Jennifer Ann McAllister (born July 9, 1996),[1] also known by her former pseudonym and YouTube username jennxpenn, is an American internet personality, actress and comedian. She is known for her work on YouTube,[2] for which she has been nominated for a Shorty Award and four Teen Choice Awards.
McAllister created her YouTube channel jennxpenn at the age of 12 on January 15, 2009, but already had prior YouTube experience through a channel created beforehand with a friend.[3] The channel has since amassed over 3.5 million subscribers,[4] and her internet work has earned her nominations for a Shorty Award and four Teen Choice Awards.[5][6][7][8]
In March 2013, McAllister signed a YouTube partnership deal with AwesomenessTV;[9] she appeared primarily in skits and segments on their YouTube channel. She also starred in the pilot episode of AwesomenessTV's sketch comedy series of the same name,[10][11] which premiered on Nickelodeon on July 1, 2013.[12]
Beginning in April 2014, she went on 16-city North American tour in celebration of reaching 1 million subscribers on YouTube with fellow YouTuber Tyler Ward, which took place at the beginning of May and the entirety of June.[13] In June 2014, McAllister signed a YouTube management deal with Fullscreen.[14][15]
At the 2015 Playlist Live convention, it was announced that McAllister and fellow YouTuber Lauren Elizabeth Luthringshausen would be starring in a film titled Bad Night.[16] The film was produced by GRB Entertainment,[17] and was released through Vimeo on Demand in July of that same year.[18][19] Also in 2015, McAllister made her writing debut with the autobiographyReally Professional Internet Person,[20][21] which was released in August 2015 and became a New York Times Best Seller.[22]
In February 2016,[23] it was announced that McAllister would portray the leading role of Addie Fixler in the YouTube Red original series Foursome.[24][25][26] In an interview with TheWrap, she described her relationships with the series' cast, stating that "I grew really close to everyone. It was kind of like a summer camp … I was on set for 12 and a half hours every day, so you’re really close with these people."[27][28] The series was released in March of that same year, and ran for four seasons until 2018.[29][30] For her performance, she won the Streamy Award for Best Actress at the 6th Annual Streamy Awards.[31][32]
In 2018, McAllister was cast in the role of Deanna Hoffman in the Hulu series All Night;[33][34][35] the series premiered in May 2018, but ultimately the show ended after it was not renewed by Hulu for a second season.[36] In the year following, she competed in the first season of The Reality House,[37][38][39] a web series inspired by Big Brother where several YouTubers compete for $25,000.[37]
Personal life
In July 2013, McAllister moved from her home in Pennsylvania to Los Angeles, California.[9] In September 2014, McAllister partnered with the nonprofit organization Our Time, releasing a video telling her viewers aged eighteen or above to register themselves to vote in the United States.[40][41]
In November 2020, in a video titled "addressing your assumptions about me...",[42] McAllister came out as bisexual.[43][44]
^Jaworski, Michelle; Votta, Rae (August 31, 2014). "Meet the YouTube class of 2014". The Kernel. The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
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