom".
33. (30 May 2020). "Kinne Tonight offers a cheeky release from lockdown".
34. (29 August 2022). "Foxtel announces new judges and hosts Rachel Khoo, Darren Purchese, Natalie Tran and Cal Wilson". [[BBC Studios.
35. (13 June 2023). "From YouTube Fame To The Great Australian Bake Off: Natalie Tran Relishes The Sweet Taste Of TV Success".
36. (16 January 2023). "9 Surprise Celebrity Voice Cameos in Hulu's 'Koala Man'".
37. (16 January 2023). "Koala Man TV Review". [[Common Sense Media]].
38. (12 October 2023). "'This is devastating': Celebs pay tribute to comedy queen Cal Wilson".
39. (7 June 2023). "The sweetest show on TV is recast for a new generation".
40. (13 June 2023). "Everything We Know About The Great Australian Bake Off 2023".
41. (2 June 2025). "Tom Walker joins The Great Australian Bake Off as Season 8 co-host - Mediaweek".
42. (2 June 2025). "Comedian Tom Walker joins Great Australian Bake Off as new co-host".
43. (1 September 2025). "How to watch 'The Great Australian Bake Off' season 9 online from anywhere".
44. (28 November 2011). "YouTube star Natalie Tran launches government's travel app". [[Brisbane Times]].
45. (30 September 2016). "YouTube Star Natalie Tran Procrastinates by Looking Up Mansions on the Internet".
46. (1 May 2015). "YouTube changes face of comedy".
47. "Social Media and YouTube".
48. (29 September 2019). "Australian YouTubers - The Official Top 10".
49. (17 Feb 2020). "Top 15 Australian Youtubers: Who is The Biggest?".
50. (14 February 2011). "Natalie Tran".
51. (3 March 2015). "Behind the scenes with our YouTube stars".
52. Stephanie Wood. "Sydney's Top 100 Most Influential People". The Sydney Morning Herald.
53. "The NMR Top 100 YouTube Channels: 100-76!".
54. (11 August 2020). "The funniest YouTube videos of all time".
55. (12 September 2016). "Natalie Tran Gets A Surprise Video Greeting To Celebrate Ten Years On YouTube".
56. (24 July 2015). "YouTube star Natalie Tran is a prolific apologiser".
57. (13 January 2015). "Atheist Natalie Tran's Anti-Religion Charlie Hebdo Tweets Spark Backlash".