Lilly Singh Wiki, Biography, Age, Spouse, Height, Net Worth, Fast Facts

In 2016, Singh released her first film, a documentary chronicling her world tour, entitled A Trip to Unicorn Island. In March 2017, she released her first book, How to Be a Bawse: A Guide to Conquering Life, which reached number one on the New York Times best-seller list. From September 2019 to June 2021, Singh acted as executive producer and host of the NBC late-night talk show A Little Late with Lilly Singh. She is the first person of Indian descent to host an American major broadcast network late-night talk show.

Early life and education

Singh was born and raised in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Her parents, Malvindar Kaur and Sukvindar Singh, are Indian Punjabi immigrants from Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India, and raised her as a Sikh. Her older sister Tina (born 1982) is also a YouTuber; she makes videos about her family life with her husband and their three sons. Singh had said she was a tomboy as a child. She attended Mary Shadd Public School during her elementary years, and in 2006, she graduated from Lester B. Pearson Collegiate Institute in Malvern, Toronto, where she returned as an alumna to visit her old teachers. She was a member of Girl Guides of Canada and participated in their youth programs. In 2010, she graduated from York University in Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.

Activism

Advocacy

Singh has expressed her support for the George Floyd protests, and has attended one herself in Los Angeles. She was featured in a campaign fundraiser for the Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign. Singh has also expressed her support for the 2020–2021 Indian farmers’ protest, in various social media posts.

Philanthropy

In 2017, Lilly Singh was announced as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, to advocate for children’s rights. She has led a campaign called “GirlLove”, promoting girls to end girl-on-girl bullying. In July 2018, Lilly travelled to South Africa to meet the students of elementary schools who spoke against bullying and classroom violence.

Public image

Punjabi culture is frequently portrayed in her videos, which contain satires on people’s complaints and prominent issues. Her most popular video is Three Girls, One Elevator (ft. Zendaya & Winnie Harlow) which also promotes her women’s empowerment campaign GirlLove, and her most popular series features her fictional parents, Paramjeet and Manjeet, both played by Singh herself, reacting to trending and controversial videos. She also frequently collaborates with celebrities on her videos.

Allegations of cultural appropriation

Singh has been accused of cultural appropriation of African-American culture by such publications as The Huffington Post, Bitch, ColorLines, and Vice. Anna Silman of The Cut accused Singh of appropriating both black and Indo-Caribbean culture on her channel because of her tendency to don a “blaccent”, whilst making rap videos sporting chains and cornrows. Tayo Bero of Teen Vogue wrote that “[Singh] falls into a category of non-black people of color in entertainment who have built massive followings often by mimicking black culture and leaning heavily into black stereotypes.”^[103] Rachna Raj Kaur and Radheyan Simonpillai of Now similarly criticized Singh’s appropriation of black culture due to her use of braids, hip-hop slang and Caribbean accents. Singh has responded to the criticism, by stating her mannerisms are due to her upbringing, adding “all my friends from Scarborough [Toronto] act exactly like me.”

Personal life

Singh is an Indo-Canadian who developed a strong connection with her Punjabi heritage during visits to India. Although raised as a Sikh, she stated in an Instagram post that she does not follow any religion but she strongly believes in God. She struggled with depression and arachnophobia and began making YouTube videos as a way of dealing with her feelings. As a young adult, she lived with her parents in Markham, Ontario. In February 2019, Singh came out as bisexual via social media.